July 13, 2026 Start of Public Solicitation for Japan-U.K. International Joint R&D Project of Elemental Technologies and Seed Creation Program under the Innovative Information and Communications Technology (Beyond 5G(6G)) Fund Project

　The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) initiates a public solicitation for Japan-U.K. International Joint R&D Project of Elemental Technologies and Seed Creation Program under the Innovative Information and Communications Technology (Beyond 5G (6G)) Fund Project, using the Information and Communications R&D Fund established by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) within NICT.

1　 Outline of the public solicitation

　MIC established the Information and Communications R&D Fund within NICT in March 2023 for implementation of the Innovative Information and Communications Technology (Beyond 5G (6G)) Fund Project, and officially began its operation in FY2023.

　Elemental Technologies and Seed Creation Program under the Fund Project requires a certain period of time for social implementation of next-generation information and communications infrastructure, Beyond 5G, and focuses on R&D aimed at establishing elemental technologies and creating technological seeds from a medium- to long-term perspective.

　Based on the joint statement adopted at the Third Ministerial Council of the Japan-UK Digital Partnership in January 2025, MIC and the U.K. Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) have agreed to launch a public solicitation for the Japan-U.K. International Joint R&D Project using the Elemental Technologies and Seed Creation Program in the following three technical fields. In this regard, as announced in the press release listed in [related information] below, NICT has been accepting Expressions of Interest (EoI) from prospective applicants since June 16, 2026.

1. The integration of AI in digital networks
2. Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN)
3. Advanced optics/photonics

MIC hopes that this project will contribute to the steady social implementation of Beyond 5G by establishing elemental technologies and creating technological seeds for Beyond 5G, as well as building a cooperative framework for international standardization through collaboration with the United Kingdom, Japan's strategic partner.

2　 Solicitation period

　From Monday, July 13, 2026, to Wednesday, October 7, 2026 at noon JST (All the necessary documents must be received by this time.)
Note: The above is the deadline for the Japanese side.

　The deadline for the U.K. side is 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 6 (BST), and all the necessary documents must be submitted to both sides.

　For details on the public solicitation, please refer to the following web page of NICT:
　https://www.nict.go.jp/press/2026/07/13-1.html

[Related information]

• ○ Start of an Expression of Interest (EOI) Process for the Japan-U.K. Internal Joint R&D Project of the Elemental Technologies and Seed Creation Program under the Innovative Information and Communications Technology (Beyond 5G (6G)) Fund Project (June 16, 2025):
  https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_sosiki/joho_tsusin/eng/pressrelease/2026/3/31_3.html