November 13, 2024 Public Solicitation for Germany-Japan International Joint Research Project of Elemental Technologies and Seed Creation Programs under the Innovative Information and Communications Technology (Beyond 5G (6G)) Fund Project

 The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) will initiate a public solicitation for the Germany-Japan International Joint Research Project, which is part of the programs for elemental technologies and seed creation under the Innovative Information and Communications Technology (Beyond 5G (6G)) Fund Project implemented by the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), using the Information and Communications R&D Fund established by MIC within NICT.

1. Outline of the solicitation

 MIC established the Information and Communications R&D Fund in NICT in March 2023 to implement the Innovative Information and Communications Technology (Beyond 5G (6G)) Fund Project, which officially began in FY2023.
 Within this fund project, the elemental technologies and seed creation programs are mainly subject to research and development aimed at establishing elemental technologies and creating technological seeds with a medium- to long-term perspective, and it will take a certain period of time for the social implementation of next-generation information and communications infrastructure, Beyond 5G.
 In May 2023, MIC and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote cooperation between the two countries in the research and development of Beyond 5G (6G) and future communications technologies. In June of the same year, the two governments agreed to deepen their collaboration in research and development of Beyond 5G (6G) during the 7th Japan-Germany ICT Policy Dialogue. As a result of this agreement, MIC decided to proceed with an international joint research project with BMBF and will solicit the Germany-Japan International Joint Research Project using the elemental technologies and seed creation programs in NICT.
 MIC hopes that this project will contribute to the steady social implementation of Beyond 5G (6G) by establishing elemental technologies and creating technological seeds for 5G (6G) as well as building a cooperative framework for international standardization together with strategic partners, such as Europe and the United States.

2. Solicitation period

 From Wednesday, November 13, 2024, to noon on Thursday, January 9, 2025 (Applications submitted by postal mail must arrive no later than this deadline.)