Digital Agency offers AI app to help draft parliamentary answers

The Digital Agency has started offering, on a trial basis, an app that helps draft answers to lawmakers’ questions in parliament, using its Gennai generative artificial intelligence platform, which is available to about 180,000 government workers.

The app also helps government officials better understand the intent behind lawmakers’ questions in advance.

The agency plans to evaluate the app’s effectiveness during the current session of the Diet, or Japan’s parliament, with the aim to put it into full-scale operation from next year’s ordinary Diet session.

When a lawmaker’s question is entered into the app, AI organizes and analyzes its key points and generates multiple draft answers within minutes based on past government answers and minutes of Diet deliberations.

The app includes a function that adjusts writing styles for different purposes, such as a “policy explanation” mode to clarify policy direction and a “political judgment” mode to reflect political considerations.

Government officials can edit the draft answers directly. The app can also predict follow-up questions from lawmakers. The agency emphasized that officials will remain responsible for clarifying policy decisions, organizing the government’s views and finalizing answers, stressing that decision-making will not be left to AI.

“It’s very good that we can improve our work efficiency and create answers that contribute to deeper Diet deliberations,” digital transformation minister Toshiharu Furukawa told a news conference Friday. “I’d also like to hear feedback from other ministers.”