= A Serial Introduction Part 2 =Winners of ITU-AJ Encouragement Awards 2021
In May every year, The ITU Association of Japan (ITU-AJ) proudly presents ITU-AJ Encouragement Awards to people who have madeoutstanding contributions in the field of international standardization and have helped in the ongoing development of ICT.
These Awards are also an embodiment of our sincere desire to encourage further contributions from these individuals in the future.
If you happen to run into these winners at another meeting in the future, please say hello to them.
But first, as part of the introductory series of Award Winners, allow us to introduce some of those remarkable winners.

Fumito Kubota

Telecom Engineering Center
https://www.telec.or.jp/eng/
Fields of activity: ITU-R SG 1 Rapporteur, liaise with CISPR on WPT Issues

Study of Wireless Power Transmission (WPT)
I was nominated as a liaison rapporteur with CISPR,onwireless power transmission (WPT) at the ITU-R SG-1 meeting
held in June 2015.
The study of WPT technology began at CCIR in the 1970s as
a response to the photovoltaic satellite project. The development oftechnology for transmitting energy by radio waves, which is not as
far as geosynchronous orbit, was conducted using beam-type WPT.
However, with the invention of magnetic field resonance technology
in 2007, which can extend induction coupling and transmit energy
for several meters, the need for proximity WPT expanded suddenly.
In response, SG 1 expanded Question 210/1 on WPT in 2013 tostimulate study. This non-beam type WPT was recognized as oneof the most useful technologies for charging electric vehicles (EV)and mobile/portable equipment. International standardization
organizations (e.g., IEC, ISO) and product manufacturer
associations had started to develop product standards. The goal of
study in ITU-R was to formulate recommendations on frequencies
for WPT operation, considering responsibility for managing global
frequency spectrum utilization plans.
Since WARC-79, SG 1 has a history of cooperating withCISPR, which formulates international standards to suppress
radio interference by ISM equipment in radio services.

Kunihiko Toumura

However, there were no CISPR standard limits below 150
kHz, at frequencies expected to be used for EV WPT (WPTEV). Therefore, SG 1 requested the cooperation of CISPR
again and decided to appoint a liaison rapporteur who had beensuspended for a while. Japan agreed to this and I was nominated.
WRC-15 requested ITU-R urgently to study WPT-EV, WP
1B was in charge of compiling the CPM report for WRC-19. It
was a four-year period in which each country had keen interest
and conducted in-depth discussion. During this time, work wascontinuing actively at CISPR as well. Of course, there weredisagreements, and some issues still remain, but there was also across-country collaborations.
As a result of effort by each country, before the deadline forsubmitting the report to WRC-19, SG 1 completed study on theoperating-frequency recommendations for WPT-EV and also
mobile/portable equipment as guidance to the Administrations. The
ITU's recommended frequency band of 79-90 kHz for WPT-EV
laid the foundation for global interoperability of WPT-EV. This
was a great achievement in showing the world that the ITU is theleading international organization in the use of frequency spectra.
It was an unexpected joy to be able to participate in such ameaningful activity.

Hitachi, Ltd.
https://www.hitachi.com/rd/
Fields of activity: IoT Interoperability

Contributing to standardization with running code
It is a great honor for me to receive the Encouragement Award
from the ITU Association of Japan ITU. I’d like to take thisopportunity to thank everyone that has supported me.
The W3C Web of Things Working Group, in which I
participate, is promoting standardization to interconnect siloed
IoT systems. When I first joined, I had my hands full trying tocatch up with what kind of standardization was underway, but

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gradually I began to think about how I could contribute to thisstandardization discussion.
In WoT, an event called "Plugfest" is held in parallel withthe discussion to define specifications. Each participant brings
their IoT devices and applications to propose new specifications
that they think are necessary, to verify whether there are any
omissions in the specifications. I decided to contribute to thestandardization discussion by bringing my own implementation.
At the time, I was also involved in contributing to Node-RED,a low-code programming tool supported by many developers in
the IoT field, so I thought that linking Node-RED and WoT
would facilitate the development of IoT applications and promote
the advantages of WoT. We developed a tool that automaticallygenerates functional blocks for Node-RED from the Thing
Description defined by the WoT, and demonstrated it at Plugfest.
We believe that the development of this tool has helped
promote standardization as a "working" use case for the WoT andhas made it easier to understand the characteristics of the WoT in
facilitating interconnection of IoT platforms.

