Gov't IT panel calls for 3 tril. yen investment to create 500,000 jobs+

TOKYO, March 2 Kyodo - A government panel has drafted a three-year ''emergency plan'' calling for the creation of 400,000 to 500,000 new jobs through combined public and private investments of 3 trillion yen to promote the use of information technology, especially in the fields of public administration and medical treatment, panel
members said Monday.

The report, crafted by a research panel in the IT Strategy Headquarters,
stresses the need for completing necessary preparations within three years to
create a society that enables everyone to utilize digital information by 2015,
they said.
In the field of public administration, the report envisages digitizing
documents used by government offices and creating special zones where the use
of information technology is deregulated.
The report also calls for establishing a high-speed information network among
medical institutions to enable them to promptly send diagnostic imaging data to
each other.
Other measures in the report to promote the use of information technology in
the medical field include establishing core hospitals in regional areas
equipped with cutting-edge technology and connected to neighboring medical
institutions.
The government is expected to formally adopt the plan in late March after
adding necessary amendments.