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6th Mobility Working Group

Overview

  • Date and time: Monday, December 23, 2024 (2024) from 13:00 to 15:00
  • Location: online
  • Order of business
    1. Opening
    2. Proceedings
      1. Initiatives by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (Logistics, "Transportation Vacuum"
        • Current Status and Challenges of Logistics
          • Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and
        • Efforts by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's "
          • Ministry of Land, Infrastructure
      2. Examples of Mobility Services
        • Initiatives of "Transportation for Living," a transportation trading company made by everyone
          • Mr. Hayao Tajima, Representative Director of Kurashi no Kotsu
        • About the MSP Concept
          • Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association Next-Generation Mobility Committee
          • Digital Task Force Secretariat Support Mr. Yaichi Kubo
        • Overseas Examples and Examination of the Functions of Regional Transport Trading Companies
          • Member of Hidaka
      3. Issues in the "Mobility Roadmap 2025" and the schedule for future discussions
    3. Adjournment

Material

Minutes

Director, Asayama: I will check the documents first. As stated in the agenda that I sent you in advance, the documents are the agenda, documents 1 to 7, and the list of attendees. If there is any shortage, you can use the chat function of teams or contact the secretariat. As for the introduction of the attendees today, there is a time constraint, so I would like to replace it with the distribution of the list of attendees in your hand. In addition, as for the member Wakana, I received a sudden notice that he will be absent due to a schedule conflict. Thank you for waiting. However, the "6th Mobility Working Group" will be held now. Thank you for attending today despite being busy at the end of the year. I am Asayama of the secretariat, who will be the moderator today. Nice to meet you. Just before the meeting, Mr. Chief Mori will not be able to attend. On behalf of Mr. Chief Mori, Mr. Director-General Murakami will give a speech.

Director-General MURAKAMI: Thank you for coming despite your busy schedule. Based on the instructions from Chief Mori, I will read the greeting.

Last time, we received opinions on the themes covered in the Mobility Roadmap 2025. This time, it is important to have a common understanding of issues related to logistics and efforts to eliminate the transportation gap. Therefore, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism will explain the "Current Situation and Challenges of Logistics" and "Efforts by the Headquarters for Eliminating the Transportation Gap."

In addition, we received opinions from many members of the Transport Trading Company, so today we invited guests from the Transport Trading Company. Mr. Tajima, who was one of the first to propose and work on the concept of the Transport Trading Company, will talk about the efforts of "Kurashi no Koutsu Co., Ltd." Mr. Kubo will talk about the MSP concept, which has the potential to become a common foundation for the Transport Trading Company, and Mr. Hidaka will talk about overseas cases and the examination of the functions of a local transport trading company.

I would like to ask you to make use of your knowledge and have a lively discussion today.

Director, Asayama: Thank you very much. Today's meeting will be held online. We ask all members to turn on the camera at all times during the meeting and to unmute the microphone when speaking. We ask that you mute the microphone when others are speaking. We also ask that the audience turn off both the camera and the microphone.

Now, I would like to move on to the agenda. First of all, I would like the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to explain the "Current Situation and Challenges of Logistics" and the "Initiatives of the Headquarters for Eliminating the Transportation Vacuum." First of all, I would like the Logistics and Automobile Bureau to explain.

Assistant Director Hayashida (Distribution Policy Division, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism): Regarding Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. I am pleased to meet you today. I will explain the current situation and issues of distribution in accordance with Material 2.

Please refer to page 1. First of all, I would like to explain the current state of the logistics industry. Logistics is a social infrastructure that supports the lives of the people and the Japanese economy. The total operating revenue of the logistics industry is about 29 trillion yen, or about 2% of all industries. The number of employees is about 2.26 million, or about 3% of all employed people. In this situation, the transportation volume of domestic freight by mode is over 90% for automobiles in the ton base graph on the left, about 50% for automobiles in the ton kilometer base graph on the right, about 40% for domestic shipping, and about 5% for railways.

Please refer to page 2. Against this background, working hours in the trucking business are about 20%, or 400 to 450 hours, longer than the average for all industries. Annual wages on the right are 5% to 15%, or about 200,000 to 600,000 yen, lower than the average for all industries. The labor shortage, combined with the above-mentioned working hours and annual wages, is about twice as high as the average for all industries. In terms of the age structure, the ratio of young and elderly people is lower than the average for all industries, and the ratio of middle-aged and elderly people is high.

Please refer to page 3. Under these circumstances, there has been a review of overtime work regulations in the automobile transportation industry. To be specific, based on the Work Style Reform Act, which was revised in June 2018, the upper limit of 960 hours per year has been applied to overtime work for driving since April 1, 2019, five years after the enforcement of the Act in April 2024. In addition, with regard to the "Improvement Standard Notification" by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare Metropolitan Government, which sets forth the hours of restraint for truck drivers, efforts are being made to strengthen the hours of restraint and driving.

Please refer to page 4. With regard to this situation, we have estimated the impact of working hour regulations and other factors on logistics. Specifically, as described in the caption above, if we do not take specific measures, there is a possibility of a transportation capacity shortage of approximately 14%, equivalent to 400 million tons, in fiscal 2024. In addition, if we do not take measures thereafter, there is a possibility of a transportation capacity shortage of approximately 34%, equivalent to 900 million tons, in fiscal 2030. As for the transportation capacity shortage, as shown in the graph on the left, by item, agricultural products and fishery products have a significant impact. In the graph on the right, by region, the transportation capacity shortage has a strong impact in rural areas such as China and Kyushu.

Please refer to page 5 for a survey on the level of awareness of the logistics crisis. Among general consumers, there is currently a certain amount of redelivery of home delivery cargo. As shown in the graph on the right, 84.5% of businesses say they are aware of the logistics crisis, but only about 50% are actually taking measures. There is a gap between them. I recognize that how to bridge the gap is an issue.

Please refer to page 6. In this context, various initiatives have been taken since last year toward logistic innovation. To be specific, in March 2023, we established the Ministerial Conference on Logistic Innovation in Japan, and in June, the Ministerial Conference formulated the Policy Package for Logistic Innovation. Subsequently, in October and November, we formulated the Emergency Package as a response to be incorporated in the Comprehensive Economic Measures and Supplementary Budgets, etc., and since the beginning of this year, the Cabinet approved the Logistic Bill, and the Ministerial Conference formulated the Medium - to Long-Term Plan for Fiscal 2030, etc. The revised Logistic Law was promulgated in May this year after deliberation in the National Assembly. After that, we reported on the progress of the policy package, etc. at the Ministerial Conference, and in November this year, the Joint Council of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries compiled a report on the implementation of these new laws, and the revised Logistic Law will be partially implemented in April next year.

Page 7 shows the outline of the "Policy Package for Logistics Innovation," which was established in June. Logistics is a social infrastructure that supports the lives of the people and the economy. In order to make the logistics industry an attractive workplace, the Act on Work Style Reform will be applied from April this year, but we are facing the so-called "Year 2024 Problem," in which there are concerns about the stagnation of logistics. In response to the transportation capacity shortage caused by the "Year 2024 Problem," we have advanced initiatives including legislation under the three pillars of "Review of Business Practices," "Efficient Logistics," and "Behavioral Change of Shippers and Consumers."