Jiro Nagao

Currently, as a co-editor of the device discovery function
being developed under the new charter, I am examining ways
to standardize it in a manner that is compatible with the device
discovery functions defined by existing IoT platforms. I would
like to develop an easy-to-use standard by communicating thestandardization content and its merits in an easy-to-understandmanner and feeding back the knowledge gained from
implementations to the standardization content, and by promoting
open-source implementation of the tool in parallel.
(Node-RED is a registered trademark or trademark of the
OpenJS Foundation in the United States and other countries.)

NTT Human Informatics Laboratories
https://group.ntt/en/
Fields of activity: ITU-T SG16

Immersive Live Experience (ILE) Standardization activity in ITU-T SG16
It is a great honor to receive the Encouragement Award
from the ITU Association of Japan. I would like to take thisopportunity to express my sincere gratitude to all those involved –ITU-AJ, current and former supervisors, seniors and colleagues in
NTT Group and participants in ITU-T and other SDO meetings.
I have been engaged with ITU-T SG16 since 2019, instandardization activities for Immersive Live Experience (ILE),
which enables highly-realistic (immersive), real-time transmissionof events to remote locations. I acted as an editor of ITU-T
H.430.4 (MMT Profile for ILE), where I encouraged sample
codes based on working implementations to ensure interoperability
and lower the implementation barrier. As an editor for ITU-T
H.430.5 (ILE Presentation Environments), I organized theclassification of ILE presentation environments, and fostered thedevelopment of the presentation environment reference models
comprising multiple options. I also led the development of theimplementation guidelines.

Kazunori Fujita

I bel ieve the post-COV ID world, where remotecommunication is a new norm, has the potential to bring the worldcloser and to the higher level of equity. For example, many ITU-T
SG meetings have been held virtually. This made participationeasier for some people who had been unable to do so because of
distance, time, financial or physical constraints. However, torealize more natural and intuitive communication, as if you are
physically present, transmission of events with more than justaudio and video is essential. ILE was developed for this purpose,and there have been five Recommendations regarding ILE,
namely: requirements, framework, service scenario, MMT profile,and presentation environments. Further enhancement of ILE is
also necessary, to accommodate other senses such as vibrotactile
sensation, touch, heat, and smell. ITU’s role to interconnect
everyone in the world is now more important than ever before. I
would like to continue contributing to realize such a world.

KDDI FOUNDATION
https://www.kddi-foundation.or.jp/
Fields of activity: International Cooperation Department

Activities toward Eliminating the Digital Divide and Encouraging SDGs in
the Field of International Cooperation
At this time, I would like to express my deep appreciation
on receiving an ITU-AJ Encouragement Award. I would also
like to thank from the bottom of my heart all those at ITU-AJ
who have offered me their assistance in the past. The KDDI
Foundation was founded in October 2009 through the integrationof the International Communication Fund (ICF) founded in 1988
and KDD Engineering Consulting (KEC) founded in 1974. In

addition, it was reorganized as a public interest corporation topromote activities for the public good in April 2012. This year
marks the 13th anniversary of its founding. The pillars of the work
performed by the KDDI Foundation are international cooperation
projects and grant programs.
Based on the idea that the benef its of informationcommunications should be spread throughout society and that

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information-communications should contribute to world harmonyand sound development, the KDDI Foundation has been involved
in social contribution activities and Sustainable Development Goal
(SDG) activities both in Japan and overseas with the mission ofcontributing to sustainable growth in international society. To
help eliminate the international digital divide that has arisen incountries in the Asia-Pacific region, the KDDI Foundation has

Takae Minemura

been carrying out these social-contribution and SDG activities
by cooperating with the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) andgovernment agencies of member countries and promoting various
types of surveys, training programs, and trials. In this way, we aim
to contribute to activities for the public good and to international
exchanges as a Japanese public interest corporation.

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corporation
http://www.ntt-east.co.jp/en/
Fields of activity: Global Business Development

JICA Project for Development of Business Continuity Plan (BCP) for
Disaster Control in Bhutan
I am very honored to receive this ITU-AJ Encouragement
Award at this time. I would like to express sincere thanks to the
ITU Association of Japan and everyone else involved for theirencouragement and guidance.
This project began in November, 2018, with the goal ofdeveloping and enabling operation of the first BCP at Bhutan
Telecom (BT) for disaster control. It started with instruction on
basic questions like “What is a BCP?” and went on to develop
the BCP basic policies. Through repeated disaster-measuredrills, the code of conduct for disasters was created, and BT’s
BCMS (Business Continuity Management System) was officiallylaunched. BT’s BCP and its activities were expanded horizontallyto relevant local agencies, and in December, 2021, all work wascompleted. Currently, BT is operating the BCMS reliably, on its
own.

