Participation in CeBIT 2017 with largest pavilion ever

March 2017

CeBIT 2017, the world’s largest trade fair in the field of international telecommunication technology, was held in Hannover, Germany, from March 20 to 24. JETRO organized Japan Pavilion, which occupied a space of 7,200 square meters, the largest ever for a partner country at the event. Chancellor Merkel, Prime Minister Abe and cabinet members from both countries took part in the opening ceremony and toured the pavilion, creating an auspicious opportunity for participants. The day before the opening day, Germany and Japan confirmed progress made through a joint statement regarding cooperation between the countries in IoT and Industrie 4.0 signed last April as well as the newly signed “Hanover Declaration” meant to deepen future collaboration. Following a walk-about tour by the leaders of both countries, Japan Summit was held in order to share information on successful examples of actual business being conducted between companies from Germany and Japan, introduce measures for coping with technological and social challenges and discuss the promotion of information distribution beyond borders. It was joined by more than 720 people, mainly from European and Japanese companies, who listened earnestly to passionate speeches. The venue was filled with excitement.

Japan’s first-time participation in CeBIT as the official partner country was decided during a summit meeting between Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Abe in May 2016. CeBIT is joined by approximately 3,000 companies and organizations and visited by 200,000 people every year, and covers business-to-business solutions which utilize cutting-edge technologies such as in the Internet of Things, big data, artificial intelligence and robotics. Japan Pavilion was allocated two areas, within Hall 4 and 12, and joined by 118 Japanese companies and organizations—included 50 SMEs—a number far above the 11 companies of last year. Among them 90% were newcomers. The Pavilion was operated under the theme of “Create a New World with Japan - Society5.0, Another Perspective.” Society5.0 is a catchphrase created by the Japanese government to describe its Science and Technology Basic Plan. It refers to the new fifth stage of social evolution, the previous stages being hunter-gatherer, agrarian, industrial and information societies. The space was divided into three zones to showcase innovations possessed by Japanese companies: “Life/Office/Society,” in which potential systems and services to be used for social living were on display; “Infrastructure/Factory,” in which advanced solutions and services to be adopted mainly in smart factories were collected; and “Element,” in which devices and technologies to connect those of the other two zones were exhibited.

At the Welcome Night ceremony before the opening day, Prime Minister Abe stated “Germany and Japan, both countries which excel at manufacturing while dealing with limited land and resources, can create innovation through a fusion of our manufacturing technologies and by sharing the concept of 'Society5.0,' a model for solving social challenges and realizing a sustainable society.” Chancellor Merkel declared “Germany will focus our efforts on developing a digital society where a large number of companies, including SMEs and start-ups, are able to demonstrate their abilities and work with Japan in drawing up a world standard for new technologies.” On the first day, the two leaders were led by JETRO Chairman Hiroyuki Ishige on a visit to Japan Pavilion, where they met six Japanese companies. Their visit created a great sensation and was covered by numerous media outlets. During the five-day period of the event, more than 8,000 business talks took place, among which 650 cases are expected to see a deal concluded.