Please refer to page 8. Based on this package, we submitted the "Law for Partial Revision of the Law Concerning the Promotion of Integration and Efficiency of Distribution Business and the Motor Truck Transportation Business Law" to ordinary Diet this year. In the background, while the Act on Work Style Reform is applied to make the logistics industry an attractive workplace, we are facing the "Year 2024 Problem," which is concerned about the stagnation of logistics. Under these circumstances, if no measures are taken, there is a possibility of transportation capacity shortages, and we will take measures in accordance with the following three pillars as a law to improve the environment for supporting logistics in Japan through the cooperation of cargo owners, logistics businesses, and general consumers. First, with regard to regulatory measures for shippers and logistics operators, the government imposes an obligation on both shippers and shippers, as well as logistics operators such as trucks, railways, port transportation, air transportation, and warehouses, to make efforts to take measures to improve logistics efficiency, and the government formulates criteria for these measures. The government will provide guidance, advice, surveys, and public announcements on the status of these efforts based on the judgment criteria. Of these businesses, those above a certain scale are designated as specified businesses, and are required to formulate more specific medium - and long-term plans and submit periodic reports. If the implementation of these plans is insufficient, the government will issue recommendations and orders. Among specified business operators, cargo owners are also required to appoint a general logistics manager. The second pillar is regulatory measures for the transactions of truck operators. When concluding transportation contracts, etc., we require written issue, etc. stating the consideration for the content of the services to be provided, and also require the prime contractor to prepare a actual forwarding system management book stating the name of the actual forwarding operator, etc. Third, with regard to the regulatory measures for light truck operators, the number of fatal and serious accidents has doubled in the last six years, and we have made it mandatory for light truck operators to appoint managers, attend lectures, and report accidents to Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in order to ensure the necessary awareness of laws and ordinances.

Please refer to page 9. Regarding the schedule for the enforcement of the revised Logistics Law, based on the passage of the bill in April this year and the promulgation of the law in May this year, a joint meeting of the three ministries' councils was established in June this year. After several discussions, the joint meeting's summary was formulated and published on November 27 this year. Going forward, the law will be enforced in April of twenty twenty-five and in April of fiscal 2026, the fiscal year after that.

I would like to introduce a part of the content that has been compiled so far as the Joint Meeting for the Enforcement of the New Law on the Effects of Chemical Substances. Page 10 is the basic policy, which shows the direction of future efforts along pillars 1 to 5.

Page 11 shows more specific criteria for determining what measures will be taken by cargo owners and logistics operators as I mentioned earlier in the bill. All cargo owners, chain operators that are the headquarters of franchise chains, and logistics operators will be obliged to make efforts as measures to be taken to improve logistics efficiency, and criteria will be formulated that show examples of these measures. Specific measures will include "improving loading efficiency," "reducing waiting time for cargo," and "reducing time for cargo handling, etc." In addition, criteria for designating specified business operators have been set so that major business operators that are recognized as having a higher contribution to the overall business are designated. About 3,200 top specified cargo owners and specified chain operators, 70 top specified warehouse operators, and about 790 top truck operators will be designated.

Please refer to page 12. We have established the Truck and Logistics G-Men and are working with shippers to provide corrective guidance. First of all, based on the "Policy Package for Logistics Innovation" in June last year, we have established the Truck G-Men, which consists of 162 people nationwide. Since then, we have designated November and December 2023 as "Intensive Monitoring Month" and have implemented the first recommendations and provided thorough corrective guidance on approaches and requests. In addition, in November 2024, in order to promote the optimization of transactions in the entire logistics industry, we have reorganized the name into the "Truck and Logistics G-Men" and are working with a total of 360 people, including staff from logistics departments at headquarters and regional transportation bureaus and members of the "G-Men Investigators" newly established by truck associations in each prefecture.

Please refer to page 13. With regard to these series of initiatives, we have formulated a medium - to long-term plan to advance further initiatives toward fiscal 2030. In this plan, we will implement initiatives to resolve the transportation capacity shortage, which was expected to be about 14% in fiscal 2024 and is expected to be 34% in fiscal 2030. We will follow up on this medium - to long-term plan every fiscal year, and we expect to review it in the future at the timing when the next "Comprehensive Logistics Policy Outline" is decided by the Cabinet.

Please see page 14. With regard to the "Government's Medium - and Long-term Plan for Fiscal 2030," we are advancing various initiatives in conjunction with the comprehensive economic measures recently approved by the Cabinet. Specifically, we plan to promote a new modal shift utilizing the various transportation modes on the upper left, promote logistics GX including the use of hydrogen, promote logistics standardization and data linkage, conduct logistics DX, and promote demonstrations of autonomous trucks on expressways. In addition, we are advancing consideration of what kind of logistics bases should be in the future to strengthen the functions of logistics bases.

Page 15 is an extract of the sections related to logistics described in the recent Comprehensive Economic Measures. This is for your reference. That's all from me.

Director, Asayama: . Last year, we received opinions on whether or not logistics should be included in the Mobility Roadmap 2025. Based on what the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism has just mentioned, I would like to ask for an exchange of opinions later on whether or not we should hold intensive discussions. Next, Mr. Tsuchida, Manager of the Policy Bureau, please.

Manager Tsuchida (Mobility Service Promotion Division, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism): Mr. Ishida I am TSUCHIDA from the Mobility Service Promotion Division of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. I would like to explain the "Efforts to Eliminate the' Transportation Vacuum'" that our Ministry is currently promoting.

In July this year, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) established the Task Force to Eliminate the Transportation Vacuum. The Task Force, headed by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, is working to eliminate areas and time zones where local people cannot use their means of transportation by introducing the Japanese version of ride-sharing and public ride-sharing. We are taking measures with two main objectives, one is measures for local transportation, and the other is measures for tourism transportation. I believe that we have made progress to a certain extent by conducting sales activities for local government heads and urging transportation businesses through transport bureaus across the country. In addition, on November 25, we launched the private sector Platform to further expand the scope of our efforts by utilizing the expertise and know-how of Public-Private Partnership. We are trying to further promote our efforts by utilizing this platform.

As for the situation of securing local transportation, when the headquarters was launched in July, there were about 622 local governments that were not engaged in public ride-sharing or Japanese ride-sharing. We concentrated on these local governments and approached their heads, and as of December this year, the number had decreased to 24. I understand that tools for securing transportation, including public ride-sharing and Japanese ride-sharing, are spreading throughout the country. We are also making progress in the transportation of tourism. First, as the introduction and improvement of secondary transportation services, for example, the introduction of Japanese public ride-sharing from stations and efforts to provide transportation itself, such as improving the usage environment of taxis, are progressing. In addition, efforts have been made to post transportation means on map applications such as Google Maps to make people aware of which means are provided, and to develop a system that allows people to make taxi reservations on express trains to create an environment that makes it easier to make taxi reservations.

Over the past six months or so, we have focused our efforts on the "transportation vacuum," and I believe that the tools themselves are steadily penetrating, including the creation of an environment.

However, the "traffic vacuum" has not yet been completely eliminated nationwide, so we have designated the three years since the twenty twenty-five as the "period of intensive measures to eliminate the traffic vacuum," and we will continue to make further efforts. In order to reassess the current situation of the "traffic vacuum," we will ask each local government to assess the current situation, and while compiling the results, we will proceed with efforts while holding the Elimination Headquarters, including what measures will be taken for places with "traffic vacuum." We will continue to make intensive efforts while formulating three year policies. By following the progress itself every year at the headquarters, we will make steady progress toward eliminating the vacuum. That's all.

Director, Asayama: , thank you very much. From this time, we have decided to advance the discussion of transportation companies, so I would like to hear an explanation from an expert with insight on cases related to mobility services. First of all, Mr. Tajima, Representative Director of Kurashi no Koutsu Co., Ltd., would like to hear an explanation entitled "Transportation Company that Creates Town Mobility, Kurashi no Koutsu Co., Ltd."

Mr. Tajima: Thank you, . My name is So Tajima. I'm from Edogawa-ku, Tokyo, but I moved to Mitoyo City, Kagawa prefecture three years ago, and now I run Kurashi no Koutsu Co., Ltd. I would like to introduce some examples. One of the things I value in running a company is that we are aiming for a change from a single-pole city to a multi-pole regional shift.