Noboru Yoshikane

The environment in Bhutan is completely different from Japanand BT had very little disaster experience, so it was not easy todevelop the first BCP with them. However, with the passion of
the Japanese experts, the enthusiastic guidance from everyone at
JICA, the strong leadership of BT management, and the sincere
attitude of the BT employees, we were able to complete the projectsuccessfully.
Although every day felt frantic and worrisome during
the project as part of the technical support, upon reflection I
personally learned so much from all of the participants from
Bhutan and Japan, in terms of technology, thinking, attitude andother factors. I hope to be able to use this experience in the future
in collaboration with people in Japan and overseas, to contributeto developing Japanese information and communications together
with Bhutan and other countries.

KDDI CORPORATION
https://www.kddi-research.jp/english
Fields of activity: ITU-T SG15

Standardization activities of OTN interfaces
At this time, I would like to express my appreciation to allconcerned on receiving this ITU-AJ Encouragement Award andto sincerely thank ITU-AJ and everyone involved for their efforts
in holding this ceremony.
Since 2006, I have been participating in standardization
activities at ITU-T SG15 in relation to the Optical Transport
Network (OTN). In particular, I have been involved with the
OTN interface used by nearly 100% of the world’s terrestrial core
optical networks by making contributions and proposals on carrier
requirements and drafting related Recommendations. I was also
fortunate in having the opportunity to work with both domestic
and overseas network carriers and network equipment vendors
in jointly tackling a variety of problems too difficult to solve
independently. In addition, I was able to collaborate with a number

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of people outside the company in promoting the standardizationof an Ethernet transport system on OTN and contributing to thedrafting of an OTN Interface Recommendation for transmission
speeds in excess of 100G and the drafting of a Flexible OTNInterface Recommendation that could achieve a beyond 100GOTN interface by bundling multiple physical interfaces. This wasa rare experience that I cherish.
Going forward, I see the role of the OTN as not just to carrycommunication traffic but also to support society as a social
infrastructure that can help solve a variety of social issues. With
this in mind, I will continue in my efforts to contribute to theconstruction of the OTN as a technical foundation for achievinga safe, secure, and highly reliable information-communications
network.

Huang Jingyi, Hiroshi Komatsu, Kentaro Sakata, Shiro Fukumoto

SoftBank Corp.

https://www.softbank.jp/en/corp/
Fields of activity: ITU-R WP5D, APG, AWG

Standardization Activities for Implementing HIBS
I am sincerely grateful to receive this ITU Encouragement
Award at this time.
Our team has been in charge of international standardization
activities, mainly with ITU-R and related to International Mobile
Telecommunications (IMT). Since 2017, we have been involvedin standardization activities relating to High Altitude Platform
Stations (HAPS) providing IMT, referred to as High Altitude
Platform Stations as IMT base stations (HIBS). Currently, we are
studying use of frequencies below 2.7 GHz for HIBS in ITU-R
WP 5D, including sharing studies using other systems and any
associated regulations. This falls under WRC-23 agenda item 1.4,
which was established at WRC-19 based on proposals from Japanand other countries.
This was our first experience establishing a WRC agenda
item, and our struggles to make progress as a team, withdiscussion every day late into the night, is still a fresh memory.
The most challenging part was gathering support from other

Kentaro Sakata(main author)

countries and regions. We participated in ITU-R meetings andregional preparatory meetings and also sub-region meetingsand small workshops to meet face-to-face with delegates fromeach country. We explained why HIBS is an effective solution
for expanding mobile connectivity, and why frequency bands
for HIBS need to be expanded. This activity also taught us
how important it is to have a meeting of minds for work on
international standardization. Swimming in the Brazilian oceanwith meeting participants, and dancing till late at night at theAfrican sub-region meeting with members from various countries
still remain as good memories.
In the future, we plan to have further meaningful discussion
with the Japanese delegations and members from other countries
and regions and hope to reach the best possible conclusion toward
our WRC-23 goal of expanding the frequency bands for HIBS.
I hope all who have been involved in the discussion will continue
their guidance and support.

Croix.,Co.Ltd.

https://croix.asia/en/
Fields of activity: Considering that “Maintaining Mental Health is an important global issue for realizing SDGs,”

we are focusing our efforts on healing music for the human mind. In long collaboration withthe medical field, we are using technologies like AI and Big Data to develop unique healing
content, and actively expanding in regions like China, India and Africa. Continuing activity inthis area is promising for the future.

