International Cooperation and Collaboration in Respect of Information and Communications Technology

October 2001

1. Fields of Japan's international cooperation and collaboration in respect of information and communications technology (IT)

(1) Collaboration in international rule making and at the policy and institutional level

(2) The IT diffusion at the international level (efforts to bridge the digital divide)

2. Ongoing international cooperation and collaboration

(1) Collaboration in international rule making and at the policy and institutional level through international organizations and other such bodies

Collaboration in international rule making and at the policy and institutional level in relation to IT usually take place primarily through what are known as multilateral forums, such as international organizations. Since it is generally recognized that the IT sector is driven by the private sector, such cooperation often takes place with the participation of the private sector.

1. Electronic commerce
   Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): a broad range of fields including tax, authentication, electronic signatures and encryption
   
   World Trade Organization (WTO): trade matters relating to electronic commerce (such as the issue of the (non-) imposition of customs duties, characterization under WTO agreements, the liberalization of the market for IT-related products and services and the debate over intellectual property rights)
   
   United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL): Model Law on Electronic Commerce and Model Law on Electronic Signatures, etc.
2. Tackling high-tech crime
   G8 Senior Experts Group on Transnational Organized Crime (Lyon Group): inter-governmental consultation and government-private sector dialogue on combating high-tech crime
   
   Council of Europe Committee of Experts on Crime in Cyber-space: creation of the International Convention on Cyber-Crime
3. Other
   World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO): protection of intellectual property rights (such as copyright and trademarks), domain names and so on
   
   International Telecommunication Union (ITU): allocation of radio frequencies, adjustment of orbit positions for communications satellites, assignment of telecommunications numbers and so on

(2) Cooperation for the bridging the international digital divide

1. DOT Force
   G8 Kyushu-Okinawa Summit in 2000 included IT as a major agenda. Digital divide was spotlighted as a important theme in that context and the importance of bridging it was emphasized in the Okinawa Charter on the Global Information Society announced by the G8 Heads of State. As a follow-up, it was decided at the Summit to establish the Digital Opportunity Taskforce (DOT Force) to strengthen the global alliance aimed at eliminating the digital divide.
   
   The DOT Force held meetings of its membership, comprised of a broad spectrum of stakeholders from G8 governments, businesses and non-profit organizations (NPOs), developing countries, international organizations and business groups, and finalized its report (including the "Genoa Action Plan" for the bridging of the digital divide) in spring 2001. The report was endorsed by the Heads of State at the G8 Genoa Summit held in July 2001, and all the stakeholders were encouraged to follow it up.
2. Japan's Comprehensive Cooperation Package to Address the International Digital Divide
   In July 2000, ahead of the Kyushu-Okinawa Summit, Japan announced the above package of cooperation consisting of non-ODA (Official Development Assistance) (OOF: Other Official Flows including international finance operations by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation) and ODA public funding, with a view to extending a total of US$15 billion over a 5-year period. The key elements of the package are: intellectual support for policy and institution building, development and training of human resources, building of IT infrastructure and provision of assistance for network establishment, and promotion of the use of IT in development assistance.
   
   Japan also extends various different types of cooperation to international organizations such as OECD, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO), ITU, United Nations Development Fund (UNDP), United Nations Volunteers (UNV), the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in their efforts to bridge the digital divide.

(3) Bilateral cooperation and collaboration
(Asian region)