We started as a transportation company, and as we proceeded with our transportation project, we felt a sense of challenge, and we arrived at the concept of a transportation trading company. We are promoting our project with the aim of increasing the total amount of transportation by figuring out how to make people in the town want to move. We believe that there are three roles of transportation trading companies in the area: grasping potential demands, creating destinations, and cooperating with other industries. The first is to grasp potential demands. In Mitoyo City, Kagawa prefecture, about 550,000 tourists visit every year, so we grasp demands including tourists. The second is to create destinations, and we thought that we had to create destinations and motivations for transportation when we understood transportation as a means. The third is to cooperate with other industries, and I feel that these are the roles of a transportation trading company: opening transportation projects not only to transportation companies, but also to towns and businesses, and protecting regional transportation.

There are 13 investment companies in Kurashi no Kotsu, including three local taxi companies, a local 100-year-old construction material processing company, the only local supermarket, and a tourism company. What these companies have in common is that they are closely connected to transportation, such as supermarkets, and that they can think of new services because of transportation. Various companies and three taxi companies participated in the launch of Kurashi no Kotsu.

As a transportation company, what we value most is the quality and quantity of contact time between the customer and the transportation company. Until now, transportation and travel demand had not been made visible, but the transportation business was provided mainly on the supply side. As a transportation company, we recognize what is required from the customer's point of view through actual business, not through questionnaires or interviews.

At present, we are operating as a transportation company targeting children and seniors in the community. It was a catalyst for my move, and through the club activity called "Mitoyo Soken Bu" for children, we provide elementary, junior high, and high school students with new opportunities for exploratory learning in conjunction with the Mitoyo City Board of Education. We take children out to local adults and businesses every week, and we support accompanying children in activities where they decide on their own themes and explore. In the club activities, we support creating a connection between students and companies. Many of the reasons for absence from this activity were due to parents' transportation. Looking at the whole town, not only the consolidation and abolition of schools, but also the consolidation and abolition of club activities are being carried out. In that case, you will be in a state where you can't do club activities unless you go to the next town. I think the options for learning will change greatly depending on whether you can move or not.

Defining these as "gaps in learning options resulting from mobility gaps" and thinking about how to solve or reduce them, mobi, a shared taxi service, started. The system itself is owned by WILLER and KDDI through their subsidiaries, but we rent the system and expand it to the town by ourselves. Students can ride as much as they like for 4,500 yen per month and the general public for 7,500 yen. Tourists can use it regardless of the distance for 500 yen per ride. This system is used in two of the seven towns in Mitoyo City. Currently, you can make reservations by app and phone, and there are 4,000 to 5,000 rides per month. Of these, 60% are student users, the remaining 30% are tourists, and 10% are the general public.

It has been used for about two years, but the freight revenue does not exceed the operation cost. In addition, although many students and tourists use it to move to clear destinations such as schools and sightseeing spots, I feel that it is a problem that it has not been used in the form of a round trip that diverges from it. We are thinking about how to increase the frequency of movement and destinations, and with the concept of changing what we don't know about the town into excitement, we are developing a business to convey the destination using in-house signage and a mileage application, and will introduce it in the future to increase the frequency of round trips and movement in the town. At the same time, we are creating a business model on the assumption that this system will be used for the operation cost as a revenue source in addition to the freight revenue, and recently we have become in a state where it can cover the operation cost.

Next, for senior citizens, we created a service based on the hypothesis that the more people live at home or in their own city to the end, the more frequently they move, and with how we can create that state in mind. This June, we launched a new senior support program called "Magokoro Support." Based on the concept of everyday life, we provide a service like Yorozuya that solves any problem as long as it does not violate the law, from light bulb replacement to inheritance real estate. This is a new business that we started by joining a franchise business with about 240 stores. We cooperate with local supermarkets and real estate agents. For 1,000 yen per 20 minutes, we offer a wide range of services for seniors, such as weeding, shopping, going out together, and removing leftovers from empty houses. Originally, we often received requests for this service from individual customers, but recently, we have been receiving requests from care managers and welfare workers for services that cannot be provided in terms of time and labor. People called concierges are engaged in it, and they cooperate with local people in the form of full-compensation outsourcing, so-called spot work. I had doubts about the penetration of spot work at a time when the way of working in the community is limited to regular employees or part-timers, but when I started recruiting, I received seven or eight applications. At present, about 15 people are involved as concierges, ready to work at any time. Mainly housewives who have finished raising children and active seniors who have reached the retirement age of 65 are registered. These days, immigrants work as concierges as a way to get to know the community as their first job and to build relationships with seniors in the community. As the number of people who are registered is increasing, we are currently discussing with taxi companies to have them obtain a second class license and then have them work as taxi drivers in their spare time on an experimental basis.

While supporting seniors with Magokoro support, there are more and more cases where we divide roles and provide support for things that seniors have not been able to do until now or things that nursing care workers wanted to do but could not do. In one family, an elderly couple whose wife has cancer and whose husband is almost bedridden, we started to support them because the wife felt she had no time left. In the middle of it, the husband told me that he wanted to go on a trip with his wife at the end. From this experience, I feel that seniors and those around them have abandoned wishes and desires. They want to go shopping, but they can't carry heavy luggage and go out less often, they want to see friends, but they can't because they are afraid of falling down, and so on. I feel that there are a lot of abandoned wishes that are not visible.

As the next phase of Magokoro support, we are planning a new project to create fun and roles for seniors in the community. We believe that such a project will lead to the creation of travel demand. A specific example of creating travel demand for seniors is a karaoke cafe for seniors that was held during the day at a local snack bar. The motivation for travel was created when I heard that the only karaoke cafe in the community had collapsed and was moving to sing for 40 minutes. At first, a gray-haired grandma came alone and sang, and one time she called me and called my grandpa. This is the picture. The scenery I want to create as a transportation company is exactly like this. As a grandma, the purpose was karaoke, and as a grandpa, the purpose was to meet my grandma. By creating many small travel motives in the city, or by recognizing existing motives and creating a chain of travel, eventually linking them to the use of transportation services and local public transportation, we believe that we will be closer to establishing a transportation business.

Through these efforts, we are taking on the challenge of maintaining operations while optimizing transportation within the region by increasing contact time with the demand-side in terms of quality and quantity.

Finally, I would like to explain the difficulties of running a transportation company in the area. The first is the difficulty of dealing with the "interests" that remain in the area. There are five taxi companies in Mitoyo City, three of which are investment companies. However, the grandfather of one of the remaining two companies is a member of the Prefectural Assembly and has a base, and the city hall could not say anything strongly about it, and I was forced to start a new project in a situation where I could not receive financial and logistical support. When it comes to transportation, I felt that there are still grounds and cultures that are hard to change. The second is that transportation companies are made on the premise that they cannot make money. In terms of setting prices, we believe that our services are reasonably priced, but the Mitoyo City government buses allow you to ride anywhere for 100 yen per ride. When it comes to comparison, we cannot secure revenue from fares, and we have to think about how to secure revenue other than from fares. In facing this situation, we came up with the process of changing from a transportation company to a transportation trading company. Amidst the challenges, we hope to continue to make examples through trial and error. That's all. Thank you very much.

Director, Asayama: Next, I would like to hear an explanation about the MSP concept. Depending on the proceedings, Mr. Yamashita was scheduled to give an explanation, but due to unavoidable circumstances, Mr. Kubo of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association will give an explanation. Mr. Kubo, thank you in advance.

