Recognizing the significance of the IT Revolution, which can be compared to that of the preceding Agricultural Revolution or the Industrial Revolution in the history of humankind, Prime Minister Mori convened an IT pre-Summit Roundtable Meeting on July 19, 2000, at the Prime Minister's Official Residence and consulted with world leaders in the IT field. IT will be high on the agenda of the G8 Summit in Okinawa, July 21-23, 2000, at which the Prime Minister of Japan will preside.

The participants of the IT pre-Summit Roundtable Meeting were as follows: Mr. John Chambers, President and CEO, Cisco Systems Inc.; Mr. Vernon J. Ellis, International Chairman, Andersen Consulting; Mr. John Gage, Chief Researcher and Director, Sun Microsystems Inc.; Mr. Richard T.K.. Li, Chairman and Chief Executive, Pacific Century Group; Mr. Roberto R. Romulo, Chairman, e-ASEAN Task Force; Mr. Klaus Schwab, Chairman and Founder, World Economic Forum; Mr. Naoyuki Akikusa, President, Fujitsu Limited; Mr. Nobuyuki Idei, Chairman and CEO, Representative Director, Sony Corporation; Mr. Jiro Ushio, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, USHIO INC.; Mr. Taizo Nishimuro, Chairman of the board, Toshiba Corporation; and Mr. Takeo Shiina, Senior Advisor, IBM Japan. From the government, Chief Cabinet Secretary and IT Policy Minister Nakagawa, Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Hirabayashi, Minister of International Trade and Industry Hiranuma, Minister for Foreign Affairs Kono, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Abe, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Ueno, and Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Furukawa attended the roundtable presided over by Prime Minister Mori.