Sharing Japan's Implementation Insights Amidst the Global Movement to 'Make Rules Usable': Ascoe Partners Speaks at OpenFisca Conference 2026
Naho Kitano, Director of Ascoe Partners, spoke at the OpenFisca Conference 2026 in Australia, presenting Japan's expertise in structuring government service information and the 'Rules as Code' initiative for the AI era.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 23, 2026 at 16:10
- 🔍 Collected: April 23, 2026 at 07:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 24, 2026 at 05:26 (21h 54m after Collected)
Against the backdrop of the 'Laws, Rules, and Digital Implementation' trend advancing within the Digital Agency and IPA, we presented at an international conference on the importance of preparing information—a prerequisite for AI utilization—by codifying the determination of eligibility for government services rather than relying on manuals.
Ascoe Partners Co., Ltd. (Location: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President: Hideyuki Yasui, hereinafter Ascoe Partners) announces that our Director, Naho Kitano, took the stage at the international 'OpenFisca Conference 2026' held in Canberra, Australia, from March 30 to 31, 2026, to present on the structuring of government service information and implementation insights in Japan.
The OpenFisca Conference 2026 is an international conference themed 'Policy Innovation & Rules as Code,' where policymakers and technical experts discuss how to handle systems and rules in the digital age.
Globally, there is a growing movement to treat systems and rules not just as 'text to be read,' but in formats that are easy to reuse, implement, and verify. The Digital Agency has reviewed overseas examples, including OpenFisca, Better Rules, and Blawx, demonstrating the potential for phased development of legislative drafting support and the preparation of digitized legal information.
Furthermore, in March 2026, the Information-technology Promotion Agency (IPA) announced the 'Promotion of LegalTech' and, as a joint research project with the Kyoto University Law and Policy Center (KILAP), presented 'LE4SDS (Legal Engineering for Software-Defined Society),' a methodology integrating rules (laws and standards) with software engineering for the AI era.
The Global Movement to 'Make Rules Usable'
The focus of government DX is not merely putting procedures online or introducing AI. Addressing issues such as the need to revise multiple pages of guidelines and manuals for administrative tasks every time a rule changes, system modifications required across all municipalities, and the difficulty of advancing digital consultation desks and AI utilization due to scattered source information requires a new approach. There is an internationally spreading concept of organizing rules and government service information itself into formats that are easy to update, reuse, and connect to various services.
At the OpenFisca Conference 2026, Day 2 was dedicated to 'Rules as Code around the world with OpenFisca,' discussing key issues such as making eligibility criteria open and transparent, innovation, international collaboration, implementation strategies of various countries, and the potential for connection with AI.
Presentation Content
Ascoe Partners has long been engaged in the practical work of organizing target audiences, requirements, necessary procedures, and application conditions to deliver government service information to residents in an easy-to-understand manner, treating it in a reusable format. Based on the theme of why Japan is currently in the phase of addressing Rules as Code, this presentation introduced past initiatives toward digital government and the future of Rules as Code in Japan's government DX.
Furthermore, throughout the two-day conference, she actively participated in open discussion sessions, introducing the significance of structuring government service information based on practical knowledge in Japan, approaches to connecting institutional information to implementation, and the potential for expansion into resident-oriented guidance, navigation, and application support from the user's perspective.
Implications for Japan's Municipalities and Public Sector
In Japan's municipalities and public sector, challenges such as the burden of responding to institutional changes, expression discrepancies between websites, service counters, and FAQs, and data preparation for AI and advanced search are already apparent. Documents related to the digitalization of laws by the Digital Agency indicate the necessity for highly reliable legal data preparation and an infrastructure supporting the interrelationships, semantic structures, and machine analysis of legal documents. In addition, the IPA published a LegalTech promotion and joint research report series, stating that in a society where AI and software are continuously updated, systems and rules are not fixed or static but must be designed and updated in connection with technology and operations. This highlights the importance of organizing institutional and administrative information not just as 'text for publication,' but in a 'new data format (Rules as Code) that is easy to update, reuse, and connect to implementation.'
Through this presentation, we aim to connect the global discussions on policy formulation DX and Rules as Code with Japan's administrative services.
Ascoe Partners Co., Ltd. (Location: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President: Hideyuki Yasui, hereinafter Ascoe Partners) announces that our Director, Naho Kitano, took the stage at the international 'OpenFisca Conference 2026' held in Canberra, Australia, from March 30 to 31, 2026, to present on the structuring of government service information and implementation insights in Japan.
The OpenFisca Conference 2026 is an international conference themed 'Policy Innovation & Rules as Code,' where policymakers and technical experts discuss how to handle systems and rules in the digital age.
Globally, there is a growing movement to treat systems and rules not just as 'text to be read,' but in formats that are easy to reuse, implement, and verify. The Digital Agency has reviewed overseas examples, including OpenFisca, Better Rules, and Blawx, demonstrating the potential for phased development of legislative drafting support and the preparation of digitized legal information.
Furthermore, in March 2026, the Information-technology Promotion Agency (IPA) announced the 'Promotion of LegalTech' and, as a joint research project with the Kyoto University Law and Policy Center (KILAP), presented 'LE4SDS (Legal Engineering for Software-Defined Society),' a methodology integrating rules (laws and standards) with software engineering for the AI era.
The Global Movement to 'Make Rules Usable'
The focus of government DX is not merely putting procedures online or introducing AI. Addressing issues such as the need to revise multiple pages of guidelines and manuals for administrative tasks every time a rule changes, system modifications required across all municipalities, and the difficulty of advancing digital consultation desks and AI utilization due to scattered source information requires a new approach. There is an internationally spreading concept of organizing rules and government service information itself into formats that are easy to update, reuse, and connect to various services.
At the OpenFisca Conference 2026, Day 2 was dedicated to 'Rules as Code around the world with OpenFisca,' discussing key issues such as making eligibility criteria open and transparent, innovation, international collaboration, implementation strategies of various countries, and the potential for connection with AI.
Presentation Content
Ascoe Partners has long been engaged in the practical work of organizing target audiences, requirements, necessary procedures, and application conditions to deliver government service information to residents in an easy-to-understand manner, treating it in a reusable format. Based on the theme of why Japan is currently in the phase of addressing Rules as Code, this presentation introduced past initiatives toward digital government and the future of Rules as Code in Japan's government DX.
Furthermore, throughout the two-day conference, she actively participated in open discussion sessions, introducing the significance of structuring government service information based on practical knowledge in Japan, approaches to connecting institutional information to implementation, and the potential for expansion into resident-oriented guidance, navigation, and application support from the user's perspective.
Implications for Japan's Municipalities and Public Sector
In Japan's municipalities and public sector, challenges such as the burden of responding to institutional changes, expression discrepancies between websites, service counters, and FAQs, and data preparation for AI and advanced search are already apparent. Documents related to the digitalization of laws by the Digital Agency indicate the necessity for highly reliable legal data preparation and an infrastructure supporting the interrelationships, semantic structures, and machine analysis of legal documents. In addition, the IPA published a LegalTech promotion and joint research report series, stating that in a society where AI and software are continuously updated, systems and rules are not fixed or static but must be designed and updated in connection with technology and operations. This highlights the importance of organizing institutional and administrative information not just as 'text for publication,' but in a 'new data format (Rules as Code) that is easy to update, reuse, and connect to implementation.'
Through this presentation, we aim to connect the global discussions on policy formulation DX and Rules as Code with Japan's administrative services.