Mr. Yoshiyuki (Deputy: Mr. Kubo): Thank you very much. My name is Kubo, and I am working as a secretariat support for the Digital Task Force at the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association. Thank you very much for your time. On behalf of Mr. Yamashita, I would like to speak with you.

First of all, I would like to explain only the framework of today's explanation. Today, I would like to introduce the MSP concept and the Mobility Smart Passport concept, which are being worked on by the Digital Task Force of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association. Previously, Mr. Yamashita explained the MSP concept at the Study Group on the Ideal' Mobility Roadmap', the predecessor of this working group. It is a project that started with the integration of My Number Card and driver's licenses, and I mentioned that there are plans to materialize the concept through demonstration. Since then, the Digital Task Force of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association has been conducting deliberations, and one verification test will be conducted this fiscal year. From next fiscal year, based on the results of the verification test, automobile companies have gathered to discuss implementation. In the first half of today's explanation, I briefly explained what the MSP concept aims for, and in the second half, as a form of materialization, I would like to introduce the contents of preparations for Taki-cho, Mie Prefecture and now verification test.

First of all, I would like to introduce JAMA's Mobility Vision 2050. There is a shortage of workers due to a declining population and a decrease in the working-age population, and there are a number of issues that directly affect the lives of consumers. Under such circumstances, the JAMA's Mobility Vision 2019 aims to evolve into the next-generation mobility industry, solve social issues, create new value, and contribute to the development of the economy in order to realize a prosperous and dream-inspiring mobility society as an automobile industry.

To that end, I believe it is necessary to cooperate not only with the automobile industry, but also with many colleagues across industry boundaries. We will deepen cooperation with various industries, placing society, people, and consumers at the center. The basic idea is to provide happiness, abundance, and happiness while facing the problems of consumers.

The entire industry will work together to realize the world view set forth in Mobility Vision 2050, which includes contributing to the safe and secure of society, allowing all people, things, and things to move freely, and providing the joy of connecting with society.

One specific initiative among them is the MSP Initiative. We aim to support convenient and prosperous lives. To that end, our basic position is that the power of digital and the utilization of data are essential.

The lifestyles and values of consumers have diversified, and the relationship between consumers and automobiles has also diversified. For example, a person may drive a private car, a corporate car, a rental car, or a shared car. Recently, services for lending and borrowing cars between individuals have appeared. In other words, multiple people are using the same car for various purposes and in various ways. The MSP Concept aims to provide a convenient, safe, and secure mobility experience that is close to each consumer by understanding the N-to-N connection between people and cars in detail through digital utilization. For example, it is conceivable that various credentials and history data can be used easily and conveniently while protecting self-sovereignty, safety, and privacy by using My Number as a trust anchor. In addition, regarding vehicle data, we are considering using not only static information such as registration information and maintenance history, but also driving behavior data, etc. to create new value on the premise of user consent.

In order to multiply the data of the person and the data of the car N to N and connect them, it is necessary to develop a system of identifiers that uniquely identify not only the person but also the car.

In addition, I believe that it will be necessary to digitalisation credentials, and in the future, to advance the technology and specify digital keys, which are the key to realizing the connection between people and cars. I hope that we can proceed with this while exchanging opinions with people from other industries, the government, and academic experts.

From here, I would like to introduce the demonstration. Page 9 of the handout is a drawing made by about 40 people from 11 automakers participating in the Digital Task Force of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association. It depicts the realization of the MSP concept that I explained earlier, and the idea of what kind of happiness will be created as mobility through the expansion of data cooperation and utilization. If you look at this figure, each one is a use case, and there are 10 in total.

I will not go into all the details, but I would like to introduce some of them. First, as an easy-to-understand example, there is an initiative to reduce as much as possible the variety of documents and seals we have now and make the process easier for customers by making a digitalisation for all procedures related to automobiles. Second, we are also thinking about the possibility of being able to respond quickly and appropriately in the event of an emergency by linking with the medical information of drivers while driving. Third, as I will introduce in the initiatives with Taki-cho, we are also promoting initiatives to support people who are in need of transportation when they go out. Fourth, it is possible to provide optimized personal services to people who have returned their licenses or are disabled. Fifth, in the logistics field, where there is a serious shortage of drivers, we believe that we can contribute to both efficiency and ease of working.

We have 10 such initiatives in mind, and we have narrowed them down to three by coordinating them with urgent social issues. At the same time, we are preparing to advance the verification test of "Cooperative Regional Transportation" in cooperation with Taki-cho, Mie, with the aim of implementing it in March next year.

From here, I would like to introduce the outline of the specific initiatives we are advancing with Taki-cho, Mie prefecture, although it is currently scheduled. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Director-General Murakami, who attended the meeting, for his great support in the implementation. Thank you very much.

The most important thing in implementing this verification test is to be close to the residents' concerns and the actual situation of the area. That is the major premise. To that end, I started by visiting the area and listening to the voices of many people. For this verification test, I will first proceed with the two concerns that came to light during the meeting.

The first point is that elderly people are in trouble because they have lost their way to go out. When elderly people go to the hospital, they can ask their children to pick them up, but they often put up with going out for a while.

The second is families with children. In families with children, there were cases where daily transportation was an extremely heavy burden. Some people said that the schedule of all family members is structured around children's transportation. As you mentioned earlier, I feel that it could be one of the reasons for damaging opportunities for learning.

Based on what these local people have told us, verification test is moving forward with a one time trial under the concept of "a cooperative regional transportation system that allows anyone to move to any place at any time."

To be more specific, the image of the implementation content is as shown in this slide. Since it will be implemented mainly in the Seiwa area in Taki-cho, we are proceeding with it while consulting with local residents, using the "Seiwa Wagon" and naming it "Seiwagon." Taki-cho will use their free time to act as a so-called cooperative driver. As for the vehicles, the office will prepare about four vehicles. We are prepared so that users can get on at their desired time and at their desired place, and get off at their desired place. We will try such a so-called on-demand type of shared transportation system, and since it is a demonstration this time, as a first step, we plan to implement it with a small number of drivers and users.

Page 24 of the handout is what I found when I talked to a person in the Sewa district of Taki-cho in a preliminary hearing. This time, we will try this mutual assistance type system, and I understood from the voice that the culture of "I want to contribute to the community", which is the foundation of the system, is very rooted. That is one of the reasons why this demonstration plan was made into such a form. In fact, even now, there were some stories that neighbors sent to each other.

However, although it is a general matter, I discussed with you in the meeting that there are some people who have a certain level of anxiety because they are not professional drivers. There may be people who feel anxiety about the skills or health of the driver, or the maintenance status of the vehicle. In order to dispel these anxieties, we are discussing whether it should be embedded in this service and mechanism. I believe that it will become an important issue when this service is expanded over a wide area and the number of drivers and users increases.

Based on that idea, in verification test this time, we are thinking of trying to embed a mechanism of trust into this service itself, using the mechanism we are thinking of in the MSP concept. There are two points for verification. One is to utilize My Number Card and enter this service while proving that both the driver and the user are residents of Taki-cho. The other is to prove the driver's driving skills by driving data. Driver A on the left side of page 26 of the handout will be driving across the four vehicles we prepared this time, and I am thinking of trying to calculate Mr. A's driving score by integrating those data into separate vehicles.

In addition, we would like to cooperate with other projects that Taki-cho is already working on in the future, so we have started consultations. We are also advancing consultations on wide-area cooperation initiatives, for example, cooperation with services such as Mimura Passport and Mimura Pay, and cooperation with outing events.

Page 28 of the document says, "What we want to achieve is the vitality and happiness of the residents." This is a meeting document, but we are currently making preparations while sharing our desire to make efforts that will lead to the vitality and happiness of the residents in the future, beyond simply providing transportation.

