IMPROVED DIGITAL JAPAN FRAMEWORK GOOGLE INDEPENDENT GOVERNMENTAL WEB MAP INFORMATION SYSTEM
H. Ohno, K. Kawase, H. Fujimura, Y. Yamamoto
Geographical Survay Institute, Geographical Information Department, Tsukuba city, Japan
Digital Japan was previously only accessed by personal computers with free plug-in system for Internet Explorer and Netscape/Mozilla distributed from GSI. This plug-in system can display cartographic symbol equivalent of printed Japanese governmental topographical map, especially it can display highly-detailed contour line at outer city and mountain area. Digital Japan users can overlap their own geographical information on the map of Digital Japan as background. For example, it can overlap to display dangerous area for landslide disaster as surface data and evacuation area as symbol on the Digital Japan map. All of cartographic data are designed as “attribute included” vector information that is written in XML conforming to the ISO19100 series of International Standards or Digital Japan’s format, so Digital Japan users can use the vector map data both purposes as cartographical use and analysis use with GIS.
We developed improved Digital Japan framework in 2006 and supported wider operating environment, for example, cellular phones and digital television. The improved system can also use raster style map data that are made cartographic drawing by server side. This development allowed extraordinary extending scope of application of Digital Japan to mobile and real time activity, such as governmental response to natural disaster. Especially, the cellular phone that is used over 94 million terminals has become major device to access to the web in Japan. They can access free map service by this improvement of Digital Japan framework. This huge operating environment would surely bring new application model of map use. In our paper, new point of view brought by improved Digital Japan framework in governmental activities is discussed.