Message from the Commissioner

Enabling a super-smart society for our digital empowerment

Recent studies found creatures such as monkeys and crows turn twigs and rocks into tools to access food. However, only humans can transform the way they live and accelerate their evolution with tools they create. History shows new tools and technologies have always been the fundamental driver of human progress. Now we are about to witness another quantum leap in the human history as the data-driven Fourth industrial revolution is arriving.

What awaits us in the new era is a super-smart society where data and digital technologies empower people to live more pleasant, fulfilling life. Our activities are digitized with sensors and devices, analyzed through a resourceful computing infrastructure built around artificial intelligence (AI), and optimized as feedback to be translated into better services or innovations in our real-life world. Designed to deliver both economic growth and solutions to social problems, this vision of digitally transformed future built upon integrated cyber-physical data sphere is named Society 5.0.

There are three imperatives for this transformative society. First, we must build a common digital platform for various expert communities to collaborate. Next, we must develop significant quantity of digital talent capable of creating new value from diverse sets of data. Finally, we must augment service capabilities for everyone to use data in safe and secure digital environment — enhancing defense to counter cybersecurity threats that continue to grow and evolve in frequency, vector, and complexity is one example. A coherent approach is necessary as these are part of the nation’s growth strategy, which enterprises or individuals cannot accomplish on their own.

Playing a key role in implementing such initiatives under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the Information-technology Promotion Agency, Japan (IPA) is thriving on its mission to expedite the digital empowerment of Japanese people for their well-being. It is our commitment at IPA to address the nation’s agenda of designing digital architecture and platforms to enable the advent of Society 5.0, develop digital talent to drive digital transformation (DX), and meet cybersecurity challenges of raising defense against highly sophisticated and targeted attacks in today’s integrated cyber-physical environment.

We would appreciate your continued support to our endeavors in achieving the digitally enabled society that benefits all.