The objectives of the MSP Initiative are illustrated on page 29 of the handout. The MSP Initiative is being promoted with the intention of focusing on the people. For the sake of people's happiness, we in the automobile industry would like to establish a digital infrastructure and rules for the safe connection and utilization of data.

Unfortunately, we are aware that the maintenance of the digital infrastructure is not necessarily perfect at this point. I believe that the existence of "I" in the digital world has become fragmented, and that the cooperation of data across fields has not progressed as expected.

Therefore, in the MSP concept, we envision a wide-ranging future concept in which users handle their own data in a self-sovereign manner, realize data linkage across industries, and create joy. In this concept, we believe that there are a data provider who provides data based on the consent of the principal, and a servicer or application that provides services to the principal using the data. We would like to work together with you to create a data linkage foundation that connects the data provider and the servicer, as well as a foundation that includes community and rule formation. We hope that we can create an ecosystem in which various joys continue to be born with people at the center.

On page 33 of the handout, I have described some of the current issues. The upper column is for people, and the lower column is for cars. First of all, in the upper column, regarding people's data, I believe that it is necessary to advance the creation of mechanisms and rules that enable consumers to manage their own identity information and other data in a self-sovereign manner and provide them to companies and services while protecting their privacy. In addition, I believe that this will include issues such as the digitalisation of certificates and credentials, including mobile driver's license mDL.

Next, regarding vehicle data, I believe that it is necessary to consider the development and standardization of a vehicle identification system that uniquely identifies a vehicle throughout its life cycle. In addition, this is not limited to automobiles, and I believe that it is necessary to proceed in an integrated manner with discussions on ID of things, including all IoT products.

In addition, when expanding the use of vehicle data, we believe it is necessary to discuss from the viewpoints of maintaining a fair competitive environment, protecting highly confidential technologies, and appropriate cost sharing. While considering these, we will continue to advance while exchanging opinions with you. That's all for my explanation. Thank you for your attention.

Director, Asayama: . Next, when considering a transportation company, I think that we should also consider overseas cases as a reference, so I asked Mr. Hidaka to summarize the situation overseas. Please explain overseas cases and the functions of regional transportation companies.

Hidaka Member: In the title of the material, I wrote "Overseas cases and examination of functions as a transportation trading company", but I will mainly talk about the common infrastructure of digital. Thank you.

What we are working on in the context of MaaS is a system that provides various local transportation services in an integrated manner and improves convenience for both users and the local community. In the industry, this is called a MaaS operator. Here are some examples.

The first one is Whim, which was held in Helsinki, Finland. It was a startup, and it was difficult to expand overseas in various ways, so now they are selling their services to other companies. However, within the region, they provide public transportation, car sharing, taxis, sharing cycles, etc. in an integrated manner, and I think they have something in common in terms of handling transportation services like a trading company.

Finnish Whim is no longer available, but there were many examples in our MaaS report, so I would like to introduce them. The first one is Sunderland in the UK. There is a free smart city application that includes not only transportation, but also restaurants, events, family transportation plans, etc. It is focused on mobile transportation, but combined with other things. It has just started, so I don't know if it's convenient, but there is an application like this.

The second initiative was led by Metro Vancouver, which expanded not only to public transportation such as subways, but also to car sharing and shared cycles. In some cases, the term MaaS is not often used, but such initiatives are steadily advancing in various parts of the world.

The third is neighboring South Korea, although the regional level may be different. In South Korea, a service called Super Move is being promoted. We aim to make this service available throughout the country. Traffic information is already provided on Yahoo Maps, Google Maps, etc., but the South Korean government is coordinating traffic services for the entire country. It may be a little different from the concept of a traffic trading company, but it is advancing as a traffic platform that handles distributed traffic services in a common way.

From the perspective of what transportation companies do, for example, I think there are collaborations with different industries, but from the perspective of the supply side. I have experience working for a railway company, so I am personally particular about optimizing the supply side. As an example, there is a MaaS application called Jelbi in Berlin, Germany, developed by Lithuanian startup Trafi. It collects user data through smartphones and uses the data to advance mobility policies, or transportation optimization. I think it is an example of a common point of transportation companies in that they create transportation based on user demand based on the data and optimize transportation supply.

Next is an example of Mobility X in Singapore. We are promoting initiatives that combine mobility planning and data analytics. Ride-sharing operators and taxi-hailing applications are also optimized using data. From the perspective of bundling multiple transportation modes, as a way of being a transportation trading company in the entire region, it is possible to optimize the supply amount according to demand. For example, initiatives such as increasing the operating rate, controlling costs, and improving convenience.

This year, the World Congress on ITS was held in Dubai, where various transport digitalisation initiatives were introduced. In this presentation, it was introduced that while expanding points of contact with smartphone users, efforts are being made to improve efficiency on the supply side by utilizing data on the operation side while expanding services for users in the form of "but there is much more," for example. I think this is a very useful example.

Next, S' hail is being promoted as part of SiMobility provided by Siemens. It is an initiative that combines traffic information of roads and parking lots, signal control of transportation services, etc. This is being promoted from the viewpoint of traffic optimization in urban areas rather than rural areas, but it may also lead to initiatives like those of transportation trading companies.

Next is the last overseas example. This is a platform called UPSTREAM MOBILITY in Vienna, Austria. The Viennese Transport Authority is the project owner, and it is run by a private company. This service integrates car and parking information and various mobility services, and connects to other smartphone applications and web applications as a digital platform. I don't know if the figure in the middle of page 11 can be called a transportation trading company, and it is different from the figure in Digital Agency, where supply is on the left and demand is on the right, but it may be said that this is also an effort by a transportation trading company. The data infrastructure supporting these efforts utilizes an open API model, and in the sense that data is linked, one company's system can be called from other applications, rather than one service being closed to one application. Because of the open API, I think it will be able to be called from smartphone map services, shopping applications, and payment services. It is not easy to create an open API, but I think it is a useful example.

With the open API, it is possible to use user IDs to change pricing, such as linking to medical information, resident discounts, and tourist taxes. In addition, in the context of decarbonization, it is possible to think about what kind of traffic management can be done to reduce CO2 reduction monitoring. In addition to CO2 reduction, I believe that a mechanism for centralized management of traffic data is important for the management of the entire region, such as how the elderly travel as a KPI of the region and how to fill the traffic sky.

When we think of it as a digital platform for mobility services, it may be a little big because the word "area" includes aviation, but one of the things that can be reviewed in Japan is the possibility of cooperation between services. As expected, systems are being built for railways and for aviation, but in the future, when replacing systems due to deterioration or creating new systems, I think it is important to introduce a mechanism that can cooperate with other services. As I mentioned earlier about open APIs, I think that by advancing such initiatives, cooperation between services and multimodal options will increase, and seamless connections will be realized.

Moving from an abstract story to a more realistic one, looking at examples from overseas, we need to pay close attention to the problem of a shortage of drivers due to a declining population. As you mentioned earlier, the overall transportation industry is in a very difficult situation, and while we aim to solve the problem with technology, we cannot overlook the reality of a shortage of human resources. There is a shortage of human resources for driving, of course, and there will probably be a shortage of operators for autonomous driving. In such a situation, similar problems are occurring not only in rural areas but also in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and this is a nationwide issue that is not limited to rural areas. I believe it is important how we respond to this.

Finally, this is not an overseas example, but the opinion of one of my members. When considering the functions of a transportation trading company, including regional and urban areas, I think that we should assume that the number of users will decrease due to the declining population and that there will be a shortage of carriers. After that, I would like to raise three points.

