■Overview of Commemorative Lectures■

Japan's population is declining at a fairly rapid pace of 800,000 people per year, and the average age is now 49. Considering that the average ages in India and Saudi Arabia are in the 20s, Japan's average age is quite high compared to the rest of the world.

Population decline, aging, and depopulation are increasing in almost all regions of Japan. To create a warm society where people are close to each other, humans must focus on what they need to do, and leave everything else to artificial intelligence (AI), robots, and computers.

In many foreign countries, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly facilitated digitalization. Before the onset of the pandemic, India, for example, was a fairly analog society. When farmers received payment for their products, intermediary exploitation was almost the norm. If you paid someone in town 100 rupees for an agricultural product, that person would take 10% to 20% out of the money and pass the rest to the next person, and the next person would also do a similar thing. Eventually, the farmer could receive only 10 rupees. Today, you can instantly send money to those you would like to send it to, using your mobile phone. Digitalization has been achieved at a dash in various fields.

In the UAE, when a baby is born, the hospital notifies the government, which issues a birth certificate, a national ID card, and a passport, and the three items will arrive as a set within three days. In a process known as leapfrogging, many countries are trying to change their societies at a dash.

In Japan, 8,000 cases of errors in linking My Number cards to health insurance cards were discovered, resulting in a great deal of criticism. When I talk about this abroad and add that the denominator is 120 million, I often receive a comment of praise: “The error rate is only 0.007%? As expected, Japan is amazing!” In Japan, there is a zero-risk bias and people often pursue perfection, making it difficult to try new things. However, we would like to overcome each challenge and move forward with digitalization to create a warm and compassionate society.

As indicated by the phrase “2024 problem in logistics,” it is becoming difficult to continue deliveries by truck. Delivery by truck to small settlements far from the city center reduces delivery efficiency dramatically, but the use of drones can improve efficiency. However, regulations required that a sign reading “Watch out for drones” be posted on a road for drones to cross it.

Also, since unloading a cargo from a drone is the riskiest part of the process, it was necessary to send someone to the unloading location to manage it. If a person goes to the location, that person could deliver the package, meaning that there is no need to fly a drone. A good idea would be to attach a camera to a drone. Once the camera has confirmed that the surrounding area is safe, the drone can land, drop off its cargo, and then take off again.

As the Minister in charge, I carried out regulatory reform in December last year to create a new flight category called “Level 3.5” and eliminate the regulations that I’ve just mentioned.

These examples show that some technologies cannot be fully utilized until relevant regulations are lifted. Accordingly, a specialized team established within the Digital Agency has checked laws going back to those enacted in 1868 and deleted all clauses requiring analog procedures.

The My Number card, containing an IC chip, can be used for various identity verification purposes. Ahead of the other cities in Japan, Hiratsuka City in Kanagawa Prefecture, Himeji City in Hyogo Prefecture, and Miyakonojo City in Miyazaki Prefecture have enabled My Number cards to be read in ambulances. In some cases, an ambulance crew can’t assess the situation correctly because the patient is too upset or is in a terrible condition. In addition, an ambulance patient sometimes says things like “I take two white, round tablets per day,” but it’s often impossible to identify what they exactly are.

If the patient’s My Number card is read in the ambulance, the information on their medication and disorders, such as diabetes and hypertension, can be sent to the hospital where they are going to be transported.

If you always have your My Number card with you, it will help you receive even higher quality government services.

Each of the 1,741 municipalities in Japan currently builds and operates its own systems. Every time there is a change in the rules for local taxes, social insurance, child allowances, etc., each local government needs to modify the relevant system simultaneously and pay a huge amount of money to its vendor to ensure security. Considering the future of Japan, I don't think this is sustainable.

In the future, the national government should centrally build systems and take responsibility for maintenance and cybersecurity, while local governments should use them. I think that although policy is at each local government’s discretion, it would be reasonable to use common systems and standardized documentation formats.

In local governments that are moving towards digitalization, their leaders are demonstrating leadership. It is important for leaders to show their subordinates the direction that they should take and encourage them by saying, “Just give it a try. If it doesn't work out, I'll take responsibility.”

For vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare first sent many notices to local governments, calling on them to complete various procedures. This prevented a smooth roll-out of vaccinations. As Minister in charge of the COVID-19 Vaccine Roll-out, I only had local governments control the vaccine temperature appropriately, manage the lot numbers, and keep vaccination records, and allowed them to do the rest at their discretion. As a result, they picked up the vaccination pace in various ways. Japanese local governments have excellent working level staff. To ensure that such staff can fully demonstrate their ability, leaders need to demonstrate their leadership.

