Five DX Articles Expected from the Administration

 ■Five DX Articles Expected from the Administration

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is the story of modernity's inner circle, but Society 5.0 is a theory of civilization from the ancient hunting days.

It is a term that refers to the next step after industry and information, that is, the next step after modernity.

Society 5.0 is a major historical turning point.

The last 30 years have been a defeat in terms of digital technology.

The coronavirus situation was helpful in that it shed light on the situation.

We lagged behind implementing digitalization and ranked at the bottom of industrialized countries at 34th in terms of competitiveness.

Digital education ranked lowest among industrialized countries.

The government still relies on FAX machines and can’t deal with the coronavirus.

The coronavirus, however, became a messenger of anti-civilization that shed light on the situation.

The job of the new cabinet is clear: digitalization.

It is not politics that has hindered DX. It is everyone, everyone in the industry, academia, and government.

It's not a matter of different fields, but it's a matter of generation.

I want to purge the old generation that includes myself for a new system.

In foreign affairs, while the U.S., Europe, and Asia were writhing in agony, only Japan continued to have a stable and strong government.

There is no easier environment in terms of diplomacy and trade.

I would like to see the new cabinet focus on domestic affairs (digitalization).

When the new administration took office, I submitted a proposal to them, acknowledging their achievements to date but also taking into account the digital defeat and the need for digitalization in domestic affairs.

Here are the five proposals: Industry, Education, Contents, Local Government, and Administration.

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1 Industry DX　

Provide substantial tax breaks for telework and other DX costs and investments.

Introduce an announcement policy that encourages managers who do not promote DX to leave the business. Encourage all industries to shift their management to a generation that uses digital data and celebrate management that has strengthened its competitiveness by supporting DX.

2 Education DX

While commending the realization of digital textbooks and the deployment of one PC per person after ten years, take the next steps toward putting digital education first, including free digital textbooks, measures to deal with the burden of household communication costs, and the total abolition of online class regulations. The increase in administrative costs will be funded by an increase in radio wave usage fees.

Furthermore, by introducing technologies such as AI and blockchain, we can implement "super-education" that goes beyond the boundaries of subjects and schools, leading to a review of the school system.

3 Content DX

While appreciating the realization of NHK's simultaneous distribution, build a system compatible with the era of communication/broadcasting convergence, global focus, and data-driven nature. In particular, a fundamental review of the copyright system, which has been in place for half a century, and a review of the broadcasting system to prepare for changes in the industrial structure will be undertaken.

4 Regional DX

Encourage local governments to promote regional development through their own DX and deregulation, rather than transferring the power from Tokyo.

Create new subsidies to promote regional DX.

Support the formation of smart archipelagos by connecting smart cities in each region.

5 Administrative DX

Establish a "Digital Agency" to serve as an engine for promoting DX in education, medical care, and other areas organized around administrative IT. The first step is to abolish the Fax and stamp system in government offices.

In addition, we aim to establish a "Ministry of Culture," which will link the Intellectual Property and Cultural Affairs Agency and other software administration, as an organization that will show the shape of the nation beyond the modern age.

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The World's first IoT Broadcasting

 ■The World's first IoT Broadcasting

IPDC transmits information and data using the communication protocol IP on broadcast radio waves.

I founded IPDC as the chairman in 2009.

Ten years have passed since then, and some specific actions are starting to be in motion.

Broadcasters such as TBS, Nippon Television Network Corporation, Mainichi Broadcasting System, Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation, Kansai Telecasting Corporation, Asahi Broadcasting Corporation, and TV Shinshu, content companies such as Space Shower and Sony, advertising companies such as Dentsu and Hakuhodo, and systems companies such as NTT Smart Connect, NEC, SCSK, and Maspro Denko are also participating.

There is also a move to provide information on disaster prevention and other topics using the V-high frequency band after the withdrawal of NOTTV.

CiP, a tech-pop special zone we are promoting in Takeshiba, Tokyo, has already obtained a license as a specific experimental test station and will conduct IoT broadcasting experiments to transmit emergency and disaster prevention data to IT devices such as smartphones and digital signage, and IoT devices such as sensors and RF tags. In addition, an actual field demonstration experiment will also be carried out in Anan City, Tokushima Prefecture, with the cooperation of Shikoku Broadcasting.

Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has set the demonstration period to last until the end of this year and is calling for the early actualization of usages. It is preparing to formulate a policy for V-high, which is expected to be used to advance broadcasting services such as IPDC multimedia broadcasting and simultaneous data transmission systems for IoT terminals.

IPDC has been adopted by FM Tokyo Group in the V-Low frequency band. However, the service was discontinued at the end of March 2020. There is now an action to move the local governments' system for V-Low V-ALERT (disaster prevention information and public relations system for local governments) to terrestrial digital broadcasting. Already, TV Shinshu and Nankai Broadcasting have obtained an additional license to conduct IPDC on terrestrial digital and have started experiments working with local governments.

Based on this, this year, the IPDC Forum decided to proceed with two basic policies.

First was to make effective use of the existing terrestrial digital assets to achieve advanced disaster prevention administrative radio using terrestrial digital waves, and urge the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to design a system (such as the concretization of licenses for both communication and broadcasting) that actualizes the transfer from V-low.

The second was to establish IoT broadcasting. We will continue demonstration experiments in FY2020, and based on the results, we will urge the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to institutionalize IoT broadcasting in the V-high band, which is vacant in one wave nationwide.

Things are taking off, and I’m looking forward to it.

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White Paper on Information and Communication Concerning 5G Technology under the Coronavirus

 ■White Paper on Information and Communication Concerning 5G Technology under the Coronavirus

The White Paper on Information and Communications has been released.

The theme of the special feature topic was “Digital Transformation and Construction of New Daily Life Prompted by 5G.” It looks ahead to new lifestyles and ways of working under the coronavirus and analyzes the impact of 5G. Trends toward "Beyond 5G" are also introduced.

On the foundation of 5G, we have been aiming to improve efficiency and add value to industries using AI, big data, and IoT technologies. However, with the coronavirus, there is an irreversible evolution toward a society where cyberspace and real space are synchronized, based on the premise of protecting human life, showing positive recognition to "create new values.” 

First, regarding the changes in the telecommunications market, it is pointed out that the presence of Japanese companies in the cell phone handset/smartphone market is decreasing. I've long wondered about the policy goal of increasing the number of devices made in Japan, as I believe that the policy should be to maximize the benefits for users, regardless of where they are made. That opinion was ignored for a long time.

Would users, including start-ups, be complaining if the number of products made in Japan dropped to zero?　I don't think so.

Even if the equipment industry loses, it is better if the other user industries that use the technology win.

How can we visualize and analyze the benefits of users? Isn't that the policy theme?

Next, the White Paper recognizes that Japan is an advanced country in terms of challenges, with a declining population and aging society. It recognized that we should actively promote improving employment, quality of life, and labor productivity by introducing and utilizing ICT. This approach is correct.

In other words, the telecommunications policy has moved from the former policy of expanding the telecommunications industry to the policy of using telecommunications.

This year's white paper focuses on 5G.

It features ultra-high-speed, ultra-low latency, and multiple simultaneous connections.

But the reality of it is still not there. We still don't know much about it.

As a result, the white paper is also at the stage of sharing use cases.

The industries for usage are agriculture, infrastructure, construction, and mobility.

They are putting industrial uses forward before personal use. That is a natural order of things.

At the same time, data will play a key role in 5G = IoT.

However, this is not a common perception yet.

It’s because actual examples of business and life using data are still not shared with reality.

It will be a policy issue to show the advantages of data use and distribution for users.

By the way, I found some interesting figures in the basic data of the ICT field.

The domestic production value of the information and communication industry was 99.1 trillion yen, which is 9.8% of all industries.

The contribution rate of the ICT industry to the real growth rate is 40.8%.

The trade value of ICT goods and services is 12.8 trillion yen for imports and 8.7 trillion yen for exports.

However, the impact of the industry is significant. In particular, the treatment of the trade deficit of 4 trillion yen can be a policy theme.

Research expenditure in the information and communication industry is 3.9 trillion yen, 27.4% of corporate research expenditure.

The number of researchers in the ICT industry is 176,000, which is 34.8% of corporate researchers.

It takes up a very large portion of the nation.

Although the government's investment in R&D is often discussed at council meetings, I believe that the more important theme is how to improve the R&D capabilities of the private sector.

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Copyright System Needs Action before Discussion

 ■Copyright System Needs Action before Discussion

In the previous round of The Basic Policy Subcommittee of the Copyright Council for Cultural Affairs, the subcommittee made great progress in revising the Copyright Act to take measures against piracy, including countermeasures against leech sites and making it illegal to download infringing content. Furthermore, in response to the informatization of education, it allowed schools to use copyrighted works without a license.