The first is to promote digitalisation and reduce the amount of work done by people as much as possible. Instead of doing it separately in each area, it is to make it more efficient by concentrating work on external resources and one company. For example, there is the case of Denno Kotsu, which is in charge of dispatching taxis all over Japan. BPO and BPaaS, which is BPO with SaaS, have recently become a topic of conversation. The second is not to develop in each area but to introduce shared services that are standardized. The third is the utilization of JMDS, a Japanese mobility data space that makes it easier to connect data. These are related to the MaaS2.0 and SIP initiatives of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. If we do not combine such mechanisms, we will face a difficult profitability as a regional transportation trading company.

I think it would be good if we can put these initiatives together in the Mobility Roadmap. That concludes my presentation. Thank you very much.

Director, Asayama: Thank you very much. Now, I would like to explain the "Mobility Roadmap 2025 Discussion Points and How to Proceed Toward its Formulation." (Explained in Appendix 7)

Next, I would like to begin an exchange of views. Today, I would like you to discuss the transportation trading company. I would like you to discuss what the main body of the transportation trading company should be, what kind of business it should be in charge of, whether the target area should be set in accordance with the local government, whether the target area should be beyond the service area, etc. I would also like to hear your opinion on how to continue the transportation trading company function in terms of cost.

By the way, Mr. Wakana, who was absent on short notice, has prepared a PowerPoint presentation, so I would like to explain it briefly.

According to Mr. Wakana, the roles of transport trading companies are not determined uniformly, but may change depending on the characteristics of the region. As described in the document, in particular, it is said that there are two directions: "efficiency improvement through separation" in urban areas and "efficiency improvement through integration" in rural areas. In addition, he said that by organizing the roles and functions expected of transport trading companies in an easy-to-understand manner assuming application to the field, the necessity of them may be conveyed. On that basis, he said that it would be very good if the roles of transport trading companies were also clearly stated when introducing autonomous driving. For details, please see the slide shown on the screen.

The exchange of views will last for about 30 minutes, but we will re-open the opportunity for you to speak as much as time permits. We would appreciate it if you would first give us your opinions within three minutes, including questions to the experts and ministries who explained today. When you speak, please let us know by the show of hands button on Teams or the chat function, and when you speak, please release the microphone mute. Then, Mr. Okamoto, may I speak to you?

Okamoto Member: I would like to comment on two points: logistics reform and the function of a transportation trading company.

First of all, I understand that you are making a lot of progress on the reform of distribution. I'm sorry to be an amateur, but I think standardization of pallets is quite important. Standardization will enable various developments, such as integrated transportation of pallets and joint delivery using pallets, and by attaching IDs to pallets, digitalisation will be easier. I was listening to you because I thought there was an issue of standardization of pallets.

As for the second point, the function of a transportation company, I very much agree with the way of thinking. I am also in the transmission and distribution business. Until now, my job was to deliver grid power to customers, but now, I need an energy trading company function to match various distributed power sources, such as renewable energy distributed in the region, with local demand, and I am trying to advance a change to that. It is becoming similar to a transportation company. This is the same in the transportation field, and I feel again that the function of matching various means of transportation while creating local transportation needs is very important. In particular, as the electrification and automation of mobility advances, I think that there will be parts that overlap with the function of an energy trading company. Specifically, I think that it is possible to support the maintenance of charging facilities and automatic driving by utilizing the transmission and distribution infrastructure, and I think that it can also contribute to the decarbonization of transportation by combining renewable energy in the region. Through such efforts, while promoting labor-saving, energy-saving, and CO2-saving in the region, I am thinking of improving the attractiveness of the city and the well-being of the residents. I often say "more from less," and I would like to put that idea into practice. For that, we would like to participate from the beginning of the examination of the function of a transportation company. That's all. Thank you very much.

Director, Asayama: Thank you very much. Regarding the transportation trading company function and automatic driving, I would like to proceed with consideration until the next time. You talked about the standardization of pallets, but is there any comment from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism?

Assistant Director Hayashida (Distribution Policy Division, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism): Regarding explained is a prerequisite for promoting joint transportation and digitalisation, and I think it is very important in the distribution department. Specifically, in June this year, we compiled the standard specifications and operation of the so-called 11-type pallet of 1,100 mm x 1,100 mm as a standard standard for pallets. We will firmly promote its popularization toward the future efficiency improvement of cargo handling, etc.

Director, Asayama: Thank you very much. Next, Mr. Suda, thank you in advance.

Dr. Suda: . Today, I heard about various cases, and I understand that there are various challenges. I felt that there are many stories that individually overlap with the stories advanced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry as MaaS. In large cities, transportation companies are already handling many services such as supermarkets and department stores, and I heard that major private railways are already taking on the functions of transportation trading companies. However, I think it is a discussion about who will take on this role in places where public transportation cannot be carried out because the mass is small under normal circumstances. I felt that the discussion is limited in terms of population density, area size, time distance, and the share of public transportation and automobiles. I felt that if we do not summarize these stories well, we will really be able to do it. Regarding autonomous driving, which will be discussed in the future, I would like you to create a forum for discussion from a broad perspective. It's easy from me, but that's all.

Director, Asayama: Thank you very much. Regarding autonomous driving, I would like to discuss it intensively in the next meeting. The topic of a traffic vacuum came up a little, but is it possible for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to make a brief comment?

Manager Tsuchida (Mobility Service Promotion Division, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism): Mr. Ishida Transportation Blank?

Director, Asayama: It is not your opinion about the transportation vacuum itself, but I believe it was from the perspective of how to secure transportation for the community. Mr. Suda, could you please add something?

Dr. Suda: In my earlier remarks, I did not use the term "transportation vacuum," but I would like to talk about how to create a transportation vacuum where existing public transportation does not work. Now, public ride-sharing and Japanese ride-sharing are one of the targets, but I would like to talk about how to turn it into a business.

Manager Tsuchida (Mobility Service Promotion Division, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism): Mr. Ishida . Regarding the transportation gap, I believe that there are various problems depending on the area. We call it a tool, but how to combine it, including the Japanese version of ride-sharing, public ride-sharing, ride-sharing taxis, etc., and connect it to the elimination of the transportation gap, I would like to respond while holding discussions mainly with local residents and local governments.

Director, Asayama: Thank you very much. It depends on the time, so Mr. Akimoto, could I ask you a favor?

SUZUKI (Alternate: Mr. Akimoto): Thank you for your dreamy presentation. I would like to make three comments.

First of all, regarding the MSP concept, when we are building a platform that moves people, goods, and things as a transportation company, I think we must not only match supply and demand, but also consider traceability of what, who, and how it moved. You explained that security and privacy are naturally taken into consideration, and I think it is very good.

As for the second project, in terms of where it will be conducted, even if only a PoC is conducted in a place where there are no people, goods, or things, as with drones, social implementation will not progress. I feel that it would be best to create a model for business and social implementation in an area where people and goods are moving to some extent, as well as a special zone.

Third, regarding the transportation company, in terms of what kind of scheme it will be created, I think it will be like a public interest digital platform. In this field, various related ministries and agencies and local governments are involved, so I feel it is difficult for the private sector to do it. I think it is necessary to consider a method of setting up a public corporation led by the national government to promote social implementation, and then privatizing it. That is all.

Director, Asayama: Thank you very much. As the secretariat, we will continue to consider how the platform should be. Next, Mr. Yamamoto, please.

Member YAMAMOTO (Alternate: Mr. Akio YAMAMOTO): I am attending this meeting on behalf of Mr. Yamamoto, Chairman of ITS Japan. I have confirmed the content of this meeting in advance, so there is no problem in recognizing the statement I just made as Mr. Yamamoto's comment.

Regarding the discussion points of the priority theme, I think it is very wonderful that what contributes to solving today's mobility issues in Japan has been arranged considerably. Among the various discussion points, I would like to comment on two points, social implementation of autonomous driving and the function of a transportation trading company.

