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[Provisional Translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the fifth meeting of the Public-Private Dialogue towards Investment for the Future at the Prime Minister's Office.

During the dialogue, discussion took place on the fourth industrial revolution and on innovation.

Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said,

“We will lead the world in realizing the fourth industrial revolution. The keys to achieving this are open innovation, and the utilization of data in the fields where Japan’s strengths lie.

Japan’s universities are undergoing a transformation. We will strengthen the industry-academia collaboration system and aim to triple corporate investment in universities and research and development entities over the next decade. 

Within the next fiscal year, we will establish at least five industry-academia strategic research bases that have both professors and corporate research facilities of a world-leading standard.

Within this fiscal year, we will establish research and development goals and a roadmap for the industrialization of artificial intelligence. To that end, we will gather the wisdom of industry, academia and the government, and create the non-vertically segmented Artificial Intelligence Technology Strategy Council.

We will link regional venture businesses with the global market. Within this fiscal year, we will create a private sector-led core organization, and mobilize the policies of each ministry and agency in a unified manner.

The first stage of the fourth industrial revolution was competition relating to online data. The second stage will be competition relating to real-world data, such as in manufacturing workplaces, where Japan’s particular strengths lie. We will collect data that crosses the boundaries of companies and organizations, analyze it, and link it to business. We will transform the former principles of meeting in person or conducting transactions in writing, and instead use the new rule of the “IT Principle.”

We will create “platforms” for the sharing and utilization of data in fields where Japan’s strengths can be built upon.

By 2020, we will create advanced systems that share and utilize data, which go beyond the boundaries of separate factories or companies, collected by on-site sensors at 50 sites across Japan. By cooperating with Germany, which shares with Japan strengths in manufacturing bases, we will advance international standardization.

We will implement the practical application of automated driving maps, possibly as soon as 2018. Within this fiscal year, we will gather car manufacturers and map companies, unify specifications that cross corporate boundaries, and conduct international standardization.

Within this year, we will streamline legal systems for creating an organ that will efficiently collect large volumes of treatment and test data, manage it, and maintain anonymity, so the data can be used to further research on new drugs and treatments.

We will realize the provision of an “individualized health service” that meets each individual’s needs. To that end, within this fiscal year we will start verification operations to collect and analyze the data related to health insurance claims, medical examinations, and health that is currently held by medical institutions, companies, and insurance companies. We will introduce measures to strengthen initiatives by medical insurers that work to achieve preventative care and promote health, including the verification operations.

We will thoroughly support SMEs in responding to the fourth industrial revolution. By 2020, we will reduce the cost of the introduction of robots by 20%, and double the number of personnel who can support the introduction of robot systems to 30,000 people. In conjunction, to support the greater use of IT by SMEs, we will dispatch IT experts to 10,000 companies over the next two years.

One urgent need is for the development of personnel, achieving ICT education of the highest global level. I would like you to urgently formulate policies for the development of personnel who will support the fourth industrial revolution, and for their education at all levels from primary school to graduate school.

Today there have been proposals from the industrial community in regard to strategic projects for public-private sector measures toward the achievement of a 600 trillion yen economy, and on new means of reviewing regulations and administrative procedures. I would like the details of these proposals to be specified by the Industrial Competitiveness Council, and reflected in the new Growth Strategy. Thank you.”