1. Japan-India IT Promotion and Cooperation Initiative
   Japan and India agreed to promote cooperation on IT during the visit to India of (then) Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori in August 2000. The two countries are making progress in cooperation on IT. Three pillars of the cooperation consist of the followings: (a) increased economic exchange in the private-sector, such as the economic mission to India dispatched by the Government of Japan (from late October to early November 2000), (b) more active exchange of IT personnel, including the expansion of training programs for Indian engineers and a relaxation of visa regulations (from February 2001) making it easier for Indian IT specialists to gain admittance to Japan, (c) the promotion of IT dialogue including vice-ministerial-level IT discussions between Japan and India (first held in October 2000), Japan-India IT Summit and Japan-India eminent person's meeting on IT (held in September 2001).
2. Japan - Republic of Korea (ROK) IT Cooperation Initiative
   Japan- ROK IT Cooperation Initiative was announced during the visit to Japan of President Kim Dae Jung in September 2000. Cooperation in IT between the two countries is being fostered in terms of a) cooperation in the e-commerce field, b) industrial cooperation for taking initiatives in Asia, c) cooperation in the research and development of information technology, d) cooperation to strengthen the IT human resource interaction, e) cooperation to develop research exchange, f) cooperation on the local level, g) cooperation in the World Cup Soccer Games 2002, h) cooperation in multilateral fora such as Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and WTO.
3. IT cooperation between Japan and China
   Cooperation in the area of IT was included as one of the 33 items of the Japan-China cooperation declared in a joint press announcement during the visit to Japan by Jiang Zemin, President of the People's Republic of China, in 1998. Japan subsequently used the opportunity of the visit to Japan of Premier Zhu Rongji in October 2000 to announce that it would send a mission for the purpose of policy dialogue. Also, in order to promote cooperation between Japanese and Chinese industry in the area of IT and others. Japanese side announced that it would implement measures to expand visa issuance for Chinese nationals visiting Japan on business under certain, specific conditions and this measure came into force on 15 March 2001.
4. Cooperation with Singapore in respect of IT
   Negotiations are taking place to incorporate cooperation on IT into the agenda of the Japan-Singapore Economic Agreement for a New Age Partnership. Building cooperation in the area of IT into a set of international commitments is a pioneering step. The specific details of the cooperation are under negotiation, but discussions are taking place about the possibility of building in more simplified procedures for the accreditation of certification providers and other such initiatives.
   
   (North America and Europe region)
   
   • Japan-US Regulatory Reform and Competition Policy Initiative / The Working Group on Information Technology: aiming to improve the environment for growth and investment in the IT sector policy dialogue on regulatory reform in relation to IT (US).
   • Japan-France Dialogue Forum: Information Technology Working Group (France)
   • "20 Actions for the 21st Century": development of IT, new communications networks and image exchange are included. (France)
   • Japanese-German Cooperation Council for High-Tech and Environmental Technology (Germany)
   • German-Japanese Forum: joint statement addressed to the leaders of both countries from the co-hosts Japan and Germany (Germany)
   • "Japan-Germany Relations in the 21st Century": IT is included as an area for cooperation (Germany)
   • "Action Agenda 21: The UK and Japan in the 21st Century": E-commerce is included as an area for cooperation (UK)
   • Japan-United Kingdom Joint Announcement on Global Electronic Commerce (UK)

(4) Regional and inter-regional cooperation

1. Cooperation with ASEAN
   The ASEAN countries signed the e-ASEAN Framework Agreement at the ASEAN Summit of November 2000. Japan welcomed such movement at the occasion of the ASEAN+3 (Japan, China and the ROK) Summit, the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference and other fora, and announced that it would support e-ASEAN and other efforts in the area of IT by putting in place a Comprehensive Cooperation Package a total of US$15 billion, with the emphasis on ASEAN. The East Asia ICT Cooperation Conference was held in Japan in September 2001, and saw a broad spectrum of views exchanged on cooperation in the area of IT in the East Asia region. Japan provides support for the implementation of IT-based projects to the ASEAN Promotion Centre on Trade, Investment and Tourism (the ASEAN-Japan Center), an international organization established between Japan and the ASEAN countries.
2. IT cooperation between Japan, China and the ROK
   At the Japan-China-ROK Trilateral Summit Meeting in November 2000, the three countries discussed promoting cooperation in East Asia in the area of IT through joint support for e-ASEAN and other ASEAN efforts in the area of IT. The first meeting of ICT Working Group at Director-General Level among Japan, China and the ROK was held in Japan in September this year in response to a proposal from China to set up a forum for working-level consultations.
3. Cooperation in Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
   In November 2000, APEC Economic Leaders committed in its Declaration to develop and implement a policy framework to enable people in each economy to have individual or community-based access to information and services offered via the Internet by 2010, as a first step towards which the aim is to triple the number of people within the APEC region with individual and community-based access by 2005. Japan stated that a significant proportion of its Comprehensive Cooperation Package would be mobilised in the APEC region and it was welcomed by the Meeting.
   
