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October FY2024
Results of the G7 Ministerial Meeting on Technology and Digital

Results of the G7 Ministerial Meeting on Technology and Digital

October 15, 2024

Joint Press Release with the Digital Agency and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications

On Tuesday, October 15, 2024, a G7 Ministerial Meeting on Technology and Digital was held in Cernobbio (Como), Italy. As a representative of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Mr. Shibuya Toshihiko, Deputy Director-General for IT Strategy, attended the meeting. The meeting brought together representatives of not only G7 member countries and regions but also international organizations, and participants held discussions on challenges in policies in digital and technological fields. As an outcome of the meeting, a joint statement was published.

1. Date

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

2. Countries and international organizations in attendance

G7 member countries and regions: Canada, the EU, France, Germany, Italy (chair), Japan, the U.K., and the U.S.
International organizations: The OECD and UNESCO

3. Overview of the meeting results

Focusing on the matters on which member countries decided to continue discussions in response to the Ministerial Declaration agreed at the G7 Industry, Technology and Digital Ministerial Meeting in March 2024, participants held discussions on two themes of “toolkit on artificial intelligence (AI) in the public sector, compendium of digital government service systems, and mapping exercise of digital identity approaches” and “the advancement of the outcomes of the Hiroshima AI Process.”

Deputy Director-General Shibuya attended the meeting, and stated that regarding AI, the importance should be placed on the balance between development and utilization and guardrails, and he demonstrated his expectations for continued advancement of the exchange of views and information from the viewpoint of innovation promotion. Moreover, he stressed the importance of international interoperability between AI governance frameworks.

As a result of the ministerial discussions, a joint statement was published as an outcome of the meeting. Concerning the monitoring mechanism, the statement expressed gratitude for the companies and organizations that participated in the pilot project. It also stated that member countries should continue discussions and advance the mechanism by the end of 2024 in collaboration with the OECD. Moreover, Italy published a summary of the G7 presidency. The summary showed Italy’s views concerning the work policy until the end of 2024 as the G7 chair.

Appendices

4. Overview of the bilateral meetings

Taking the opportunity of the ministerial meeting, Deputy Director-General Shibuya, in collaboration with representatives of the Digital Agency and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, held bilateral meetings with each of the participating officials of Canada, Germany, and the U.S. At the meetings, Japan and each of the partner countries enriched their respective dialogues on their common policy challenges.