Japan–EU Policy Forum on Silver ICT

EU-Japan cooperation can bring major advantages and essential contributions for the solution of global ageing issues. Both Japan and EU can learn the lessons from the best practices in each experience. The concrete actions on short and medium term will be prepared as recommendations linked for Japan-EU ICT policy exchange to materialise the mutual benefits of cooperation.

In terms of cooperation Japan and the EU share many of the same challenges to be addressed by policy and by R&D in the ICT field (Internet governance, Internet security, ageing population, etc).  The EU-Japan ICT regulatory Dialogue's 20th meeting will be held on 4th December in Brussels, and this workshop is being held in that context, with the conclusions being fed into the Dialogue itself.  The Dialogue, which is generally held annually, is a government-to-government meeting, and is co-chaired at Vice Ministerial level.  It covers a wide range of ICT subjects of mutual interest or concern in the areas of policy exchange, regulatory discussion, and technology research cooperation.

Practical information

Venue: European Commission Building
Avenue de Beaulieu 25, B-1160, Room 0/S1 (Ground Floor)

Co-Chairs: Prof. T. Obi, Waseda University and Paul Timmers, European Commission

Participants: Japan /22 EU/15-20 (Invitation only)

Objective: The issues on aging society are already the top priority of national agendas for Japan and EU. ICT-based innovation can play a key role in addressing this challenge and help to create major opportunities for citizens and industry. EU-Japan cooperation can bring major advantages and essential contributions for the solution of the global aging issues. Both Japan and EU can learn the lessons from the best practices in each experience. The concrete actions on short and medium term will be prepared as recommendations linked for Japan-EU ICT policy exchange to materialize the mutual benefits of cooperation.

Agenda and Programme

9:00 - 9:10	Greetings representatives from Japan and EU Japan: Mr. Mitsuo Tanabe (Sub-leader), Director, ICT Policy for Promotion, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) EU: Mr. Paul Timmers, Director, Sustainable and Secure Society, DG Communications, Content and Technology, European Commission
9:10 - 10:10	1st Session: A follow-up of OECD –APEC Tokyo Workshop in Sept 2012 The session will provide participants with an overview of relevant policies and initiatives in EU and Japan which could form the basis for a cooperation. This will include also links with OECD silver economy initiative including relevant discussions and actions from the OECD-APEC Tokyo workshop Japan:  Prof. Toshio Obi, Waseda University, Co-chair of the Tokyo workshop Dr. Makoto Yokozawa, Deputy Chair of Working Group for Internet Economy, Japan Business Federation; Senior Researcher, Nomura Research Institute EU: Peter Wintlev-Jensen, Deputy Head of the “Digital Social Platforms” Unit, DG Communications, Content and Technology, European Commission
10:10 - 11:10	2nd Session: Present policy issues on Silver ICT both in Japan and EU This session will focus on EU-Japan stakeholder views on key issues to be addressed of common interest. It will bring examples of the likely areas of cooperation, eg service robotics, large scale trials and evidence. Japan: Dr. Naoko Iwasaki, Associate Professor, Waseda University (worked on a government-assisted project) Dr. Norihiro Hagita, Executive Director, Social Media Research Lab. Group, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR) EU: Filippo Cavallo, Scuola Superiore Sant Anna (Robot ERA project) Mohammad-Reza Tazari, Frauenhofer, (UNIVERSAAL/REAAL Projects)
11:10 - 11:25	Coffee break
11:25 - 12:25	3rdSession: Future collaboration between Japan and EU This session will discuss in which ways cooperation could take its form and what would be beneficial for stakeholders. This part will be interactive and based on a few short presentations to set the scene for discussion Japan: Dr. Massimiliano Zecca, Associate Professor, Robot Research Center, Waseda University Dr. Atsushi Hiyama, Associate professor, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo EU: Prof. Atta Badii, Chair of the International Companion Robotics Institute (CRI) School of Systems Engineering, University of Reading Presentations of regional innovation initiatives on ICT for Active and Healthy Ageing Prof Stuart Anderson, Digital Health Institute, Edinburgh (DHI/Scotland) Damian O'Connor, European Connected Health Alliance, Northern Ireland (NI/ECH) Joe Gorman, Sintef Delab, Norway (UNIVERSAAL) Alain Thielemans, Flanders Care, Belgium
12:25 - 12:35	Conclusions This session will summarise the discussions and suggest conclusions for going forward with EU-Japan cooperation in this field. Japan: Mr.Mitsuo Tanabe (Sub-leader), Director, ICT Policy for Promotion, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) EU: Mr. Paul Timmers, Director, Sustainable and Secure Society, DG Communications, Content and Technology, European Commission
12:40 - 13:30	Working lunch