June 25, 2021 Administrative Guidance to NICT

A report from the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) revealed that NICT failed to notify the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications of ten cases under the Act on General Rules for Incorporated Administrative Agencies. These cases were on NICT’s in-house affairs, including changes in accounting rules made from fiscal 2016 through fiscal 2019.
MIC has given written administrative guidance to NICT today to thoroughly implement measures to prevent the recurrence of this matter and optimize its corporate management.

NICT was found to have failed to notify the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications of ten cases under the Act on General Rules for Incorporated Administrative Agencies (Act No. 103 of 1999, hereafter referred to as the Act on General Rules) according to the report of May 12, 2021, from NICT to MIC. These cases were on NICT’s in-house affairs, including changes in accounting rules made from fiscal 2016 through fiscal 2019.
The ten pending cases were accomplished by May 20, 2021. However, governance problems are still recognized in NICT. Accordingly, MIC has provided written administrative guidance to NICT (headed by TOKUDA Hideyuki, President) today on the following points to optimize NICT’s corporate management and ensure its thorough compliance with laws and regulations.

• 1.
  Training NICT’s personnel in charge and increasing their knowledge about laws and regulations by implementing e-learning training on compliance, including content related to notifications based on laws and regulations and other means.
• 2.
  Establishing internal rules, including guidelines for prompt notification without omission, and thoroughly conducting cross-checks by multiple departments within NICT.
• 3.
  Strengthening NICT’s in-house governance at sectors like a risk management committee to oversee NICT’s crisis management.
• 4.
  Establishing an in-house system so that cases that violate or may violate legal compliance, if found, will be promptly reported to MIC.