Sharing Japan's Implementation Insights on the Global Movement of 'Making Rules Usable': Ascoe Partners Speaks at OpenFisca Conference 2026
Naho Kitano from Ascoe Partners spoke at the OpenFisca Conference 2026 in Australia, presenting Japan's expertise in 'Rules as Code'—structuring administrative rules so that AI and systems can easily process them, a trend also backed by Japan's Digital Agency.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 23, 2026 at 16:10
- 🔍 Collected: April 23, 2026 at 07:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 24, 2026 at 05:11 (21h 40m after Collected)
Against the backdrop of the trend toward "Laws/Rules and Digital Implementation" progressing within the Digital Agency and IPA (Information-technology Promotion Agency), Ascoe Partners presented at an international conference on the importance of organizing information as a prerequisite for AI utilization. This involves coding the eligibility criteria for administrative services rather than relying on manuals.
Ascoe Partners Co., Ltd. (Location: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Hideyuki Yasui; hereinafter Ascoe Partners) announced that its Director, Naho Kitano, took the stage at the international conference "OpenFisca Conference 2026" held in Canberra, Australia, from March 30 to 31, 2026. She presented on the structuring of administrative service information and implementation insights in Japan.
OpenFisca Conference 2026 is an international conference where policymakers and technical experts discuss how to handle institutions and rules in the digital age under the theme "Policy Innovation & Rules as Code."
Worldwide, there is a growing movement to treat institutions and rules not merely as "texts to be read," but in forms that are easy to reuse, implement, and verify. The Digital Agency of Japan has summarized overseas case studies, including OpenFisca, Better Rules, and Blawx, indicating the potential for phased development of legal affairs support and the structuring of digitized legal information.
Furthermore, in March 2026, the IPA announced the "Promotion of LegalTech" and presented "LE4SDS (Legal Engineering for Software-Defined Society)," a methodology integrating rules in the AI era (laws/standards) and software engineering, as joint research with the Kyoto University Law and Policy Center (KILAP).
The Global Movement to "Make Institutions Usable"
The focal point of administrative DX is not simply moving procedures online or introducing AI. Every time a system changes, multiple pages of requirements and manuals in administrative work must be revised, business system modifications occur across all municipalities, and while there is a desire to advance the digitization of consultation desks and AI utilization for resident services, the original information is scattered, making information organization complicated and stalling progress each time. In response to these challenges, the concept of organizing institutions and administrative service information itself into a format that is easy to update, easy to reuse, and easy to connect to various services is spreading internationally.
At the OpenFisca Conference 2026, Day 2 focused on "Rules as Code around the world with OpenFisca," tackling major issues such as the openness and transparency of service eligibility criteria, innovation, international collaboration, adoption strategies of various countries, and connectivity with AI.
Presentation Content
To deliver administrative service information to residents in an easy-to-understand manner, Ascoe Partners has spent many years engaging in the practical work of organizing target demographics, requirements, necessary procedures, and application conditions, handling them in a reusable format. In this presentation, based on the theme of why Japan is currently in the phase of tackling Rules as Code, the company introduced its past efforts toward digital government and the future of Rules as Code in Japan's administrative DX.
Moreover, throughout the two-day conference, Ascoe Partners actively participated in open discussion sessions. Based on practical knowledge gained in Japan to date, they introduced the significance of structuring administrative service information, the mindset required to link institutional information to implementation, and the potential for deployment in resident guides, navigation, and application support from the user's perspective.
Significance for Japan's Municipalities and Public Sector
In Japan's municipalities and public sectors, issues such as the burden of responding to institutional changes, expression discrepancies between websites, counter guides, and FAQs, and data preparation for AI and advanced search are already manifesting. The Digital Agency's documents related to the digitization of laws highlight the need for a foundation supporting the preparation of highly reliable legal data, and the interrelationships, semantic structures, and machine parsing of legal documents. In addition, stating that in a society where AI and software are continuously updated, institutions and rules are not fixed or static but must be designed and updated in connection with technology and operations, the IPA published a series of joint research reports on the promotion of LegalTech. These efforts indicate the importance of preparing institutions and administrative information not just as "texts to be posted," but in a new data format (Rules as Code) that is "easy to update, easy to reuse, and easy to connect to implementation."
