Semkan Listed in MIC's 'Local Government DX Case Studies' as a Digitalization Example for Assemblies

Able Computer Inc. (Headquarters: Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture; Representative Director: Kazuya Nitta) announced that its political activity expense management SaaS for local assemblies, "Semkan," has been featured on the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) Local Government DX Case Studies website. It is introduced under the "Digitalization of Assemblies" category as an initiative that "digitalizes the management and settlement of political activity expenses, reducing the burden on both assembly members and the assembly secretariat."

To further accelerate assembly DX—enabling assembly members to focus more on policy activities and secretariat staff on essential duties—the company is launching a "Unified Local Election Campaign." Anticipating the new term following the unified local elections in 2027 (Reiwa 9), they will widely appeal to assembly members and secretariat staff nationwide.

## The "Hidden Workload" Lurking in Local Assemblies Nationwide

Printing, copying, scanning, transporting paper documents, handwritten notes, checking with calculators, and redaction work. The management and settlement of political activity expenses still largely rely on paper and Excel, placing a heavy burden on both assembly members and the secretariat.

According to estimates by the company based on interviews with assembly officials, the burden related to administrative work across the 946 local assemblies nationwide that issue political activity expenses amounts to a total of 1.36 million hours annually, equivalent to 3.8 billion yen. Time that should originally be dedicated to members' political activities or the secretariat's essential tasks is currently spent on exchanging documents, checking, revising, returning, and handling information disclosure. Particularly around April to June, the creation of income and expenditure reports, confirmation of attached documents, and information disclosure responses are concentrated, becoming a major cause of busyness for the secretariat.

There is a pressing need in the assembly field today to leverage digital power to review this accumulation of "hidden workload," which is hard to see from budgets and financial statements.

## Featured as an Assembly DX Initiative in the MIC's Case Studies

Semkan was introduced in the "Digitalization of Assemblies" category of the MIC's Local Government DX Case Studies site as an example of "digitalizing the management and settlement of political activity expenses, reducing the burden on both assembly members and the assembly secretariat."

The MIC's Local Government DX Case Studies consolidates reference examples for municipalities nationwide advancing DX. Being featured in this collection is a proud achievement, indicating that the digitalization of political activity expense management has been recognized by the national government as an "effective solution" for operational efficiency in assembly management.

This publication is expected not only to increase the recognition of Semkan but also to serve as an opportunity for assembly members and secretariat staff who are thinking, "It's about time we start preparing in our own assembly," ahead of the new term after the unified local elections, to heighten their interest in assembly DX and consider taking the first step.

Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Regional DX Portal Site "Local Government DX Promotion Reference Case Studies"
- Category: Digitalization of Assemblies
- Content: "Digitalizing the management and settlement of political activity expenses to reduce the burden on both members and the secretariat"
- URL: https://www.soumu.go.jp/denshijiti/digital_transformation_portal/case/r07_dx3_47.html

## Full-scale Implementation in 21 Assemblies Nationwide: Quantifiable Results

As of May 2026 (Reiwa 8), full-scale implementation of Semkan has been decided and executed in 21 assemblies nationwide. Adoption is spreading from large-scale prefectural assemblies to city assemblies, from Tohoku to Kyushu and Okinawa, being utilized regardless of the scale or region of the assembly.

Furthermore, in surveys conducted among assembly officials currently implementing or testing the system, the following results were obtained:
- Secretariat confirmation time was reduced by 80%.
- Over 96% responded that they "wish to continue using it."

These results demonstrate that Semkan does not merely replace a system but reduces the operational burden on both assembly members and the secretariat at a tangible level.

Major Changes Realized by Semkan:
- Centralized web-based management from photographing receipts to expenditure registration and application for secretariat confirmation.
- Automatic generation of income and expenditure reports and itemized summary tables, streamlining the concentrated closing process after the start of the new fiscal year.
- Support for redaction of personal information and output of data for information disclosure.
- Linkage with the tablet/smartphone app "Semkan Camera" to streamline receipt reading.
- As a cloud-based system, tasks can be performed anywhere and operated within a high-level security environment.

## "Unified Local Election Campaign" to Start Preparing Now

To smoothly advance political activity expense DX, it is important to prepare beforehand rather than trying to set things up after the new term has begun.

The period after unified local elections is an opportune time to review rules and practical flows for political activity expenses to align with the new assembly composition and operational structure. Conversely, attempting to develop systems and operations after the term begins places a significant burden on both assembly members and the secretariat.