February 7, 2022 Result of 27th Japan-EU ICT Policy Dialogue

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) and the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology of the European Commission held the 27th Japan-EU ICT Policy Dialogue in a web-conference style on Thursday, February 3, 2022.
This policy dialogue aims to deepen the mutual understanding of Japan and EU governments and promote their cooperation and collaboration on policies in ICT. A lively discussion was made on various current issues in ICT between Japan and the EU to contribute to the digitization of society as a whole.
Based on the results of this meeting, Japan and the EU will discuss how to further deepen and concretize their cooperation in the future.

Major achievements of the 26th Japan-EU ICT Policy Dialogue

In the 27th Policy Dialogue, the following issues were mainly discussed, considering the policy trends and issues related to ICT in Japan and the EU.

1. 5G/Beyond 5G (6G)

Japan explained its efforts for Beyond 5G (6G), the status of international joint research, and efforts for 5G/6G vendor diversification. The EU explained a Smart Networks and Services project on Horizon Europe, a European R&D program, for 6G. Considering the above, Japan and the EU also decided to promote cooperation in terms of information exchange and joint research, especially in promoting B5G/6G.

2. Regulatory reform

The EU presented the declaration of digital rights and principles, the Digital Services Bill, the Digital Marketing Bill, and the EU standardization strategy. Japan introduced the circumstances of studies on the proper handling of users’ information in the telecommunications business, measures against piracy on the Internet, and measures to deal with the problem of illegal and harmful information on platform services. Both sides showed a strong interest in strengthening future cooperation in these areas.
Furthermore, both sides exchanged opinions on international collaboration and other initiatives related to AI and the Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT) and similarities and differences in these areas.

3. Cybersecurity

Japan explained its response to the trend of international discussions on ICT architecture, basic policy on capacity-building support, and efforts for cooperation between Japan and Europe in cybersecurity through the international cooperation workshop of ISAC^*, etc. The EU showed a strong interest and introduced the European cybersecurity strategy and efforts for security certification.

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  ISAC: An abbreviation for the Information Sharing and Analysis Center. An organization established in each business field to collect and analyze information on cyberattack incidents in a specific industry and share