Memo: Digital Agenda: EU and Japan agree to strengthen cooperation in Future Internet research

Senior officials from the EU and Japan have agreed on a common area for research in Future Internet and New Generation Networks. This will be the subject of the first ever EU-Japan coordinated calls for ICT research proposals in 2012-13. The EU and Japan share many similar goals in designing the Internet of the future. We have the Internet of connected computers, and connected people, and the Internet is now going mobile. In the near future it will connect a whole range of machines and objects, generating ever-increasing volumes of data.

But the internet needs to adapt to manage future data streams, and provide the associated levels of accuracy, resilience and safety. Challenges of this magnitude require a global response and global cooperation. A firm understanding on developing coordinated calls for research in Future Internet was reached at a meeting between the European Commission and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan.