[Achieving 662 Hours Monthly Reduction & Over 80% Satisfaction] Releasing DX Know-How of 'Gero City', the First Basic Municipality to Win Digital Award
EDL Inc. will host an online seminar on May 27, 2026, revealing the successful DX strategies of Gero City, which achieved a 662-hour monthly operation reduction via generative AI and psychological approaches to organizational reform.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 14, 2026 at 17:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 14, 2026 at 08:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 19, 2026 at 19:26 (130h 54m after Collected)
'We implemented the system, but it's not being used.' 'The mindset of the staff doesn't change.' How did Gero City, Gifu Prefecture, break through such 'dead ends' of local government DX?
EDL Inc. (Headquarters: Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture; CEO: Chimako Hiratsuka, hereinafter EDL), a Google for Education Certified Professional Development Partner supporting educational DX nationwide, based on the 'Partnership Agreement on Digital Talent Development and Business Reform' concluded with Gero City, Gifu Prefecture in January 2026, will hold an online seminar on Wednesday, May 27, 2026. The seminar will invite Mr. Asuka Nagao, the Assistant CDO of Gero City, which became the first basic municipality in Japan to win the 'Digital Talent Development Award' (organized by the Digital Talent Development Association).
In this seminar, we will delve deeper into the trajectory of success that Mr. Nagao has been talking about nationwide, and thoroughly dissect the 'behind-the-scenes of the Gero City Model' in a dialogue format with our representative Hiratsuka, an expert in Google-style 10X (ten times the results). Rather than leaving it as an individual success story, we will systematize and publish it as a practical framework that can be applied from tomorrow in other local governments.
■ Background of the Event: The Wall of 'Superficial DX' Faced by Local Governments Nationwide
According to a survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (2023), about 50% of local governments cite 'shortage of human resources' as a barrier to promoting DX. While system implementation is progressing, psychological hurdles on the front lines and a culture of following precedents act as walls, resulting in a lack of effectiveness, which is a nationwide issue.
Gero City has achieved major results so far, such as reducing monthly operations by 662 hours through the use of generative AI. On the other hand, there are still remaining challenges in 'organization-wide collaboration (10X)' maximizing the use of already implemented groupware (such as Google Workspace). To break through this wall, they concluded a 'Partnership Agreement on Digital Talent Development and Business Reform' with EDL in January 2026.
In this seminar, we will explore both Mr. Nagao's method of awakening the organization's intrinsic motivation (making it a personal matter) and EDL's advanced tool utilization know-how.
■ The 3 Cores of the Gero City Model to Break Through the 'DX Wall' Faced by Local Governments Nationwide
1. A Psychological Approach Model to Turn Frontline 'Resistance' into 'Empathy'
An approach that only Mr. Nagao, who has experience in counter operations, can talk about—staying close to the psychology of the front lines and encouraging voluntary reform without creating an adversarial structure. We will unravel the specific steps to change the staff's mindset from 'somebody else's problem' to 'a personal matter.'
2. A Mechanism to Create '10x Margin' with Generative AI × Google Workspace
Based on the 'involvement power of the front lines' by which Gero City achieved a monthly reduction of 662 hours and an over 80% staff satisfaction rate through generative AI utilization, this is a method to realize 'cross-organizational collaboration' by further combining the cloud integration of Google Workspace. We will explain concrete measures to dramatically streamline existing operations and create time to focus on resident services, incorporating EDL's knowledge.
3. A 'Sustainable Talent Development Scheme' that Does Not Rely on Budget or Authority
How did they become the top local government in Japan for digital talent development despite constraints such as 'no budget' and 'no specialized personnel'? We will reveal a sustainable human resource development system that other local governments can immediately imitate.
■ Speaker Profiles
◉ Mr. Asuka Nagao (Assistant Chief Digital Officer (CDO), Gero City)
'The Top Runner of Local Government DX Who Broke Through Frontline Resistance'
After joining the Gero City Hall, he experienced front-line counter operations. He led DX promotion closely aligned with the psychology of the front lines, and in FY2025, won the 'Digital Talent Development Award,' becoming the first basic municipality to do so. He concurrently serves as a Regional Informatization Advisor for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and a Co-Creation PF Ambassador for the Digital Agency. He has built the 'Gero City Model,' which goes beyond mere tool introduction to transform the organizational culture itself, attracting attention from local governments nationwide.
◉ Chimako Hiratsuka (CEO, EDL Inc.)
'A DX Expert Who Brings 10x Results to Organizations through the Democratization of IT'
Google Certified Trainer. As Japan's first Google Cloud Certified Professional Development Partner, she supports productivity improvements for local governments and companies. Advocating '10X through Small DX,' she has an established reputation for organizational reform that produces dramatic actual numerical values, such as a 30% reduction in overtime and a 50% reduction in paper usage in one year. Her book 'Google-Style 10X Remote Work Techniques' (Diamond Inc.) is widely read as a bible for those in charge of DX.