Through this presentation, Ascoe Partners will continue bridging the gap between the global discussions on Policy Innovation / Rules as Code and Japan's administrative services.
Ascoe Partners Co., Ltd. (Location: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Hideyuki Yasui; hereinafter Ascoe Partners) announced that its Director, Naho Kitano, took the stage at the international conference "OpenFisca Conference 2026" held in Canberra, Australia, from March 30 to 31, 2026. She presented on the structuring of administrative service information and implementation insights in Japan.
OpenFisca Conference 2026 is an international conference where policymakers and technical experts discuss how to handle institutions and rules in the digital age under the theme "Policy Innovation & Rules as Code."
Worldwide, there is a growing movement to treat institutions and rules not merely as "texts to be read," but in forms that are easy to reuse, implement, and verify. The Digital Agency of Japan has summarized overseas case studies, including OpenFisca, Better Rules, and Blawx, indicating the potential for phased development of legal affairs support and the structuring of digitized legal information.
Furthermore, in March 2026, the IPA announced the "Promotion of LegalTech" and presented "LE4SDS (Legal Engineering for Software-Defined Society)," a methodology integrating rules in the AI era (laws/standards) and software engineering, as joint research with the Kyoto University Law and Policy Center (KILAP).
The Global Movement to "Make Institutions Usable"
The focal point of administrative DX is not simply moving procedures online or introducing AI. Every time a system changes, multiple pages of requirements and manuals in administrative work must be revised, business system modifications occur across all municipalities, and while there is a desire to advance the digitization of consultation desks and AI utilization for resident services, the original information is scattered, making information organization complicated and stalling progress each time. In response to these challenges, the concept of organizing institutions and administrative service information itself into a format that is easy to update, easy to reuse, and easy to connect to various services is spreading internationally.
At the OpenFisca Conference 2026, Day 2 focused on "Rules as Code around the world with OpenFisca," tackling major issues such as the openness and transparency of service eligibility criteria, innovation, international collaboration, adoption strategies of various countries, and connectivity with AI.
Presentation Content
To deliver administrative service information to residents in an easy-to-understand manner, Ascoe Partners has spent many years engaging in the practical work of organizing target demographics, requirements, necessary procedures, and application conditions, handling them in a reusable format. In this presentation, based on the theme of why Japan is currently in the phase of tackling Rules as Code, the company introduced its past efforts toward digital government and the future of Rules as Code in Japan's administrative DX.
Moreover, throughout the two-day conference, Ascoe Partners actively participated in open discussion sessions. Based on practical knowledge gained in Japan to date, they introduced the significance of structuring administrative service information, the mindset required to link institutional information to implementation, and the potential for deployment in resident guides, navigation, and application support from the user's perspective.
Significance for Japan's Municipalities and Public Sector
In Japan's municipalities and public sectors, issues such as the burden of responding to institutional changes, expression discrepancies between websites, counter guides, and FAQs, and data preparation for AI and advanced search are already manifesting. The Digital Agency's documents related to the digitization of laws highlight the need for a foundation supporting the preparation of highly reliable legal data, and the interrelationships, semantic structures, and machine parsing of legal documents. In addition, stating that in a society where AI and software are continuously updated, institutions and rules are not fixed or static but must be designed and updated in connection with technology and operations, the IPA published a series of joint research reports on the promotion of LegalTech. These efforts indicate the importance of preparing institutions and administrative information not just as "texts to be posted," but in a new data format (Rules as Code) that is "easy to update, easy to reuse, and easy to connect to implementation."
Through this presentation, Ascoe Partners will continue bridging the gap between the global discussions on Policy Innovation / Rules as Code and Japan's administrative services.