Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) have announced the country’s first approval for a Level 4 autonomous vehicle system. The approval, granted on March 30, is part of the RoAD to the L4 project, a joint initiative aimed at developing advanced mobility services. The project, launched in 2021, […]
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Japan Launches Ouranos Initiative for Cross-Border Data Sharing and Collaboration
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), in collaboration with the Information Processing Promotion Agency (IPA), the Digital Architecture Design Center (DADC), and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), has announced the “Ouranos Ecosystem” initiative. This project aims to design, research, develop, and promote the adoption of architecture for seamless collaboration between various information processing systems […]
Japan Expands Investment Opportunities for Limited Partnership Funds
In a recent press release, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has shed light on investment opportunities in security tokens and blockchain-based assets for Limited Partnership Funds (LPS). The new clarifications will enable LPS to expand their investment options and potentially boost the growth of digital assets in Japan. Security Tokens under the Financial Instruments and Exchange […]
Japan Paves Way for Automated Delivery Robots on Public Roads
The logistics industry has been facing significant challenges, including labor shortages. To address this issue, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in Japan has been working to support the development and introduction of automated delivery robots in society. With the recent revision of the Road Traffic Act, these robots are allowed to operate on public roads starting April […]
METI Launches Study Group and Contest to Address High Prices and Labor Shortages in Distribution Industry
Japan’s distribution industry, which accounts for 14% of the country’s GDP and employs 16% of its working population, is facing pressure from rising costs, low consumer prices, and demands for higher wages. These pressures are putting strain on the industry’s profit structure, while a labor shortage further exacerbates the situation. To address these issues, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and […]
METI Publishes March Update on New and Revised Japanese Industry Standards
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has published revised and newly established JIS standards in response to societal and technological changes. The Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) are a collection of national standards stipulating the criteria for mineral or industrial products, data, and services in Japan, including their quality, performance and test methods. In March 2023, METI established 10 […]
Japan and US Sign Critical Minerals Agreement (CMA)
Japan and the United States have on March 28 in Washington signed and entered into force the “Agreement between the Government of Japan and the Government of the United States on Strengthening Critical Minerals Supply Chains” (Japan-U.S. Critical Minerals Agreement (CMA)). The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) said that facing the prospect of significant increase in demand […]
Mitsubishi Power Supports Hydrogen Utilization in Petroleum Refining Process
Mitsubishi Power, a power solutions brand under Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), has initiated an energy balance optimization service for Eneos Corporation (Eneos) to facilitate efficient utilization of hydrogen in the petroleum refining process. The service was first implemented at the Eneos Sakai Refinery in Osaka, where MHI deployed its Tomomi suite of intelligent solutions incorporating Energy Cloud, an analysis engine […]
METI and MOTIE Hold Japan-Korea Export Control Policy Dialogue
The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) held the Japan-Korea Export Control Policy Dialogue from March 14-16. Through the policy dialogue, METI has reviewed the effectiveness of Korea’s export control including the organization of the export control authority and its operations, and implementation of a regulatory framework for […]
Cabinet Approves the FY 2018 Annual Report on Energy (Japan’s Energy White Paper 2019)
The Annual Report on Energy (also known as the “Energy White Paper”) overviews the measures on energy that the Government of Japan conducted in the previous fiscal year, which is submitted to the Diet pursuant to Article 11 of the Basic Act on Energy Policy (Act No. 71 of 2002). On June 7, 2018, the Cabinet approved the Energy White […]
METI Publishes Report Titled “GLocal Growth Strategy” Compiled by the GLocal Growth Strategy Study Group
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) established a GLocal Growth Strategy Study Group, aiming to: break through stereotypical ideas that have pervaded Japan, such as “no growth is expected in a society facing a population constraint;” and encourage regional cities and rural areas with a small population at the front line of the declining population issue to establish […]
Addition of Businesses Required to Submit Prior Notification Concerning Inward Direct Investment
On May 27, 2019, the government of Japan publicized the public notices of the revision of the types of businesses subject to the provisions over inward direct investment, etc. in the official gazette. 1. Outline of the revision Foreign investors that intend to undertake inward direct investment, etc. in specified types of businesses in Japan are required to submit a […]
TCFD Consortium to be inaugurated
On May 27 (Mon.), 2019, five founders, inducing Mr. Kunio Ito, Professor, Graduate School of Business Administration, Hitotsubashi University, will inaugurate a new body called the “TCFD Consortium” (hereinafter referred to as the “consortium”) as an opportunity for holding discussions on effective corporate information disclosure and efforts for leading disclosed information to appropriate decision making on investment by financial institutes […]
METI Nudge Unit Inaugurated
Aiming to improve the effects brought about by implementing its policies, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) inaugurated a METI Nudge Unit, a new internal project team for making use of a new policy approach based on behavioral economics, also known as “nudge.” In cooperation with experts, METI will design and promote specific nudge projects in certain fields, […]
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 […]