Changing meditation and sleep around the world		
We are very grateful to receive this ITU-AJ Encouragement
Award. We would like to express sincere thanks to everyone
involved at the ITU Association of Japan.
According to our company concept that “All of our conduct
shall be based on a conviction that we can change meditationand sleep around the world,” we continue to develop sounds andimages in collaboration with medical facilities, medical doctors
and other specialists, as well as subscription services and managed
treatment devices. These are provided to customers through threechannels: our “App & Online business,” our "Meditation & Sleep
Content business,” and our “Healing EC business.”

In the future, we plan to expand the current three businesses
and also build a well-being platform service that will link
everything required to achieve quality meditation and sleep, fromtravel and lodging, to housing, and even to insurance.
There are still many challenges to solve in realizing thebusiness concept for which we received this award, but we
intend to change meditation and sleep around the world, using
technologies created by everyone participating in the ITU andto take on a role of connecting the hearts and minds of people.
We hope for your continued encouragement and support in thisendeavor.

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Next Generation DTTB (Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting) Task Force
DiBEG

https://www.dibeg.org/
Fields of activity: N ext Generation DTTB

Collaboration on next generation terrestrial broadcasting with countries
adopting ISDB-T

Since ISDB-T broadcasting service first started in 2003
in Japan, 20 countries have adopted ISDB-T. Meanwhile,collaboration with ISDB-T adopting countries has matured. In
particular, the relationship between Japan and Brazil, the first andthe second ISDB-T adopting countries, has deepened over the
decades.
Almost 20 years have passed since ISDB-T was standardized.
During that time, there have been various technical advancementsin the broadcasting field. Nowadays, countries that initially began
ISDB-T broadcasting service are starting to consider the nextgeneration broadcasting system, using new technologies. In Japan,
we have been studying advanced digital terrestrial broadcasting
systems since 2019, under the auspices of the Information andCommunications Council of the MIC. Similarly in Brazil, they
started the call for technical proposals for their next-generation

Kohei Kambara(main author,
taken at SET EXPO 2019)

terrestrial broadcasting system in 2020. As such, the Next
Generation DTTB Task Force has been working to harmonize
the next generation broadcasting technologies between Japan andBrazil.
Since 2020, activities have been limited to on-line
communications due to the COV ID-19 pandemic. The
time difference between Japan and Brazil is 12 hours, so
online meetings have been conducted at 8:00 am Japan timeand 8:00 pm Brazil time, or vice-versa. Although there areadvantages of working on-line, such as the ability to meet more
frequently, serious disadvantages exist when performing tests
or demonstrations using actual equipment. We look forward
to resuming real interaction, and accelerating collaboration in
the field of next-generation broadcasting technologies with ourcolleagues worldwide.

Japan Battery Regeneration, Inc.
https://jpn-bat.com/en/
Fields of activity: Battery regeneration

Reduction of Digital Divide & Contribution to the environment
We received an encouragement prize from ITU-AJ and feelgreatly honored. We’d like to express our sincere appreciation
for assistance we received from ITU-AJ, MIC and others. We
exhibited at ITU Telecom World 2015 in Budapest, and received
an Entrepreneurship Award. We also participated in ITU
Telecom World in 2016 (Bangkok) and 2019 (Budapest). We
submitted contribution documents to ITU-D Study Group in2016 and 2020 through ITU-AJ.
We have been working on ITU related topics based on thetheme, “Reduction of Digital Divide and contribution to theenvironment”.
We produce and market an additive (Super-K) for lead-acidbatteries, which can extend battery life and with which old,abandoned batteries can be regenerated and re-used. We haveexperience regenerating and re-using thousands of old lead-acidbatteries from telecom towers in Bangladesh. By regenerating old

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abandoned lead-acid batteries, those batteries can be re-used forconstruction of small-scale network systems, or re-used for offgrid communication systems in non-electrified regions such as
remote islands and rural areas. With such applications, we think
we can contribute for reducing the digital divide. Inappropriate
disposal of abandoned batteries is also a serious problem for theenvironment, and our technology can contribute to reducing
industrial waste.
We will keep working so our technology can be widely utilized
to reduce the cost and extend the life of batteries and to re-use oldbatteries around the world. We’d like to contribute to and support
SDGs in areas that preserve the environment by stopping mass
production, mass consumption and mass disposal, create clean
energy for everybody, and promote sustainable consumption andproduction.