January 16, 2024 Outcomes of the Ministerial council of the Japan-UK Digital Partnership

On Tuesday, January 16, 2024, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Digital Agency (DA), held the online Ministerial council of the Japan-UK Digital Partnership to discuss cooperation between Japan and the United Kingdom (UK) in the digital field.

Summary of the meeting In attendance on the Japanese side were Mr. WATANABE Koichi, State Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications, , Mr. KOZUKI Ryosuke, State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry , and Mr. TSUCHIDA Shin, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Digital Transformation, and on the UK side was Mr. Saqib BHATTI, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
At the council, the outcome document was issued as an outcome of the discussion between the representatives of both sides.
This outcome document outlines the progress made since the launch of the Japan-UK Digital Partnership and the direction of future initiatives for each Joint Action of the Japan-UK Digital Partnership.

The key points of the outcome document are as follows:

1. Telecoms Diversification

Both sides confirmed their continued commitment to promote vendor diversification through bilateral and multilateral frameworks regarding efforts to increase and resilience of the 5G supply chain through the promotion of open Radio Access Network (Open RAN). They also concurred to strengthen cooperation on promoting the deployment of Open RAN in third countries.

2. Semiconductor

Both sides issued a joint statement on semiconductor partnerships in 2023, aiming to promote cooperation in the field of semiconductors. They discussed an industry-academia-government workshop between Japan and the UK for exploring possibilities for further semiconductor cooperation initiatives and concurred in holding the workshop in the first quarter of 2024.

3. AI

Both sides concurred in working together to outreach to partner governments to broaden support for the Hiroshima AI Process and to broaden the commitment to the Hiroshima Process International Code of Conduct for Organizations Developing Advanced AI System based on the Work Plan to advance Hiroshima AI Process. Both sides will also work together to ensure the safety of AI models based on the outcomes of AI Safety Summit held in the UK last November.

4. Data

Both sides confirmed their collaboration to progress the Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT) and to work together on an Institutional Arrangement for Partnership (IAP) for operationalising the DFFT, the establishment of which was endorsed at the G7 under Japanese presidency last year. They also confirmed to launch a joint bilateral project in early 2024.
They also welcome the UK’s participation in the Global CBPR Forum, established to enhance effective data protection and privacy while promoting interoperability between each country’s data protection rules. They continue to collaborate with other member countries to support the promotion of the CBPR system.

5. Digital transformation

Based on the Memorandum of Cooperation in the area of Digital Government, signed in 2022, both sides have exchanged knowledge on Digital Marketplace, Digital Procurement Reform, Government Cloud and User-Centered Design and Service Design. They confirmed to continue to share their efforts in this area.
[Attachments]
• Outcome document [Original (English)]