October 18, 2023 Results of the Internet Governance Forum Kyoto 2023

The Internet Governance Forum (IGF), organized by the United Nations (UN), was held at the Kyoto International Conference Center (Kyoto, Japan) from Sunday, October 8 through Thursday, October 12, 2023.
The IGF is one of the most important conferences in the field of Internet policy, where multi-stakeholder dialogue on Internet-related issues takes place on an equal footing among governments, the private sector, technical and academic communities, and civil society. Japan hosted the Internet Governance Forum Kyoto 2023. The main events included Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio’s opening remarks and keynote speech at the opening ceremony and AI special session. In the same session, Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications SUZUKI Junji appeared as a panelist and gave an opening presentation and closing remarks. In addition, State Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications WATANABE Koichi delivered closing remarks at the closing ceremony.

1. Results of this forum

1. Outline of the forum

Dates: Sunday, October 8 through Thursday, October 12, 2023 (5 days)
Venue: Kyoto International Conference Center (Kyoto, Japan)
Participants: 9,279 people or more (of which 6,279* participated on-site, and 3,000 or more people participated online (according to the UN)) (*) The largest number of on-site participants in history.
Main theme: The Internet We Want - Empowering All People
Major participants: Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio, Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications SUZUKI Junji, State Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications WATANABE Koichi, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications KOMORI Takuo, Minister for Digital Transformation KONO Taro, Chair, Standing Committee on Internal Affairs and Communications, House of Representatives UKISHIMA Tomoko, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs LI Junghwa, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Doreen BOGDAN-MARTIN, Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency Věra JOUROVÁ, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Deputy Secretary-General Ulrik Vestergaard KNUDSEN, ministers of various countries, executives of international organizations, and executives of private companies

<Sub-themes>
(1) AI & Emerging Technologies (2) Avoiding Internet Fragmentation (3) Cybersecurity, Cybercrime & Online Safety (4) Data Governance & Trust (5) Digital Divides & Inclusion (6) Global Digital Governance & Cooperation (7) Human Rights & Freedoms (8) Sustainability & Environment

2. Outline of major events

1. Opening ceremony

In addition to opening remarks by Prime Minister KISHIDA, a video message from UN Secretary-General António GUTERRES was projected. Prime Minister KISHIDA emphasized the importance of the Internet as the foundation of a democratic society. Together with this, he strongly expressed his support and commitment to multi-stakeholder approach discussions to maximize the benefits of the Internet, including addressing its negative aspects.

2. AI special session

The Hiroshima AI process, in which Japan is leading the discussion, was widely communicated to the international community.
In Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio’s keynote speech, he strongly expressed his commitment to driving the creation of international rules that will enable the entire international community, including the Global South, to enjoy the benefits of safe, secure, and reliable generative AI and achieve further economic growth and improved living conditions.
Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications SUZUKI Junji introduced the status of discussions on international guidelines and codes of conduct for AI developers and expressed his intention to continue efforts to seek the opinions of various stakeholders.
Multi-stakeholder panelists from governments, industries, international organizations, and academia, including those outside the G7, expressed their support for and expectations of the Hiroshima AI process.

3. High-level leaders’ sessions

In addition to the AI special session, the following four high-level leaders’ sessions were held, in which Japanese ministers and experts participated as panelists.

• i)
  Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT) by Minister for Digital Transformation KONO Taro
• ii)
  Disinformation by Prof. YAMAMOTO Tatsuhiko, Keio University
• iii)
  WSIS+20 by Prof. MURAI Jun, Keio University
• iv)
  SDGs (Secretary General of the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity KONDO Katsunori Kondo and Prof. ISHIDO Nanako, Keio University)

4. Session sponsored by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC)

MIC hosted 10 sessions to discuss a wide variety of topics. [Themes] Beyond 5G, HAPS, Resilience, Security, Metaverse, AI, Disinformation, DFI, O-RAN, WSIS (see note)
(Note) Abbreviations for HAPS: High Altitude Platform Station, DFI: Declaration for the Future of the Internet, O-RAN: Open Radio Access Network, and WSIS: World Summit on the Information Society, respectively.

5. Parliamentary track roundtable

Chair, Standing Committee on Internal Affairs and Communications, House of Representatives UKISHIMA Tomoko, took the stage as the keynote speaker. She discussed the session’s theme, “Digital Trust,” and expressed her expectations for discussions in this session, where Diet members gather, and its future contributions to other nations.

6. Closing ceremony

State Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications WATANABE Koichi delivered closing remarks, and Mayor of Kyoto City KADOKAWA Daisaku delivered remarks. Video messages from UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs LI Junghwa and President of UN General Assembly Dennis Francis and a video created by Saudi Arabia, the host country for 2024, were also projected on the screen. State Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications WATANABE Koichi expressed his gratitude to the UN and the participants and his hopes for continued exchanges in the future.

(Reference) The results of this forum are also available at the following link (United Nations website in English).
https://www.intgovforum.org/en/content/igf-2023-outputs

2. Summary of bilateral talks and courtesy calls

Seizing the opportunity of this forum, Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications SUZUKI Junji and Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications KOMORI Takuo held bilateral talks with IGF participating countries and others and received courtesy calls from private companies. In addition, MIC signed a memorandum of understanding on ICT cooperation with both Georgia and Indonesia.
A summary of the bilateral talks and courtesy calls can be found in Attachment 1. Summaries of the memoranda of understanding with Georgia and Indonesia can be found in Attachments 2-1 and 2-2, respectively.

• *
  The published materials are in Japanese only.