First of all, regarding the social implementation of autonomous driving, I think we should firmly think about how Japan's autonomous driving should be, what kind of autonomous driving is suitable for Japan, and what kind of autonomous driving should be used to solve Japan's transportation problems. While the transportation problem in urban areas is how to improve convenience, I recognize that there is a fundamental problem of how to secure transportation in rural areas. In regional revitalization, securing transportation along with employment and welfare is an essential element to support it. Therefore, I understand that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has established a headquarters to eliminate the transportation vacuum and is about to start discussions.

As a form of autonomous driving service in Japan, autonomous driving of robot taxis and shuttle buses is conceivable, but in Japan, we believe that the realization of autonomous driving shuttle buses in rural areas should be a priority, in accordance with the government's target of 100 places by 2027. In rural areas, community buses of local governments are already providing services, and I think that how to make them more efficient with shuttle buses is a shortcut. Since robot taxis require a lot of development expenses, I think that we should consider a method that is suitable for Japan in terms of cost. For example, in northern Japan, I think that we should consider the use of electromagnetic induction lines.

Regarding robot taxis, I think the idea of how to replace public ride-sharing is a good idea. In the explanation of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the public ride-sharing and the Japanese ride-sharing are classified in the same way, but the Japanese ride-sharing utilizes the taxi industry, and I think that public ride-sharing is more suitable for vacant areas. As pointed out by Mr. Wakana in the previous meeting, securing drivers has become an extremely important issue, and I think that local governments should give priority to considering whether to replace robot taxis with public ride-sharing, self-owned cars, etc.

Second, there are two points regarding the transport trading company function. First, how to maintain local transport services. As Mr. Tajima said, there is no demand in places where there are few people, so I think we should think about the transport trading company function with thorough consideration of public assistance. Next, I would like to discuss how the transport trading company function will consider planning functions such as how to incorporate common infrastructure, for example, road-vehicle cooperation for autonomous driving, how to secure financial resources, and how to provide services for autonomous driving from next time. As for financial resources, we spend a lot of money on road maintenance and construction, so why don't we consider allocating funds from hardware to mobile services such as the transport trading company function? That's all.

Director, Asayama: Thank you very much. You explained that a robot taxi costs more than a shuttle bus, but if you have any information, I would appreciate it if you could add it.

Member YAMAMOTO (Alternate: Mr. Akio YAMAMOTO): I am collecting various information, but I have information that the development cost of a robot taxi easily exceeds 1 trillion yen, for example, on Waymo in the US. The development cost and the vehicle manufacturing cost must be separated, but there is information that the development cost is huge.

Director, Asayama: Thank you very much. You mentioned that public assistance is necessary to maintain transportation in the area. Could you give us your opinion from Mr. Tajima, who is actually working on maintaining transportation in the area?

Mr. Tajima: Thank you, We are still working on it through trial and error, but we are always aware of having an appropriate sense of crisis in a really good sense. As for public transportation, since we did not receive administrative subsidies from the initial stage, we have been thinking about various things on the premise that it must somehow be viable as a business, and in the end, we have seen the linkage with various businesses. I think it is exactly the role of a transportation trading company to create inter-business cooperation, etc., in a way that deviates from the existing framework of transportation, but in a way that is unique to the region, and I think it is very important from the perspective of enhancing sustainability in the future.

Director, Asayama: Thank you very much. Next, Mr. Muramatsu, please.

Muramatsu Member: Thank you very much. The situation is quite similar in the field of robots, which I am in charge of, so I would like to share it a little.

First of all, on the expenditure side, when it comes to how much we can make the most of existing robots and technologies, it is a major premise not to increase expenditure. After all, if we invest a lot, it will be difficult to recover, and the ROI will not increase, and as a result, everyone will give up on introducing robots. Therefore, first of all, it is important to do something about the expenditure by maintaining the status quo as much as possible. On the other hand, not all robots at the present time are worth the ROI, so even if expenditure increases a little, we are focusing on the expenditure side to ensure the quality of service by utilizing robots even in the future when there will be a more serious labor shortage.

Next, in terms of income, it is important to increase the number of hours that robots work as much as possible. For example, if a cleaning robot works only in the morning and at night, it will be idle during the daytime hours. Then, the ROI will not match at all, so during the daytime hours, using only the autonomous movement function of the cleaning robot, it can be used for transporting products, carrying pop and selling products, etc. Then, the range of robots that can be used will increase. Of course, it will be different if you grow your hands or do something, but basically, I think it is important how effectively you use the robots you have now.

The purpose of this talk is to provide some reference when gathering demand, I think. For example, commuting to work and school takes a certain amount of time, so while assigning work to that time, it is important to assign some work to other time zones to increase the utilization rate. In the end, while infrastructure investment for MaaS inevitably takes time, in terms of how to raise income while suppressing that investment, for example, cleaning robots start selling products and guarding, if we can multiply well, we can create some new added value for each other, and we can realize an efficient transportation trading company, I think. That's all.

Director, Asayama: . Next, I would like to thank all the members of Koda for your support.

Member Koda: Thank you, . Thank you for all the information you have provided.

First, I thought that in places where an industry can be barely established in accordance with the size of the population, it is extremely necessary to train key workers and brand the industry itself, both in terms of logistics and transportation and means of transportation. In particular, in places such as logistics and buses, where salaries are not high despite long working hours and irregular working styles, it is necessary to train young workers and improve welfare benefits throughout the industry. Although the law will be revised, the situation is still severe. As long as it is infrastructure, I thought that it is necessary to support it as a national policy.

Second, it is necessary to think about the gap between the word "transportation vacuum" and the actual situation in both places with large populations and places with small populations. For example, if a single operator has a taxi operator or a public transportation system, I think the idea is that it is not a transportation vacuum, but it does not mean that it satisfies the demands of the people. As Mr. Tajima told me, considering that transportation is based on the premise that it does not earn money, it is necessary to look at the limits of responding to the needs of the people by relying only on the B2C model. It is necessary to preserve existing services, but it is impossible for the private sector to work hard in poverty while there is no profitability, and it is difficult to support it only by the public sector. Therefore, it is interesting that C2C sharing is being tackled in the MSP initiative. Various measures have been taken to address the anxiety of ordinary people about driving, but something will happen. It is necessary to create systems and mechanisms to prevent society and the public from being in a state of being hit by an accident incident.

Last but not least, I would like to ask you whether the number of people who use long-distance or short-distance transportation is larger, and what is the difference in the usage ratio between the unlimited ride service and the on-demand service, in the midst of the traffic vacuum and the transportation in daily life. I think this will make a difference in how the business is structured. I would like you to answer as much as you can.

Director, Asayama: . I was told by a member of Koda that there is a gap with the actual situation in places where the travel distance, profitability, and population are small. If there is anything that Mr. Tajima has actually devised, I would like you to give me a supplementary explanation.

Mr. Tajima: Thank you, . First of all, in terms of travel distance, what we are providing is currently limited to providing short-distance travel within a limited area within the area. Of course, we are aware that there is a need for travel, for example, for travel to airports and other areas with long distances. However, at present, there are business operators that operate buses in the investment company, so when we divide the trunk, branch, and leaf, how to connect them, rather than wanting to eliminate all existing business operators, I think it is important to firmly divide roles. Regarding that part, the answer is that we are always discussing and considering what each of us can do, and considering transportation within the area.

Next, profitability and income and expenditure. We have adopted something like a subscription, but currently, most of the people who use it with a subscription are students. Basically, they go to school every day. The city pays 100 yen for the community bus, but I think they make a decision to use the cheaper one by 100 yen per trip x number of trips per month. For example, if you go to school 20 days a month and use it 40 times for a round trip, it will be 4,000 yen, but if you add 4,500 yen for transportation to go to have lunch, etc., mobi will be cheaper, so you will use mobi. In this regard, we set the amount by identifying the line.

