Activities of the MEMS Industry Forum
research theme of the G-device project, we hope to gain insight
into the trends of research both in Japan and overseas.
b. Addition of the TIA-NMEMS Symposium
The TIA-NMEMS Symposium will be divided into two parts
held in the morning and afternoon, respectively. Part I will serve
to hear all expectations of government, industry, and academia
toward NMEMS, which is one of the core research domains of theTsukuba Innovation Arena (TIA)-Nano, while Part II will
introduce the preparatory activities of the MEMS Industry Forum
Workshop to date for implementing the concept of TIA-NMEMS.
Part I will be hosted jointly with the AIST and will encourage
closer collaboration among government, industry, and academia.
c. Establishment of the Job Matching Support Plaza
As a new experiment for MicroNano 2010, a Job Matching
Support Plaza will be added to provide a place for students withan interest in the MEMS industry to meet companies looking foroutstanding personnel who are currently engaged in MEMS
research. As we have asked for cooperation from exhibiting
companies, announced the Job Matching Support Plaza throughthe Industrial Exchange Committee, and notified university
research labs of the exhibition program, we anticipate theparticipation of a large number of companies and students.

The MEMS Industry Forum (MIF) was established with thegoal of contributing to the international competitiveness ofJapan’s MEMS industry. Membership in the MIF is composed
primarily of companies in MEMS-related industries. The MIF
conducts various activities in collaboration with affiliatedacademies, regional centers, and overseas institutions.

1. Planning for FY 2010
The Industrial Exchange Committee, Foundry Service
Industry Committee, and International Exchange Committee
have been established to work out the detailed project activitiesof the MIF under the guidance of the MIF Promotion Committee.
During May and June this year, the MIF Promotion Committee
and the three other committees held their first committee
meetings and finalized the schedules for this fiscal year.
At the MIF Promotion Committee meeting held on June 9,
the committee decided on the overall schedule of activities forthe current fiscal year. In addition to improving and intensifying
the traditional activities of the MIF, this year plan calls for
implementing strategic activities aimed at the establishment of afuture micro/nano R&D center. The following are three distinct
aspects of the current plan.
(1) Establish a new Promotion Committee of Micro/Nano
Education and Training aimed at developing selfreliant personnel training programs nationwide.
(2) Establish an investigative committee composed
primarily of MIF member companies to discuss
suitable strategies for a future micro/nano R&D
center and an appropriate administrative structure
and implementation plan required to realize thiscenter.
(3) Consider how equipment installed for the G-device
project of the BEANS Laboratory at the National
Institute of Advanced Industrial Science andTechnology (AIST) can best be utilized in the future
to enhance collaboration with the MEMS FoundryService.
The activity schedules for each of the above committees wasfinalized in accordance with this overall activity schedule, andimplementation of the projects for this fiscal year has begun.

3. International Exchange Activities (HannoverMesse, Micromachine Summit)
As part of its international exchange activities, the MIF
encourages international business and academic exchange byholding the International Micromachine/Nanotech Symposiumand dispatching overseas fact-finding missions, for example.
So far during the current fiscal year, the MIF has exhibited
products and presented papers at Hannover Messe 2010 held in
Hannover, Germany on April 19–23 and has participated in the16th Micromachine Summit held in Dortmund, Germany on April
27–30. While both events took place during the difficult
circumstances of the volcanic eruption in Iceland, which resulted
in a chaotic flight schedule, we were able to attend the event inpart due to the support of MIF member companies.
The theme of this year’s Micromachine Summit was “AmbientAssisted Living” on how micro/nano technology can be used toimprove lifestyles in an aging society. We left the Summit feelingthat, while the problem of an aging population is a major issue forJapan, it is actually a universal issue. As a result, nations aroundthe world have accelerated research efforts in a race to find asolution to the problem.

2. Preparations for MicroNano 2010
The micromachine exposition MicroNano 2010 will be held at
Tokyo Big Sight on July 28–30, 2010. Below is a description ofsome of the features in this year’s event and the current state ofpreparations.
a. The International Micromachine/Nanotech Symposium
The 16th International Micromachine/Nanotech Symposium isheld to collect all the latest findings from overseas research
institutes under the theme “Green Innovation Explored byAmbient Devices,” as indirect support for the G-device project.
As part of its duties, the International Exchange Committee isstudying the program while consulting with Toshihiro Ito, codirector of the AIST’s Research Center for Ubiquitous MEMS andMicro Engineering. By establishing a theme that overlaps the16 t h Micromachine Summit(Dortmund, Germany)7