The Second Ministerial Japan-UK Digital Partnership Council held
Published on January 16, 2024
On January 16, 2024, the Digital Agency, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry held a joint Japan-UK Digital Partnership Council via videoconference. The meeting was held at the parliamentary vice-minister level to discuss cooperation between the two sides in the digital field.
Summary of the Council
Japan was represented by Mr. Tsuchida Shin, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Digital Transformation of Digital Agency, Mr. Watanabe Koichi, State Minister for Internal Affairs and Communication, Mr. Kozuki Ryosuke, State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, while the UK was represented by Mr. Saqib Bhatti, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Tech and the Digital Economy).
During the council, the outcome document was issued as a result of discussions between the representatives of three Japanese ministries and Minister Bhatti.
This outcome document outlines the progress made since the launch of the Japan-UK Digital Partnership and provides direction for future initiatives for each Joint Action of the Partnership.
The main points of the outcomes are as follows:
- Vendor Diversification
Both participants confirmed their commitment to continue promoting Vendor Diversification through bilateral and multilateral frameworks regarding efforts to strengthen 5G supply chains through the promotion of Open RAN. They also agreed to enhance cooperation towards the deployment of Open RAN in third countries. - Semiconductors
Both participants issued a joint statement on semiconductor partnership in 2023, aiming to promote cooperation in the field of semiconductors. They discussed an industry-academia-government workshop between Japan and the UK for exploring possible further semiconductor cooperation initiatives and concurred in holding the workshop in the first quarter of 2024. - AI
Both participants welcome the outcomes of “AI Safety Summit” hosted by the UK last November. They also agreed to promote the "Hiroshima AI Process" and to endeavour to engage in outreach to increase the number of countries endorsing the Hiroshima AI Process based on the decided work plan. In addition, both participants confirmed their cooperation in efforts to broadly seek commitment to the International Code of Conduct from various organizations. - Data
Both participants reaffirmed their collaboration to progress Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT) and to work together on an Institutional Arrangement for Partnership (IAP) for operationalising DFFT, the establishment of which was endorsed at the G7 under Japanese presidency last year.
They have also confirmed to launch a joint bilateral project in early 2024.
Both participants also welcome the UK's participation in the Global CBPR Forum, which was established to enhance effective data protection and privacy while promoting interoperability between each country's data protection rules. They will continue to collaborate with other member countries to support the promotion of the CBPR system. - Digital Transformation
Building on a Memorandum of Cooperation in the area of Digital Government, signed in 2022, both participants have exchanged knowledge on Digital Marketplace, Digital Procurement Reform, Government Cloud and User-centered Design and Design Systems.
Outcome Document of the Council
JAPAN-UK DIGITAL PARTNERSHIP: PROGRESS REPORT（PDF／311KB）
