Hitachi is deploying a total solutions project for electronic administrations ranging from efficiency improvement of public services to the assessment of administrations, and has been so highly evaluated that over 5,000 people from the administrations sector have already visited its Electronic Administrations Showroom, the first of its kind in Japan. Vote.com is operating a new business focused on the realization of e-democracy through a website, which attracts citizens' opinions concerning contemporary news and has conveyed the voices of over 27 million people to “suitable” administrative decision makers. VOTE Japan will aim to become a new media focused on citizen participation. VOTE Japan will form a bridge between citizens who wish to communicate their opinions to the administrations and public organizations who want to hear them, joining together the technology and know-how of its parent companies.

VOTE Japan will provide the following services:

1. Media service focused on participation by citizens using the Internet
(1)	This will provide a forum on the VOTE Japan web site for citizens to vote their opinions with themes related to everyday topics.
(2)	The service will convey the results of voting together with the voters' e-mail addresses as the citizens' voice to the policy decision makers and relevant officials.

2. Awareness research solution service focused on a voting box system
(1)	evaluating administration services in the public organizations using its unique voting box system
(2)	a total service of system integration constructing the entire website.

3. Consultation service regarding e-democracy
(1)	consultation services including study and research of the society focused on participation by citizens and drafting of concepts

(1) Name
	In English: VOTE.co.jp Inc. (tentative)
(2) Location of headquarters	Minato-ku, Tokyo
(3) Content of business	Planning content which gathers opinions from Internet users, consultation, research, study, lectures, solution services including sales of licenses for systems, and advertisement
(4) Capital	250 million yen at the time of establishment
	Funded by: Hitachi, Ltd. 52%; Vote.com, Inc. 48%
(5) Sales plan	300 million yen for fiscal 2004
(6) Settlement term	March 31
(7) Planned date of establishment	May 10, 2001
(8) Representative Officers	Kanji Kato, CEO; Kumi Yokoe, President
(9) Number of staff members	10 persons (at the time of establishment)
(10) URL	http://www.vote.co.jp/

- For more information, for press only, contact:
Tahara (person in charge)
VOTE.co.jp Inc. (tentative)
P.O. Box No. 51 World Trade Center Building, 8F
4-1 Hamamatsucho 2-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-6131
Tel: (03)5733-4354 (dial-in)

Nohmi / Hirano (person in charge)
Business Planning and Administration
Management Strategy Planning Division
Information & Telecommunication Systems Group
Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi Omori 2nd Bldg.
27-18 Minami Oi 6-chome, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 140-8572
Tel: (03) 5471-8910 (dial-in)