As the Digital Agency is aiming to realize “government offices without the need to visit,” or make all administrative procedures able to be completed with a smartphone, some government offices have introduced a “one-stop service counter without the need to fill out application forms.” If your identity is verified with your My Number card, you have only to verbally state what procedure you would like to get done. You can then complete your procedure without going to different counters.

I would like to make government services available to everyone even more conveniently than they are now. If you’re familiar with digital technology, it will enable your life to become even more convenient. Even if you are not, however, you can receive support so that you will not fall behind. I believe that everybody’s life can become even more convenient and comfortable than it is now.

■Overview of Keynote Proposals■

Two years ago, our company established Group Vision 2030, based on which we have set the three priority areas of “carbon neutrality and economic security,” “safe and secure aging society,” and “safe and secure international relations.” One of the major initiatives for “carbon neutrality and economic security” is our efforts to realize a decarbonized society by taking advantage of hydrogen. We’re committed to a Japan-Australia pilot project aiming to build an international supply chain for liquefied hydrogen that can ensure a stable supply of energy while reducing CO₂ emissions.

The liquefied hydrogen carrier “Suiso Frontier” has demonstrated that liquefied hydrogen at -253°C can be transported safely, stably, and efficiently using a vacuum double-walled tank that employs advanced insulation technology. The capacities of the ship tanks currently being aimed at commercialization range from 40,000 m³ to 160,000 m³. We are striving to reduce logistics costs by making larger tanks so that a larger quantity can be transported at a time. The tanks at the receiving terminals currently each have a capacity of 2,500 m³, but we are trying to develop technology to increase the capacity to 50,000 m³ to 200,000 m³. Hydrogen can complement and support all types of options for decarbonization. To contribute to decarbonization, we would like to promote the social implementation of hydrogen technology.

We were originally a gaming company, but went public two years ago in the area of cross reality (XR) and the metaverse. Before going public, we raised approximately 1.5 billion yen from Sony Group and others and created a metaverse platform called “XR CLOUD.” The metaverse is as versatile as the Internet, but it is difficult to create virtual live performances, exhibitions, schools, etc. each time from scratch to satisfy various needs. Based on the common platform “XR CLOUD,” we provide metaverses featuring functions specialized for each purpose. For schools, we add a highly secure ID function and a function for teachers to check their students’ screens. For virtual live performances, ticket sales and tipping functions are available.

Sam Altman of OpenAI says that in the future, generative AI will eliminate tasks rather than eliminate jobs. He also says that productivity will increase not by two- or three-fold, but by 20- or 30- fold. Humans will be replaced by AI if their tasks can be digitalized. This conversely means that the time will come when humans will be able to maximize the benefits of AI automation if they digitalize their own work.

Digital constitutionalism advocates the necessity of control over the digital space based on the recognition that the giant technology companies that develop and provide AI have power comparable to that of nations.

OpenAI itself is concerned that generative AI could reinforce social biases and particular worldviews and reproduce content with prejudice and contempt toward marginalized groups. It is seen as problematic that the sources of the datasets used to train AI are weighted toward North America and that the perspectives of Asia, Africa, and Latin America are not reflected sufficiently.

If AI has a large bias, it could distort the knowledge we will gain in the future from science, technology, and research and development. Can we reduce this bias and reflect the real world more appropriately? The answer might affect our future perceptions, our research and development capabilities, and ultimately our health and ways of thinking.

It is necessary to think about how we should interact with and face AI in the future, and how we will control and govern it.

■Overview of Parallel Sessions■

In parallel session 1, Mr. Harada, an invited speaker for the conference, deepened the discussion related to the hydrogen business under the theme of “Strategies for Japanese Companies to Survive by Applying New Technologies.” A feature of the hydrogen business in Japan is the promotion of a joint project with Australia, along with the development of the business in parallel with the acquisition of international standard certifications. I feel that this raised interest in the theme among diplomatic officials. Specifically, a German diplomat explained that Germany is making progress in introducing green hydrogen and renewable energy, and is taking on more challenging initiatives than Japan. A Russian diplomat asked questions such as what the realistic plans were for ensuring hydrogen supply sources, and how Japan views the ongoing efforts toward decarbonizing mobility including fuel cell vehicles and electric vehicles. A Vietnamese diplomat asked how Japan thinks about costs for efforts to achieve decarbonization, including the use of hydrogen technology. For these questions, various views and comments were shared during the discussion.

In line with the topics of “Applying New Technologies” and “Strategies for Japanese Companies to Survive,” I would like to share with you my personal views. I feel that the project mentioned in the discussion is rare in the area of overseas business by Japanese companies. The case might be followed by various other initiatives in the future, with a view to commercializing hydrogen technology by 2030.