   The establishment of the e-APEC Task Force was approved in response to the Action Agenda for the New Economy that was adopted as an annex of Leaders' Declaration. The task Force identified three areas of action, namely: a) to foster environments conducive to reinforcing market structures and systems, b) to foster environments conducive to infrastructure investment, technological development and entrepreneurship, and c) to develop staff training and entrepreneurial spirit. Japan has said that it will provide cooperation in each of these three areas.
4. Cooperation in ASEM
   The Third ASEM Summit in October 2000 acknowledged the importance of cooperation in the area of IT and agreed to accelerate efforts to address the digital divide. Japan joined with the ROK and other ASEM partners in proposing the Initiative to Address the Digital Divide, and hosted the ASEM Seminar on the Digital Opportunity in March 2001 in Japan.
5. Cooperation with the EU
   It was agreed at the Japan-EU Summit of July 2000 to promote cooperation on IT, inter-alia, for developing telecommunication regulatory co-operation and for creating an appropriate electronic commerce environment.
6. Japan-Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) cooperation
   Enhanced Japan-CARICOM cooperation was announced at the first Japan-CARICOM Ministerial-Level Conference in November 2000. Fourteen young leaders in the field of IT from the Caribbean countries were invited to Japan in March 2001 and provided with a training program that included lectures, tours and other events at companies in the field. Japan will cooperate in the development of human resources for distance education by providing support for the University of the West Indies Distance Education Centre, aiming at increasing the numbers of those engaged in distance education. In order to foster IT in CARICOM countries, regional seminars will be held in CARICOM countries for policy-makers involved in promoting IT and representatives of the private sector by utilizing Japan's Fund in UNDP. The project then plans to support human resources development through measures such as the dispatch of experts to CARICOM countries and centers in the region that are pivotal to the promotion of IT, based on proposals resulting from the above-mentioned seminars.
7. Pacific IT Promotion Projects
   This was one element of the Miyazaki Initiative announced at PALM2000 (Second Japan-South Pacific Forum Summit Meeting) of April 2000. A Seminar on the Promotion of IT was held in Okinawa in January 2001 with the participation of IT policy-makers from the Pacific Island nations. Based on the results of this seminar, Japan will in future provide support by, among other measures, formulating specific policies and hosting locally-held workshops to allow the various different countries to promote their IT policies. Japan will also provide IT-driven, hardware- and software-based support for projects such as distance education, tele-medicine and mangrove preservation by linking into the projects of other donors.
8. IT cooperation with Africa
   At the Third Asia-Africa Forum held in Malaysia in May 2000, Japan proposed the concept of an Asia-Africa network in the area of IT and the e-TICAD (Tokyo International Conference on African Development) project for cooperation between Asia and Africa. The former is a concept of building a framework for fostering cooperation between Asia and Africa by promoting the construction of a network between related organizations in Asia and Africa. The latter, implemented in cooperation with UNDP, is intended to utilize Asia-Africa cooperation for promoting IT in Africa by enhancing technology transfer through a dispatch of Asian specialists.
   
   In a policy speech made in South Africa by (then) Prime Minister Mori on the first-ever visit to Africa by an incumbent Prime Minister in January 2001, it was stated that IT would be a priority area in the TICAD process and that a high-level study mission would be dispatched at an early stage in order to consider the possible cooperation regarding IT. In June 2001, a study mission was sent to South Africa and Tunisia as a follow-up to this statement. Based on the studies attained through this mission, bilateral talks are now underway to determine provision of specific cooperation.