TOKYO >> Japan’s government has proposed assigning more than 20,000 volunteer advisers nationwide to teach older adults how to use digital devices.

The proposal was included in a draft of a policy aimed at revitalizing regional areas by utilizing digital technology. The government plans to formulate a comprehensive policy strategy by the end of this year.

The basic policy proposal is expected to be approved by the Cabinet in the near future. It calls for volunteers to teach seniors not accustomed to using smartphones and other digital devices how to operate them, through workshops and other means. Such classes would be part of efforts to create a digital society from which no one is left behind.

The Digital Agency began accepting applications for volunteers in May and will appoint volunteer advisers after candidates have completed training. The assignments are expected to last a year.

The government announced last year that it would aim to secure 10,000 advisers, but it has doubled the size of the team in the latest proposal because it expects to receive support from mobile phone operators, among others.

In the draft proposal, the government has revised upward its target for the high-speed, high-capacity 5G network — which currently reaches about 30% of the population — to 95% by April 2023.

The draft also states that the government aims by March 2025 to have 1,000 local governments using digital technology to solve local issues. It plans to train 2.3 million people to promote digitization in regional communities by March 2027.