Toranosuke Katayama, minister of public management, home affairs, posts and telecommunications, said Tuesday he will set up his own panel of advisers from the private sector and local municipalities on information technology policies.
The advisory panel will hold its first meeting Jan. 31 and compile proposals by July, Katayama said at a regular news conference.
The panel will be chaired by Takemochi Ishii, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo and an expert on systems engineering.
Other panel members are expected to include: Katsuji Ebisawa, chairman of Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK); Seiichiro Ujiie, president of Nippon Television Network Corp.; Junichiro Miyazu, president of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp.; and Osaka Gov. Fusae Ota.
Panel members are expected to exchange views on ways to resolve the so-called digital divide and propose measures to the minister.