January 21, 2019 Results of the Visit of Toru Kunishige, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications, to Chile and Colombia

Toru Kunishige, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications, visited Chile from January 16 through 17th and Colombia from January 17 through 18, 2019.
In Chile, he held talks with Undersecretary of Telecommunications Pamela Gidi, Minister of Health Emilio Santelices Cuevas, and other government officials, and held a digital terrestrial seminar (co-sponsored by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan, the National Television Committee of Chile, and the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Chile). In Colombia, he met High Commissioner Muñoz (in charge of digital transformation) of the Executive Office of the President, General Vice-minister Castro of the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies, and other government officials.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications agreed with its Chilean and Colombian counterparts to their comprehensive collaboration and cooperation in the ICT field in order to contribute to the resolution of social issues in both countries by utilizing information and communication technology (ICT).

The main contents of the results of his visit are described below.

1. Outline of Parliamentary Vice-Minister’s Visit to Chile

1. Talks with Undersecretary of Telecommunications Gidi

In order to promote Japan’s broad cooperation in the ICT field, including digital terrestrial broadcasting, Parliamentary Vice-Minister Kunishige and Undersecretary of Telecommunications Gidi agreed to develop various cooperation utilizing Japan’s ICT in the resolution of Chili’s social problems. Currently, various cooperation projects have been underway in Chile, and they agreed to advance negotiations at the administrative level in order to further develop a good cooperative relationship between the two countries and to conclude a new memorandum of cooperation in ICT. They also exchanged views on the situation of the next-generation mobile communications (5G), which is of high interest to the Chilean side, and agreed to continue exchanging information in the future.

2. Talks with Deputy National Director Cristóbal Mena of the Chilean National Emergency Office

Like Japan, Chile has a problem of responding to large-scale natural disasters. Parliamentary Vice-Minister Kunishige and Deputy National Director Cristóbal Mena exchanged views on cooperation in improving Chie’s disaster-prevention capabilities utilizing Japan’s ICT, while Parliamentary Vice-Minister Kunishige conducted top sales promotion for introducing Japan’s earthquake-tsunami observation system and emergency warning broadcasting system (EWBS) utilizing digital terrestrial broadcasting.

3. Talks with Minister of Health Emilio Santelices Cuevas

Parliamentary Vice-Minister Kunishige and Minister of Health Emilio Santelices Cuevas confirmed the status of Chile’s efforts towards a medical ICT project utilizing Japan’s ICT the effect of the introduction of the same and agreed to continue cooperating with each other on furthering the cooperation of the two countries in efforts in the medical field using ICT.

4. Digital Terrestrial Seminar

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan, the National Television Committee of Chile, and the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Chile jointly held a digital terrestrial seminar with the participation of government stakeholders, broadcasting companies, experts, etc. from both countries in order to share information for the smooth transition of Chile’s conventional broadcasting to digital terrestrial broadcasting. The Chilean side shared the experiences of the transition of the conventional broadcasting to digital terrestrial broadcasting in Japan, and the Japanese side emphasized the importance of utilizing the findings of Japan and further promoting Chile’s digital terrestrial broadcasting.

2. Outline of Parliamentary Vice-Minister’s Visit to Colombia

1. Talks with High Commissioner Muñoz (in charge of digital transformation) of the Executive Office of the President

Parliamentary Vice-Minister Kunishige and High Commissioner Muñoz agreed on cooperation towards the practical application of medical and agricultural systems utilizing Japan’s ICT. After the talks, I signed a joint statement on cooperation with the Castro Information Technology and Communications Deputy Minister, who was present at the meeting, to solve social issues using ICT. After the talks, Parliamentary Vice-Minister Kunishige signed a joint statement on cooperation with General Vice-minister Castro of the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies, who was present at the meeting, to solve social issues utilizing ICT.

2. Talks with Vice Minister for Agriculture Marcella Urena

Parliamentary Vice-Minister Kunishige and Vice Minister for Agriculture Marcella Urena agreed to promote the cooperation between the two countries in efforts towards agricultural IoT projects and initiatives in the field of agriculture utilizing Japan’s ICT.

3. Others

Parliamentary Vice-Minister Kunishige visited the Japanese Center for Culture, Economy, and Academia (Japan Center), which was completed in December last year on the campus of the University of Los Andes. Furthermore, he talked with a group of students studying Japanese and Japanese students studying there.