August 18, 2026 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 Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR; then the Federal Ministry of Education and Research) 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, joint research has been underway since June 2025.

　Following the agreement reached at the 8th Japan-Germany ICT Policy Dialogue in November 2024 to further deepen their collaboration in research and development of Beyond 5G (6G), MIC decided to proceed with an international joint research project with BMFTR and will solicit the Germany-Japan International Joint Research Project using the elemental technologies and seed creation programs in NICT. This project involves Japanese and German research institutions conducting joint research and development in the following three technical fields, as agreed upon between MIC and BMFTR.

1. Digital twin for optimization of systems and applications, building strengths in industrial IoT, factory automation, system orchestration for complex cyber-physical environments
2. AI-Native Communication Systems and Networks, leveraging expertise in trustworthy AI, human-centric AI, energy-efficient AI, and physical AI for robotics and autonomous systems
3. Integration of Terrestrial Networks and Non-Terrestrial Networks, supported by capabilities in resilient connectivity, seamless coverage, and integrated space–terrestrial infrastructure

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 Germany, Japan's strategic partner.

2 Solicitation period

　From Tuesday, August 18, 2026, to Friday, October 30, 2026 at noon JST (All the necessary documents must be received by this time.)
Note: The above is the deadline for the Japanese side. All the necessary documents must be submitted to both the Japanese and German sides.

　For details on the public solicitation, please refer to the following web page of NICT:
　https://www.nict.go.jp/press/2026/08/18-1.html

[Related information]

• ○ Signing of Letter of Intent for Cooperation in Communication Technologies between Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications, Mr. MATSUMOTO Takeaki, and Minister for Education and Research of the Federal Republic of Germany, Ms. Bettina Stark-Watzinger (May 11, 2023)
  https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_sosiki/joho_tsusin/eng/pressrelease/2023/5/11_1.html