Tokyo, Dec. 21 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government Monday decided to launch a 500-strong digital agency Sept. 1, 2021, to lead digitalization both in the public and private sectors.
   

The launch plan was included in the government’s basic reform guidelines decided at a ministerial meeting on digital government, chaired by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
   

The new agency will be headed by the prime minister, with support from the new post of digital minister.
   

It is slated to establish a digital society promotion panel comprising all cabinet ministers including the prime minister.
   

The government plans to adopt the reform guidelines as early as this week, aiming to submit relevant legislation to the ordinary session of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, to be convened in January.
   

The digital agency “will be an organization to serve as a ‘control tower’ in promoting digitalization in the public and private sectors,” Suga said at the day’s meeting.
   

“I want all cabinet ministers to give full cooperation, such as by sending reform-minded excellent officials, ” he added.
   

Also on Monday, the government said it will hire some 30 Japanese nationals with digital expertise from the private sector as part-time workers of the agency, with expected annual incomes of 7 million to far over 10 million yen.