On the other hand, there are many cases where general customers use it almost in one time. Here, to some extent, it is related to the nature of the land. Kagawa Prefecture itself has the highest deposit ratio in Japan and has a frugal culture, so we recognized that coupon tickets and one time tickets that clearly show the number of times of use match the needs of users better than unlimited ride tickets that you don't know how many times you will use. We still have subscriptions, but basically we are increasing the number of users while pushing one time sales. That's all.

Director, Asayama: Is there anyone else who has not made a statement? Mr. Ishida, please.

Mr. Ishida: Today, Mr. Tajima and Mr. Kubo told me interesting stories, and Mr. Hidaka told me about the situation overseas. Thank you very much. In particular, I think you showed me a new model for mobility services in disadvantaged areas. When I think about it for myself, I think what is satisfied is a society where people help each other. I don't think the conventional model in which service providers and business providers are sharply divided can be established. I felt that it is difficult because the framework, social customs, and legal systems that support it are still far from being established. I strongly felt that this will be the main issue of mobility working, so I ask for your help.

I would like to ask Mr. Tsuchida, Section Chief. I am relieved to hear that the number of local governments considering traffic blank areas has decreased to 24. However, I am not sure if this has really led to well-being and the elimination of traffic blank areas that everyone wants. My honest opinion is that this is not the case. Where are you aiming for that point? I would like to hear your opinion on how we can cooperate, such as changing the framework of public assistance. I would also like to discuss logistics, but Mr. Hayashida, Assistant Section Chief, told me that a fairly solid program is progressing. In order not to interfere with that, I need to be careful about how to have a good discussion and how to create a good synergy. That's all.

Director, Asayama: , what do you think?

Manager Tsuchida (Mobility Service Promotion Division, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism): Mr. Ishida , thank you very much. This time, we have been working for about half a year, and as a result of supporting local governments that have not yet started public ride-sharing and the Japanese version of ride-sharing, the number has decreased. However, verification of whether the residents are in a satisfactory state has not made sufficient progress. To that end, I would like to ask again how much of a transportation vacuum remains, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism will work intensively on the results that have emerged over the next three years. Regarding the transportation vacuum, the actual situation differs depending on the area, so it will be up to the local government to make a decision. The spirit of mutual assistance is important, and it is important to bundle it as much as possible in areas where supply and demand are low. Last year, we discussed the utilization of school buses and nursing care welfare services as redesign of public transportation, and we have established a system to support them. We will continue to work on measures for the transportation vacuum while utilizing such systems.

Director, Asayama: Regarding logistics, I thought it was a comment rather than a question, but is there anything from the Logistics and Automobile Bureau?

Assistant Director Hayashida (Distribution Policy Division, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism): Regarding distribution, the Year 2024 issue has become a major theme, and we have taken various measures since last year. Considering that the labor force will further decrease toward 2030, we have taken measures to prepare for transportation capacity shortages, such as long-distance trunk line transportation, through discussions at related ministerial meetings, etc. In addition, it is important how to take measures in areas where the number of people will decrease, such as local areas, etc., so we will continue to proceed while appropriately cooperating. Thank you very much.

Director, Asayama: Thank you very much. It has been over the scheduled time, but I would like to ask you if there is anything that you really need to talk about. May I speak to Mr. Hidaka and Mr. Hatano?

Hidaka Member: Thank you very much. I would like to discuss various things, but what I think is fundamental is how to evaluate the viability of both mobility and transportation businesses. There are labels for demand transportation, autonomous driving, and public ride-sharing, but there are no models for what form, what speed, how many people can ride, what kind of driver will cost how much, and what kind of effect it will have on the community, so I think there are some places that are in a dogfight. There is talk about how it should be, but there is one point to evaluate the viability with a model formula. With this, I think the discussion that demand transportation is not suitable in this area and shuttle buses are better will have specificity. That's all.

Director, Asayama: Hatano, is that correct?

Hatano Member: Thank you very much. In your report, I think what I felt was most important was how to find demands for mobility in order to ensure business feasibility, and how to match them by various means. Where there are constraints due to local industries and means, and there is not enough matching, there is a need for a special zone approach that can overcome some constraints and deal with them in a horizontal way. Since the issues will not be known until they are implemented, if we create an environment with fewer constraints in advance and try and error can be done smoothly for matching, I think we will be able to see a Japan-specific problem-solving style. I had a straightforward impression that I wanted people to consider the direction of improvement with the power of digital. That's all.

Director, Asayama: . Now, at the closing of this working group, on behalf of Chief Mori, I would like to ask Director-General Murakami to summarize.

Director-General MURAKAMI: Thank you all for your time. I have three questions.

First of all, I would like to intensively discuss autonomous driving next time. According to various reports, it is likely that hundreds of robotaxis will be running in urban areas in 2027. Autonomous driving is likely to become a reality before our eyes. On the other hand, I would like to see robotaxis running in rural areas where there is a labor shortage, but the profitability is delicate. With the support of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism, many autonomous driving demonstrations have been conducted in local areas, but there are still many problems to be solved for self-reliance and commercialization. I would like to hear your wisdom and policy ideas for solving these problems.

The second is the discussion on the function of transport trading companies. While this discussion has attracted attention from many experts, some companies have said that they have been practicing the function of transport trading companies for three years, but it is difficult to make a profit. While public ride-sharing is beginning to spread, thanks to the efforts of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism, many local governments are troubled by confusion, such as not knowing the difference between the Japanese version of ride-sharing and the public version of ride-sharing, or not knowing the difference between Article 78 (2) and (3) of the Road Transportation Act. In addition, the discussion on the creation of demand for using this is important, but once we start talking about the creation of demand, the relationship with other departments in charge of education and social welfare will emerge, and the way to proceed will become difficult at once. I would like to discuss it one after another, but if you have an opinion that departments other than transport policy should also request participation, please contact Digital Agency. I would appreciate it if you could give me your wisdom.

The third point is about the leaders. In the discussion of mobility, I often hear discussions about systems and technologies, but I think there are few cases where people talk specifically about what kind of people are the leaders. I think Mr. Tajima's generation is a star of hope. Unless we consider sound and dynamic business succession and generation change in the industry itself, I think what is serious in the field is how to secure players, although there are business forms. I hope you will continue to have active wisdom and discussions on who will inject new wisdom and knowledge into each region from the leaders of autonomous driving and the leaders of transportation trading companies.

In the next meeting, we will focus on the social implementation of autonomous driving, and we will listen to your efforts and points of discussion so far, as well as opinions from operators of autonomous driving. I would like to ask you to re-discuss the ideal way of the transportation trading company function one after another. I hope that the members of the committee will continue to make efforts by making use of their respective areas of expertise. Thank you very much to Member Ishida and everyone else who gathered. I would like to ask for your continued cooperation.

Director, Asayama: Thank you again for all your advice today. In particular, I would like to thank Mr. Tajima, Mr. Kubo, and Mr. Hidaka for providing me with the topics, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism for explaining the current status of our efforts. If there is anything that needs to be discussed today, please contact the secretariat by January 7, next month. In addition, the materials for the plenary meeting will be published on the Digital Agency website. In addition, the proceedings will be published on the website after confirmation of the contents by the experts. The next working group meeting is currently being scheduled for late January. Today, the secretariat explained how to proceed going forward, but there were no particular opinions on the schedule, so we will be holding it once a month until March, and we ask for your continued cooperation. Today's working group meeting will be closed. Thank you very much.

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