iot

connected industries

Connected Industries – Japan’s approach to Industry 4.0 on the way to Society 5.0

Industry 4.0 was first introduced in Germany. The term comes from the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” and refers to the digitalization of production. In the last editorials we described how Japan then introduced the idea of Society 5.0, which looks at digitalization from a societal viewpoint aiming at the Super Smart Society. Information Technology (IT), especially Artificial Intelligence, will change many […]

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electricity supply and demand

Internet of Things: Better Electricity Supply and Demand Efficiency in Japan – Part 1

By Frank Piller, General Manager Products at TÜV Rheinland Japan   In recent years, the Japanese government has vigorously promoted energy conservation through various actions, including installing the feed-in tariff system for renewable energy, deregulating electricity and promoting the Smart House concept. For its part, in 2015 the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has formulated its Long-term Energy […]

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Internet of Things Japan - NRW Conference 1

Internet of Things in Japan: Quietly, Systematically Plowing Ahead

Germany’s famed Plattform Industrie 4.0 initiative has become nothing less than a mainstay at seminars focusing on the future of manufacturing. The U.S. based Industrial Internet Consortium has been gathering momentum, too. Even China has prominently launched its Made in China 2025 initiative. Yet one of the world’s most important industrial powerhouses is apparently not much being talked about. One […]

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Otemachi Tokyo

Internet of Things, Industry 4.0 and the Role of Japan

Japan is better prepared for the next industrial revolution than it seems at first sight. But the companies have to embrace change to stay in the race. Do you know the Borg, the cyborgs from the science-fiction universe Star Trek, who assimilate civilization after civilization? For years the German industry warns its colleagues abroad, that the dawn of the Internet […]

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