I spoke with the foreign diplomatic officials who were in attendance today. This made me feel that the business of building a hydrogen bridge between Australia and Southeast Asian countries is a survival strategy for Japanese companies. Even though headquartered in Japan, Japanese companies want to actively participate in challenging initiatives to try their technologies in foreign countries, not in the context of “from Japan,” “in Japan,” or “by the Japanese government.” To that end, I felt that it will be extremely important not only to develop technology, but also to adopt an approach and attitude to gain the understanding and acceptance of other countries, as well as to build rapport with them.

Although there will likely be many twists and turns before the commercialization of hydrogen technology by 2030, I hope that when we look back on the opportunity to try this kind of initiative, we will find it to be extremely meaningful as a new page in the history of Japanese companies.

Parallel session 2 featured a discussion on “Creating Industries and Jobs Through the Use of AI and Other Technologies.”

I feel that everyone is concerned that the widespread use of AI will result in people losing their jobs, rather than creating industries and jobs. However, Mr. Honjo, invited as a speaker for the conference, pointed out that, in fact, AI poses even greater risks.

I guess your company or organization uses Amazon Web Services (Amazon AWS), but it is possible that the cloud service that runs your company's core system could suddenly experience a large-scale outage one day. The same thing could happen with OpenAI. The engine part of the AI provided by the American IT giant is operated in the U.S., and there is a risk that if this stops, everything else will also stop. For this reason, the Japanese government is making efforts to develop domestic AI.

Meanwhile, one study says that the score of ChatGPT's performance is around 70 points and it is not yet clear whether it will reach 100 points. The study also says that the percentage of work that can be streamlined will be around 5% at best. Naturally, new jobs will be created as a result of the spread of AI.

For example, we will have a future in which people with disabilities and the elderly can work freely. This entails not only AI but also the metaverse, which has infinite possibilities. One example is the robot bar developed by Tokyo-based OryLab. There are small robots in the bar, each one with a name. When a customer comes, disabled people living in remote areas and those who cannot work outside the home access the bar online to serve the customer through conversations and gestures. The bar is apparently always full to capacity. As indicated by this, the metaverse and AI enable anyone to do anything anywhere, and I believe that one of their functions is to make humans happy. Furthermore, one of Japan’s major challenges is the issue of language. It is well known around the world that Japanese people are not good at English, but AI is rapidly improving the response time of automatic translation, with an actual translation time of 0.2 seconds, which is almost fast enough to keep up with a conversation. The time is coming soon when we will be able to communicate with people from other countries without stress.

Parallel session 3 was based on the keynote proposal by Dr. Fumiko Kudo, and a very lively discussion was held on “Decision Making in the AI Era.”

The first point concerned how governments should intervene from the perspective of industrial policy when developing technologies such as AI. The EU's digital constitutionalism is about how to catch up with the U.S. when there are differences between the EU and the U.S. in terms of industrial structure, as well as gaps especially in the progress of the digital and IT industries. It is a shrewd strategy for catching up with the U.S. by raising concerns about American companies’ technological advantage from the perspectives of human rights, constitutionalism, and other values. In China, the rise of companies like Baidu to compete with GAFA was underpinned by government strategies to foster domestic industries by adopting the so-called digital import substitution approach and placing limits on GAFA services. With these movements found around the world to develop cutting-edge technology through industrial policy, it is important for Japan to consider how it should approach this issue.

The second point is about the importance of education. To understand, utilize, and govern cutting-edge technologies such as AI, literacy in data science and IT is necessary. The key is to break down the rigidity of the existing education system. For example, within a framework where the humanities and science are divided, it is difficult to create expertise on how to govern digital technology. To overcome this, it will become important for individuals themselves to go beyond the framework of existing university departments, or for the government to redesign the current system of higher education.

The third point is the issue of so-called “universal values.” Advanced technologies, including AI, are constantly developing, but any technology that violates human rights must be restricted. In addition, advanced technologies must also be operated according to rules established by citizens. Constitutionalism is important, but on the other hand, if too much emphasis is placed on it, it is possible that even though there is a call for universal values, a Western-centric bias will be generated in the end.

As Dr. Kudo mentioned, there is a regional imbalance in the sources of data used by generative AI and other systems. This raises the risk that AI could make decisions that result in extremely unfavorable treatment based on race. Some people in non-Western regions are concerned that not only such imbalance in the data sources, but also constitutionalism and human rights, which are expected to control the data imbalance, might be used as tools for eliminating their own ways of thinking and systems.

Universal values are important for controlling digital technology, but it’s also necessary to ensure that they are not Western-centric. Japanese knowledge and expertise could play a vital role for that purpose.