IPA Releases “Definitions of Spatial ID, Spatial Voxel, and Extended Specifications (Version 1.2)” for international standardization of spatial IDs applicable to the entire earth
Release Date:Jun 4, 2026
Information-technology Promotion Agency, Japan
The Information-technology Promotion Agency, Japan (IPA) has released “Definitions of Spatial ID, Spatial Voxel, and Extended Specifications(Version 1.2)” .
This latest version expands the scope of Spatial ID—expected to be used in building digital twins for the realization of Society 5.0—to encompass the entire Earth, including the Arctic and Antarctic.
Through this initiative, IPA will further accelerate efforts toward the international standardization of Spatial ID.
Background
To realize Society 5.0, in which people, robots, and systems coexist, it is necessary to build digital twins that reproduce real-world spaces in virtual space and highly integrate the virtual and real worlds, so that data linkage and analysis conducted on digital twins can be fed back into the real world.
However, spatial information is developed and managed by various entities under different specifications and standards, making it difficult to search for and aggregate data in a centralized manner. This has created challenges in building systems, such as digital twins, that handle spatial information. To address these challenges, Spatial ID serves as a framework for easily integrating, retrieving, and freely distributing spatial information developed under different specifications and standards.
The Digital Architecture Design Center (DADC) of IPA, with support from relevant government agencies including the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, is promoting initiatives such as the development and publication of guidelines to facilitate the use of 4D spatio-temporal information through Spatial ID.
Overview
Spatial ID is an identifier that uniquely represents a particular spatial area on the Earth. This guideline describes the technical specifications and operational guidance for efficiently processing various types of spatial information, including temporal information, by introducing Spatial ID as a common standard for systems handling spatial information.
IPA has released “Definitions of Spatial ID, Spatial Voxel, and Extended Specifications(Version 1.2.)” As part of efforts toward the international standardization of Spatial ID, this latest guideline introduces a new “Polar Spatial ID” as an extended specification for the polar regions, enabling the use of Spatial ID across the entire Earth. This enhancement will expand the use of 4D spatio-temporal information in data integration and digital twins across the entire Earth, including the polar regions.
For details, please visit the official IPA website.
What's Next
Based on the Spatial ID specifications outlined in these guidelines, IPA will promote the international standardization of Spatial ID to further streamline and promote the distribution of spatial information.
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