We are now in the middle of the next round.

The following highly challenging topics are being discussed this term:

- Facilitating the processing of rights related to the simultaneous distribution of broadcast programs on the Internet.

- Review of the compensation system for private sound and visual recordings

- Ideal copyright measures that can adapt to the digital era.

I made two comments at the beginning:

One was on the informatization of education, and the other was on the broadcasting network distribution.

The former had already been dealt with.

Meanwhile, the broadcasting network distribution was a matter for the future.

1. About the informatization of education.

It has been ten years since we started the movement to give one PC per child. Japan used to be a developing country here, with one PC for every five children. Last year's supplementary budget and coronavirus emergency measures provided a little over 400 billion yen, so we expect to achieve the goal all at once this year. At the same time, the compensation system became a set, which made the scale balanced to pen up a new outlook.

As I said at the IP Headquarters meeting, I would like to express my gratitude to the government and other related parties involved in the revision of the system, and especially to the right holders, led by Commissioner Seo, as someone in the position to promote the informatization of education.

However, the main topic was what to do with the measures next year and beyond. Therefore, I look forward to the coordination of the parties concerned.

2 Internet distribution of Broadcasting

I participated in the 2004 review of compensation for private sound and video recordings and was also involved in the organization of digital broadcasting in 2008.

There was a very fierce conflict of interest, several ministers appeared, and there were lawsuits. Still, the issue has not been resolved. That is the kind of issue this is.

On the other hand, the term "convergence of communications and broadcasting" appeared in official documents in 1992 in a report by the Telecommunications Council. It’s a topic that has been around for almost 30 years.

It has been 30 years since Japan's copyright system became uniquely designed to function only within Japan, but the discussion on the system review only started in the past one to two years.

There were numerous times this should have been discussed but was skipped:

- When the right to make transmission available was established (1997)

- When the Act on Broadcast on Telecommunications Services was established (2001)

- When the telecommunication broadcasting law was reorganized (2010).

To quickly sort out these problems, the private sector stakeholders need to be prepared and take action with a considerable amount of commitment.

The reality is that even if a third party makes theoretical organizations, it will not be put into motion.

Solving this problem is an important issue that Japan, which has lagged behind in digitalization, and cannot afford to wait. I believe that we should keep pace with overseas systems.

However, I hope to see the stakeholder groups gather their opinions and make concessions to move this forward.

Moreover, this case is also linked to the legal systems of telecommunications and broadcasting.

It should be noted that one of the reasons for the problem is that the copyright system and the telecommunication and broadcasting legal system had been discussed as separate entities.

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Kyotango City and iU have signed an agreement.

 ■Kyotango City and iU have signed an agreement.

Kyoto faces a sea. The northern end of the region faces the Sea of Japan. It’s called the Tango Peninsula.

Kyotango City and iU signed an agreement and held a signing ceremony.

Kyotango City said the agreement's mission is to revitalize the city's industries and promote ICT education.

The agreement's contents are comprehensive and promote education, culture, sports, industry, human resource development, and city planning/environment/life improvements through AI and ICT.

It is unusual for a university and a municipality to enter into a partnership of this magnitude.

Specifically, the mayor, Yasushi Nakayama, will become a "super-visiting professor" at iU, and a virtual laboratory will be set up in which iU faculty, students, and partner companies participate.

Ideas proposed include using ICT to solve Kyotango City’s issues, such as tourism promotion, and providing remote classes, such as programming classes, to elementary and junior high school students in Kyotango City.

The iU was established as an experimental university that allows all students to start their own businesses cooperating with 250 companies.

Although all students are on route to start their business, I think many students are interested in solving social problems and creating local communities, rather than wanting to get rich quickly by making a stock company.

I want to create the first model in Kyotango City.

I think we can promote human resource development and regional promotion through collaboration between the university and the region, involving faculty members, students, and partner companies.

I believe that there are things that can be created by directly connecting Tokyo and the regions.

Is it possible to expand this model throughout Japan and overseas?

That's my intention.

The signing was done by mayor Yasushi Nakayama and me, the President of iU.

Actually, mayor Nakayama and I have known each other for 40 years.

