March 2, 2021 Announcement of International IoT Competitiveness Index 2019

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) has compiled the latest international IoT competitiveness index (based on track records of 2019) as a reference for the reinforcement of the international competitiveness of Japan’s ICT industry. Accordingly, MIC has decided to open the same to the public.

1. Overview

In 2008, MIC started announcing the international IoT competitiveness index annually as a measurement index for strengthening the international competitiveness of Japan’s ICT industry. Since the 2015 results, MIC has reviewed Japan’s international competitiveness in light of the arrival of the IoT era and reflected the review on the international IoT competitiveness index.

Outline of the IoT international competitiveness index

  • 1.
    The ICT industry is divided into the growth market resulting from the progress of IoT (IoT market), consisting of components and equipment related to smart cities and those related to connected cars, and the conventional ICT market (ICT market) and analyzed.
  • 2.
    The sales, growth rate, share, and increase or decrease of products and services (48 kinds of items in five fields) in the global market are used as indicators. These products and services are provided in 10 major countries and regions*1 by approximately 1,500 leading enterprises*2. From these indicators, the competitiveness of products and services is grasped.
  • 3.
    The potential competitiveness is grasped from indicators, including indicators related to research and development (R & D) and finance.
  • *1
    Ten countries and regions, i.e., Japan, the United States, China, South Korea, Germany, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, and Taiwan. These countries and regions were selected because they are where companies focusing on the IoT field exist.
  • *2
    Based on Omdia data.

2 Summary of results

1. Competitiveness of products and services

1. Global market trends

In the IoT product market, several small products showed high growth rates. In the ICT market, the growth rate of many products was low or negative, while the growth rate of smartphones, which have a large market size, was high.
China continued to have the highest share of the world’s IoT products by country and region (23.3%). The United States and Japan were 21.2% and 18.5%, respectively, and Japan’s share fell further.

2. Status of Japanese companies

In the smart factory field, including industrial robots, Japanese companies continue to secure a high market share in the IoT market. On the other hand, the sizes of product markets where Japanese companies occupy high market shares are relatively small.

2. Potential competitiveness

Japan is next to the United States in terms of the number of R & D bases and expenses, and Japan follows the United States and China regarding the number of M & As.

Contact

For further information about this press release, please fill in the inquiry form and submit it to MIC on the website
https://www.soumu.go.jp/common/english_opinions.html

International Policy Division, Global Strategy Bureau, MIC

TEL: +81 3 5253 5920

FAX: +81 3 5253 5924