ICT Government Initiatives

From 2019 to 2020, 5G commercial services were launched one after another in various countries worldwide, including Japan. In order to create new markets, Japan has been conducting 5G Comprehensive Demonstration Tests since FY 2017-18 with the cooperation of stakeholders in various related fields (See Figure 4). Since 2018, there has been lively academic debate on communications technologies that are considered promising for realizing Beyond 5G, and discussions on use cases and requirements have begun (See Figure 5).

At the same time, Japan is looking towards the next 5G standards for the 2030s. In January 2020, the Government of Japan held the Roundtable Meeting on Beyond 5G Promotion Strategy to formulate a comprehensive strategy for Beyond 5G. Japanese corporations and their partners aim to acquire about 30% of the Beyond 5G infrastructure (hardware and software) market by the 2030s and ensure a consistent presence in the device and application fields.

To this end, the government is planning to create a Beyond 5G R&D Platform (tentative name) where various domestic and international players can collaborate on R&D. It will also support private sector investment in R&D, such as by easing regulations on the use of radio waves for R&D purposes, and will also discover and nurture ideas and human resources that can bring about innovation.

In order to achieve a "Beyond 5G ready" climate by 2030, the government is expanding its 5G network through a tax system that promotes 5G investment and the development of 5G areas, systems such as spectrum security, and the promotion of infrastructure sharing. At the same time, the Beyond 5G Promotion Consortium will be established to aggressively develop the Beyond 5G Promotion Strategy through industry-academia-government collaboration. In addition to sharing specific initiatives based on each strategy amongst industries, academia, and the government, the Consortium will also support the launch of new demonstration projects by companies and universities in Japan and overseas.

On July 17, 2020, the Japanese government approved the "Declaration to be the World's Most Advanced IT Nation: Basic Plan for the Advancement of Public and Private Sector Data Utilization (New IT Strategy)". With the coronavirus pandemic radically transforming Japanese society and values in many areas such as the economy, lifestyle, work style, education, administration, healthcare, and disaster prevention, the New IT Strategy calls for a “new normal” perspective. In addition to focusing on the transformation of both the social structures and people’s behaviors with the use of IT and strengthening digital resilience, the strategy also states that the construction of ICT infrastructure by national and local governments is a matter requiring urgent attention.

Of particular interest in the New IT Strategy is the Digital Agency, which the government aims to establish in September 2021. This agency is intended to be the command center for the creation of a digital society, with strong coordination capabilities to promote digital transformation of the government. Currently, ministries and agencies separately procure and manage their respective IT system, resulting in inefficiencies such as duplication of work and wasteful expense. In response to this, the government is setting up the Digital Agency to centralize IT operations and improve the efficiency and speed of administrative processes.

The Digital Agency is expected to unify the IT systems of the national and local governments, promote the use of My Number cards, and bring administrative procedures online. Apart from this, its projects will also affect industries. In order to avoid the “three Cs” (Closed spaces, Crowded places, Close-contact settings) as recommended by the government during the pandemic, the demand for online healthcare and online education is growing. The digital agency will oversee the relaxation of restrictions in these fields and ensure smooth access to online healthcare and education. In addition to the “IT Introduction Subsidy” (project to support the introduction of IT to improve productivity in services and other areas) developed by METI (See Figure 6), the Digital Agency will take the initiative in promoting digitalization, which will lead to IT adoption among small- and medium-sized businesses. This will help increase their productivity and improve profitability through the creation of new IT-based products and services.