Hybrid mobility services are helping cater to Japan's older citizens, many of whom live in areas where traditional forms of public transport are lacking.
Tsukuba, a designated Super City in Ibaraki Prefecture, is hoping its trials of online voting among schoolchildren can be rolled out to municipal polls and beyond.
As a once-thriving "new town," Nankadai is now trying to introduce modern initiatives to an aging population who see the area as being akin to the countryside.
Changes in work patterns wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic are already drawing some remote workers to the countryside.
According to some estimates, as many as 60,000 national and local rules need to be revised to make online public services possible.
Rapid social and economic change, deepening political divisions and the impact of technology are stretching the limits of trust-building systems, and governments are struggling to keep up.
Japan is well-placed to be a leader in data trading, but technical hurdles need to be overcome and mindsets need to be changed.
Helping data to cross borders first and setting up a trusted health ID system are key to getting people moving again.
Opening up localities to artificial intelligence and big data needs regulation to ensure it gets off the ground.
Despite its image as a world leader, the nation is falling behind as it continues to make use of outdated technology.