We were in the same class at university, and his name Nakayama was right after my name Nakamura, on the student name list.

The signing ceremony was also witnessed by "Carrot Cabbage," comedians who declared to live in Kyotango City from Yoshimoto Kogyo.

We wanted them to participate in this project for a lively launch.

Yoshimoto Kogyo has comedians living in each of the 47 prefectures in Japan and focuses on SDGs-like efforts to solve local issues by addressing them in “funny” ways.

Carrot Cabbage goes by the motto "Half Farmer, Half Comedian. They grow agricultural products in Kyotango-City and sell them in Kyoto in a “funny” way.

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The Super e-Sports School has been launched.

 ■The Super e-Sports School has been launched.

The Learning of Tomorrow and the Japan e-Sports Union, JeSU, have partnered to establish the “Super e-Sports School.”

Communities of universities, colleges, elementary schools, junior high schools, and high schools interested in e-sports are formed. With the participation of experts, joint curriculums will be created, and research will be conducted.

Recently, e-Sports is becoming popular in Japan, and a series of large competitions, formations of professional teams, and corporate participation have been taking place. JeSU ran a study group commissioned by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in which I participated as a chairperson called the “Study Group on Measures to Revitalize e-Sports” (“e-Sports Study Group”). The study group estimated that the market size of e-Sports in Japan could reach 325 billion yen by 2025, including spillover areas.

In addition to its growth as an industry, the social significance of e-sports is also attracting attention in fields such as regional revitalization, inclusive society, and IoT education, etc. The e-Sports Study Group report cites “the search for the educational value of e-sports and the acquisition of evidence to support it” as future challenges. In light of the social significance of e-sports, the report recommends that “it is necessary to develop activities based on collaboration and cooperation among various parties, including educators at schools, universities and colleges, researchers in the field of education, and relevant administrative agencies including boards of education.”

The “Super e-Sports School” will be established by Learning of Tomorrow and JeSU to promote concrete initiatives by forming working groups as communities of universities, colleges, technical colleges, high schools, junior high schools, and elementary schools that are interested in introducing e-Sports into education.

- Creation and provision of joint curriculum and certification upon completion

- Research the educational effects of e-sports and obtain evidence.

- Activities to revitalize club activities

In addition, experts in the e-sports industry will be invited to participate as supporters to teach the joint curriculum and provide advice on the working group’s activities.

The organizers are Learning of Tomorrow and the Japan e-Sports Union, JeSU, with the cooperation of the CiP Council and local chapters of JeSU. Furthermore, The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Intellectual Property Strategy Promotion Office of the Cabinet Office are observers.

The initial participating schools are iU, Keio University KMD, Code Academy High School, Sapporo Shinyo High School, Sendai Ikuei High School, Chuo University Okajima Lab, Digital Hollywood University, Japan Electronics College, Musashino University Chiyoda Senior High School, Renaissance High School, and Waseda University Sports Business Institute.

We are looking for participation.

Supporters will come from a wide range of backgrounds, including experts who participated in the e-Sports Study Group, professional eSports players, team managers, event organizers, media, medical professionals, and local governments.

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What Will be the Response to Consumer Digitalization?

 ■What Will be the Response to Consumer Digitalization?

I served as the acting chairperson for the “Study Group on the Response to Consumer Digitalization.”

The report has been compiled.

It consists of the following:

1. Changes in consumer life from digitalization

2. The measures to deal with consumer digitization

　1) Consumer education

　2) Raising public awareness

3. Specific ways to deal with digital services

　1) Digital platforms

　2) Social media

　3) Online games

　4) Cashless payments

4. Dealing with AI and other new digital technologies

Consumer measures are often seen as consumer protection = business regulation. However, the concept of this report is to implement measures through public-private partnerships, with an emphasis on consumer responsibility and education, while considering independent consumers.

This is the approach that I prefer.

First, we list the items of services surrounding consumers and issues/troubles: 1) digital platforms, 2) social media, 3) online games, 4) cashless payment, and 5) AI.

We recognize that the digital shift is accelerating with the coronavirus, such as telework, online classes, online shopping, and home delivery of food becoming more popular. Furthermore, the transformation of society toward the use of goods rather than their ownership is irreversible.

The report accurately describes the vulnerability of consumers within the framework and how to deal with consumers in this context.

Consumer education will be a key measure.

