Ministerial-Level Meeting of Japan-UK Digital Partnership Held

1. Overview

The meeting brought together Mr. Koga Yuichiro, State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of METI, Mr. Adachi Masashi, State Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications of MIC, and Mr. Kishi Nobuchiyo, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Digital Transformation of the Digital Agency, as representatives of Japan, and H.E. Ms. Margaret Beryl Jones, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, as a representative of the United Kingdom.

At the meeting, the participants confirmed Japan-UK cooperation in the field of digital technology over the past year, which advanced under the Japan-UK Digital Partnership, including holding deliberations on research and development initiatives in the field of Beyond 5G/6G, enhancing the resilience of semiconductor supply chains, and advancing cooperation in Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT), Digital Marketplace, and Government Cloud. Following this, they compiled a joint statement as an outcome that demonstrates strategic directions toward the next step.

2. Summary of the joint statement

(1) Semiconductors

Japan and the U.K. will commit to continuing to cooperate in enhancing supply chain resilience and fostering R&D and commercial collaboration between U.K. and Japan stakeholders in the fields of compound semiconductors, semiconductor design, and photonics.

(2) AI

Recognizing the importance of international AI governance, the two sides committed to enhancing collaboration through the Hiroshima AI Process Friends group established in May 2024 as well as to the agreement of the Council of Europe Convention on AI. They will fortify intergovernmental cooperation, including opinion exchanges, to promote interoperability, policies, and knowledge sharing involving AI governance. The AI Safety Institutes in the U.K. and Japan will build a strong relationship that facilitates knowledge sharing on AI safety.

(3) Future telecoms and diversification

The two sides will advance efforts for intergovernmental cooperation toward future telecoms technologies, supply chain diversification through Open RAN, and technical standards development. They will further explore a bilateral R&D initiative in the field of Beyond 5G/6G.

(4) Cyber resilience

The two sides will ensure the interoperability of schemes for IoT product security and share knowledge on the assessment of cybersecurity measures taken by companies in the two countries.

(5) Data

The two sides will work closely in multilateral fora, such as the G7 and OECD, to champion the promotion of trusted government access measures and the operationalization of DFFT, address barriers to cross-border data transfers including unnecessary data localisation, and promote the interoperability of data governance, including through deepening common understanding on the security of data in the context of DFFT.

(6) Digital government transformation

In July 2024, the Government Digital Service of the U.K. hosted a series of virtual expert sessions with the Digital Agency of Japan. The two countries exchanged learning from Japan and the U.K. on such matters as Digital marketplace and the benefits of Government Cloud to reduce costs and increase operational productivity.

3. Related Materials

• UK-Japan Joint Statement – Ministerial Japan-UK Digital Council January 2025(PDF:86KB)

4. Related Links

• Launch of Japan-UK Digital Partnership (December 7, 2022)
• Ministerial-Level Meeting of Japan-UK Digital Partnership Held (January 16, 2024)

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Office of International Affairs, Commerce and Information Policy Bureau