c) Regional card system
The IC card now prevails in every field of business such as banking and retail because of its large capacity for information and its high quality with regard to security.
In local governments too, the IC card will play a key role in improving welfare and making governmental services more efficient.
Goshiki town (Hyogo prefecture) and Izumo city (Shimane prefecture) have developed a trial IC card for health and medical services.
As the IC card now costs about one thousand yen and requires a special terminal, it still faces certain problems to general use. However, it is expected to be widely used in future as it has more than 100 times the capacity of magnetic cards and offers better security.
Fields in which the IC card will be used in local administration are as follows:
1) medical use (it can be used for health check data)
2) identification (it can be used to obtain certificates and documents at government office, or when using libraries, hospitals and other public facilities)
3) as a credit card
9. Hi-Vision Museum Project
Local governments have a role to play in improving local culture by establishing cultural facilities such as museums. There are an increasing number of museums founded by local governments, but the latter face difficulties in collecting contents because of a limited budget.
In this project, a hi-vision image database will be made of paintings and other works of art owned by public museums nationwide and the data will be supplied to citizens through high-difinition televisions installed in public facilities throughout the country. By this means, people can enjoy the art works without going to the museum that displays them. This project will also promote the spread of high-definition televisions.
Hi-vision museums have been set up in 174 places to date, including 20 in 1991, 23 in 1992, 32 in 1993, 50 in 1994, 25 in 1995 and 24 in 1996.