The report states that “we will encourage people to act with awareness of their rights and responsibilities,” that information education should be promoted through the efforts of the private sector, such as the Japan Association for Safety and Security, and in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and that we should focus on information literacy education through the legalization of digital textbooks and making computer programming education compulsory.

I thought that the measures for senior citizens and the elderly were more important than those for the youth, which are already advanced.

In this regard, it was stated that efforts to improve the ICT skills of the elderly are necessary, but concrete measures are yet to be taken.

Another key measure is to spread awareness.

In addition to the traditional methods of distributing flyers and booklets and making announcements at press clubs, emphasis is being placed on the use of websites and social media.

The Consumer Affairs Agency has been making better use of influencers and comedians than other ministries and agencies in promoting information, and this stance is positively evaluated.

Regarding individual services, the first is the digital platforms.

Guidebooks should be made related to auctions, flea markets, etc., so that consumers can check the precautions themselves.

Sharing economy will be co-regulated in a soft law fashion, with the private sector running certification systems based on government guidelines.

This is a consumer measure approach that is not regulating businesses.

About Social Media

The list includes issues that consumers should be aware of and the necessary information literacy. Protect yourself.

However, concerning the issue of advertisements, it is requested that social media businesses and other related parties work together to eliminate and prevent malicious advertisements. The Consumer Affairs Agency will also provide data.

About Online Games

The report calls for voluntary efforts by the gaming industry, such as making guidelines. At the same time, it is expected that parents take action to understand the actual situation of their children and make use of parental control functions, etc. Therefore, this is also not a business regulation but an education and promotion approach.

For games, it is noteworthy that the report points out the “usefulness” of games, such as increased communication, uses in exercise, learning, medicine, and advantages in programming education.

With regard to e-sports, the report states that “the private sector will also promote the verification of educational effects.” This is a measure that the Learning of Tomorrow and the Japan e-Sports Union, JeSU, plan to work on.

About Cashless Payments

Knowledge should be acquired. We should recognize that consumers who do not manage their own information adequately are being intensively targeted. Do not use payment methods that you do not understand, even if they seem convenient. The government should provide easy-to-understand information through guidebooks. That was the stance of the report.

Finally, there is a section on dealing with new technologies such as AI. New technologies need to be evaluated in terms of both convenience and risk, and that consumers should understand at least the minimum requirements and use them wisely at their own risk. That was the stance of the report.

However, AI and IoT are yet to accumulate data to reveal real images. Therefore, it is still too early to leave it to consumers’ self-responsibility.

Scoring and profiling, where data is used to determine the credit/value of an individual, will be used by companies to hire personnel, judge financial credit, and predict crime, which would be used to exclude and discriminate. It is an issue that can affect respect for the individual and equality. Such data could be used in a black box. Therefore, it should be watched and emphasized for future consumer policies. That was the comment I made, and it was adopted.

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Will we have to line up after COVID-19?

 ■ Will we have to line up after COVID-19?

WIRED has published an article titled, "In the age of coexisting with viruses, 'lining up' will be part of our new everyday life". 

We are required to keep social distance, and in stores and offices, queues due to a limited number of people being allowed to enter are becoming the norm. These queues are said to be the new normal.

Please try your best to do it.

I've lined up a lot in my life so far.

Commuter trains, buses, ticket machines, amusement park entrances, famous ramen shops.

It wasn't that I lined up because I wanted to, but I had no choice so I did.

Lining up more because of COVID-19? It's not a joke.

Stay away. Keep your distance.  I expect those are the teachings of COVID-19.

Well, that means you can't line up, right?

Even if we keep somewhat at a distance, it would still be dangerous to line up.

Plan the surroundings so that you can do things without ever having to line up.

Better yet, just forbid me to line up. 

Tickets are on our smartphones, as are meal tickets. We can also place shop orders on smartphones. The trains are staggered.

Please do your best to make the shift to digital (technology) so that you can get things done without having to line up.

I say this because I'm an old man. 

Japan is an ageing society more than any other place, and using COVID-19 as bait to make us line up is a world conspiracy, trying to take away our strength by taking advantage of our weaknesses.  

Even if that's not the case, COVID-19 has exposed Japan's defeat. 

Our competitive strength has fallen from being 1st to 34th in 30 years.

The IT response with remote working, distance education, telemedicine, and e-government, is equal to that of developing countries. 

After the bubble, we just kept on losing. 