■ Event Overview
Event Name: [New Chapter of Local Government DX] Organizations Dramatically Change by Making it a Personal Matter
EDL Inc. (Headquarters: Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture; CEO: Chimako Hiratsuka, hereinafter EDL), a Google for Education Certified Professional Development Partner supporting educational DX nationwide, based on the 'Partnership Agreement on Digital Talent Development and Business Reform' concluded with Gero City, Gifu Prefecture in January 2026, will hold an online seminar on Wednesday, May 27, 2026. The seminar will invite Mr. Asuka Nagao, the Assistant CDO of Gero City, which became the first basic municipality in Japan to win the 'Digital Talent Development Award' (organized by the Digital Talent Development Association).
In this seminar, we will delve deeper into the trajectory of success that Mr. Nagao has been talking about nationwide, and thoroughly dissect the 'behind-the-scenes of the Gero City Model' in a dialogue format with our representative Hiratsuka, an expert in Google-style 10X (ten times the results). Rather than leaving it as an individual success story, we will systematize and publish it as a practical framework that can be applied from tomorrow in other local governments.
■ Background of the Event: The Wall of 'Superficial DX' Faced by Local Governments Nationwide
According to a survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (2023), about 50% of local governments cite 'shortage of human resources' as a barrier to promoting DX. While system implementation is progressing, psychological hurdles on the front lines and a culture of following precedents act as walls, resulting in a lack of effectiveness, which is a nationwide issue.
Gero City has achieved major results so far, such as reducing monthly operations by 662 hours through the use of generative AI. On the other hand, there are still remaining challenges in 'organization-wide collaboration (10X)' maximizing the use of already implemented groupware (such as Google Workspace). To break through this wall, they concluded a 'Partnership Agreement on Digital Talent Development and Business Reform' with EDL in January 2026.
In this seminar, we will explore both Mr. Nagao's method of awakening the organization's intrinsic motivation (making it a personal matter) and EDL's advanced tool utilization know-how.
■ The 3 Cores of the Gero City Model to Break Through the 'DX Wall' Faced by Local Governments Nationwide
1. A Psychological Approach Model to Turn Frontline 'Resistance' into 'Empathy'
An approach that only Mr. Nagao, who has experience in counter operations, can talk about—staying close to the psychology of the front lines and encouraging voluntary reform without creating an adversarial structure. We will unravel the specific steps to change the staff's mindset from 'somebody else's problem' to 'a personal matter.'
2. A Mechanism to Create '10x Margin' with Generative AI × Google Workspace
Based on the 'involvement power of the front lines' by which Gero City achieved a monthly reduction of 662 hours and an over 80% staff satisfaction rate through generative AI utilization, this is a method to realize 'cross-organizational collaboration' by further combining the cloud integration of Google Workspace. We will explain concrete measures to dramatically streamline existing operations and create time to focus on resident services, incorporating EDL's knowledge.
3. A 'Sustainable Talent Development Scheme' that Does Not Rely on Budget or Authority
How did they become the top local government in Japan for digital talent development despite constraints such as 'no budget' and 'no specialized personnel'? We will reveal a sustainable human resource development system that other local governments can immediately imitate.
■ Speaker Profiles
◉ Mr. Asuka Nagao (Assistant Chief Digital Officer (CDO), Gero City)
'The Top Runner of Local Government DX Who Broke Through Frontline Resistance'
After joining the Gero City Hall, he experienced front-line counter operations. He led DX promotion closely aligned with the psychology of the front lines, and in FY2025, won the 'Digital Talent Development Award,' becoming the first basic municipality to do so. He concurrently serves as a Regional Informatization Advisor for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and a Co-Creation PF Ambassador for the Digital Agency. He has built the 'Gero City Model,' which goes beyond mere tool introduction to transform the organizational culture itself, attracting attention from local governments nationwide.
◉ Chimako Hiratsuka (CEO, EDL Inc.)
'A DX Expert Who Brings 10x Results to Organizations through the Democratization of IT'
Google Certified Trainer. As Japan's first Google Cloud Certified Professional Development Partner, she supports productivity improvements for local governments and companies. Advocating '10X through Small DX,' she has an established reputation for organizational reform that produces dramatic actual numerical values, such as a 30% reduction in overtime and a 50% reduction in paper usage in one year. Her book 'Google-Style 10X Remote Work Techniques' (Diamond Inc.) is widely read as a bible for those in charge of DX.
■ Event Overview
Event Name: [New Chapter of Local Government DX] Organizations Dramatically Change by Making it a Personal Matter