遠藤貴幸村長（Mayor Takayuki Endo ）

Otoineppu Village has a population of about 600 people. In December last year, it signed a partnership agreement with NTT docomo and is pursuing its own DX strategy, which is unique to small municipalities. Mayor Endo Takayuki says, “Small municipalities need a venture spirit,” emphasizing the importance of a new administrative mindset. (Kei Kitajima)

Otoineppu Village is the smallest municipality in Hokkaido, with a population of about 600 people. It is located halfway between Wakkanai City and Asahikawa City. Although it is a typical depopulated area, the average age of the village is 47 years old, which is younger than the average age of the entire Hokkaido region (about 50 years old). The reason for this is the existence of Otoineppu Art and Craft High School, which is run by the village. The school accepts students from outside the village, and most of the approximately 120 students currently enrolled live in a dormitory within the village. The students of the school account for about 20% of the village’s total population. Mayor Endo Takayuki said, “High schools are treasures left by our predecessors, and we are working hard to make them more attractive. I visited Nozawa Onsen Village last year. Nozawa Onsen Village is home to the Nozawa Onsen Ski Club, which is run by the village and will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2023. It has produced 16 Olympic athletes and is always producing heroes and heroines that children look up to. We would like to enrich the learning at Otoineppu Art and Craft High School, including branding and marketing, so that heroes and heroines will always be born. Until now, it has been a high school for maintaining the population, but in the next phase, we would like to further strengthen population increase measures based on the high school.”

By the way, Otoineppu Village is also working hard to foster an image as an “art village,” such as by establishing the Eco Museum Osashima Center, a memorial museum that introduces the works of sculptor Bikki Sunazawa.

Currently, as part of the population increase measures, the “1000 People Project” is being conceived. It is a project to literally increase the village’s population by 1000 people in total.
“The village population is decreasing at a rate of 28 people per year. If we do nothing, it will just decrease. I think the situation will change considerably if we focus on population growth, set specific numerical targets, and take some kind of action. I want everyone, including not only the town hall but also the villagers, to protect Otoineppu,” says Mayor Endo.

They are also focusing on digital transformation, and are trying to chart a unique course that only a small municipality can follow.
Specifically, they are promoting the “100% Village Resident Smartphone Project,” which aims to realize a “no-visit counter” where administrative procedures can be completed on smartphones.
In December last year, they signed a “Partnership Agreement on Sustainable Town Development Using Digital Technology” with NTT docomo. NTT docomo is supporting the 100% smartphone project by providing smartphone purchase support and smartphone classes.
Mayor Endo says, “We are promoting a digital transformation strategy that utilizes smartphones. Many villagers already own smartphones, and in 10 years’ time, 100% of the villagers will probably have smartphones. If that is the case, it would be better to get ahead of the curve and promote digital transformation using smartphones.”
Currently, some villagers do not have smartphones, so the village plans to enter into a corporate contract with Docomo to distribute them to the villagers. There may be opposition from villagers who already have smartphones, but the village will position smartphones as a communication tool that will allow all villagers (over 18 years old) to receive information services.
The village will require all villagers to have their own smartphones in the future. This is because corporate contracts have their disadvantages. Since the contract is made at the town hall, the town hall can keep track of all the villagers’ calls and browsing destinations. Of course, this point will be explained to the villagers before distributing smartphones to them.
Mayor Endo says, “DX using computers and other devices has huge running costs and is not suitable for small municipalities. The running costs alone can run into the hundreds of millions of yen, and in the end it becomes a negative legacy. With a corporate contract for smartphones, there are no running costs, and we can improve administrative services while keeping the cost burden down. I think our work is the way municipalities will be in the future.”

村立おといねっぷ美術工芸高等学校（Otoineppu Village Arts and Crafts High School）

Mayor Endo, a former firefighter, also has his eye on disaster prevention. In fact, Otoineppu village does not have a disaster prevention radio system. Regarding this point, Mayor Endo said, “Even if we set up a disaster prevention radio system, the information will not reach all villagers in the event of an emergency, so is it really reasonable to spend hundreds of millions of yen to set one up? Wouldn’t it be more effective to send notifications to smartphones? With this in mind, we have set up a system that allows push notifications to be sent for not only administrative counter services, but also disaster prevention and safety confirmation. If the smartphones that are used in peacetime can be used in emergencies, it will improve disaster prevention capabilities.”

Medical digital transformation is also in the cards. Specifically, remote medical care. For example, it is envisioned that villagers will come to the village hospital, where a doctor located far away will examine them.

Mayor Endo said, “Medical care in depopulated areas cannot be solved unless the system is fundamentally changed. Medical institutions in depopulated areas are not capable of fundamental treatments such as surgery. If that is the case, what is needed for medical care in depopulated areas is the judgment of doctors, and a system that will not close even if there are no doctors. With that, medical care in depopulated areas can continue.”
Mayor Endo says, “Small local governments need a venture spirit, and if they don’t run their local government with that spirit, they will perish. What’s important is a new administrative mind. Simply put, the public sector moves closer to the private sector. In other words, think of the local government as a business. The key is to think of it as a business, not as a management”.

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