It's a failing of everyone in the older generation above me from 30 years ago when I was 30 years old. 

So what will you do after COVID-19?

A hybrid of being online/offline, and the new normal.

Fashionable words are flying around.

However, we have not been able to do structural reforms for a long time. We have not been able to deregulate for a long time. We have not been able to have an IT revolution for a long time.

A long 30 years of not being able to do anything.

I don't feel like we can do anything new.

At least it won't be possible for 30-year losers. We will die screaming the reasons why we can't do anything. 

All we can do is get out of the way.

I'll leave it to you young people.

One other thing I should do is silence the older generation above me.

Shut up, old man.

Shut up, old man movements.

I think I'll lash out at the older generation who scream the reasons why they can't do anything, and why they can't change.

I just realized. 

Is the strategy to make us line up after COVID-19, that kind of thing?

Is it that the generation that has been lining up so much in their lives already, should continue to line up outside for the rest of their lives?

Standing whilst in danger.

If so, I understand.

By the way, it seems that the people lining up for masks and toilet paper during COVID-19 were in their 50s and 60s, and not the younger generation. 

That's the difference between people who have limited access to information with just TV and no internet, and those who have strong internet literacy and access to better information.

You all got the right information, but kept silent and made the seniors all line up.

Well, I guess that's fine.

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E-sports that make progress under COVID-19

 ■ E-sports that make progress under COVID-19

While most industries have been damaged by people staying at home because of COVID-19, there are industries that are in very high demand. These are masks, toilet paper, convenience stores, digital teaching materials, and e-commerce.

I have a feeling that e-sports will also be one of them. I have this feeling, not because there are any clear figures about it, but because I am taking notes on the perceptions of the current situation.

E-sports are competitive games that can be played remotely. Even in the COVID-19 situation, it is possible to hold tournaments with few challenges.

Games are entertainment that create communication with other people without physical contact, so they are perfect during COVID-19. Relieve the stress of staying at home. 

That's why WHO ambassadors are also recommending having games now.

There is data that the amount of time that live streaming in Japan was being watched, increased by 44% two months after COVID-19 was announced as a designated infectious disease. There is also data showing that the number of people watching games is increasing, and it has been observed that this is having a favorable effect on works that were released a long time ago, making them more popular, even globally.

Of course, real events play a big role in the world of e-sports. In many cases, the qualifying rounds are held online, and the final is held offline. However, now, it has become clear that it is possible to hold really attractive tournaments and events completely online, whilst keeping the costs down. 

The world-leading tournament "Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2020", was held without spectators, but it recorded the highest number of people simultaneously accessing it in history. Now is not the time for players to be patient, but for training and growth, and it is expected that the players that have built up the most strength will play an active part next time. 

What is attracting attention now is that existing sports are using e-sports as an alternative.

The US basketball NBA will hold a tournament in the "NBA 2K20" where top players such as Kevin Durant, Trae Young and Rui Hachimura will take part to show off their game skills.

Active F1 drivers such as McLaren's Lando Norris, also took part in the "F1 Virtual Grand Prix", held while motor sports were canceled or postponed. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, participated for the first time in the "Virtual Australia GP" on April 5th, and won the championship just like that.

In professional tennis, the "Mutua Madrid Open" will hold an e-sports tournament for the "Tennis World Tour" games, with active players such as Rafael Nadal participating. 

While real sports tournaments are being canceled, we are communicating the true pleasure and fun of sports through e-sports. It's an interesting attempt.

The sports industry has come to an immediate compromise, settling on "eSports can go". It's a new move.

From the perspective of real sports, this is an opportunity to appeal to young people who are not usually exposed to sports. From the perspective of e-sports, this is an opportunity to get fans of real sports to watch e-sports. It is true synergy.

COVID-19 is an unfortunate event, but it can also be an opportunity to recognize the appeal and potential of e-sports. E-sports is  entertainment that involves interactive communication, and has an educational effect of fostering abilities that will be important in the future.

Japan is a major nation for games. but a developing country in terms of e-sports, but it is expected to become an e-sports powerhouse by promoting healthy development both in terms of industry and as a culture.

At the same time, 5G starts. E-sports is also predicted to move on to the next stage. Like COVID-19, this is a drive that is spreading across the world at the same time, and the point is how do we make the most of this changing environment. 

I would like to promote growth by taking advantage of opportunities such as the Osaka Expo in 2025.

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