Towards the Realization of a Connected Car Society
Gaku Nakazato

Director,
New Generation Mobile Communications Office,Radio Department, Telecommunications Bureau
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications

1. Introduction

2. Study group report summary

Broadly speaking, the evolution of motor vehicles in recent
years has progressed in two directions: self-driving and connectedvehicles.
With the aim of promoting connected car technology
and creating a connected car society against a background ofdevelopments in the 5th generation (5G) mobile communication
system and other mobile networks, artificial intelligence (AI)and big data processing, we have studied topics including (1)new services and businesses created by the use of data, (2) the
implementation of wireless communication networks to support
a connected car society, and (3) measures for the constructionof a safe and highly reliable platform. To this end, and withthe participation of diverse stakeholders including experienced
academics, automobile manufacturers, communication carriers,
equipment manufacturers and providers of related services(insurance, tourism, home security, etc.), our study group was
founded in December 2016, and has since held six meetings to
discuss these issues.

2.1 What is a connected car?
There are currently about 80 million cars on the road inJapan. Cars perform an essential role in people’s livelihoods andleisure activities. As shown in Figure 1, a variety of useful ITS(intelligent transport system) technologies have been developed
and used in practice, including VICS (Vehicle Information andCommunication System) and ETC (electronic toll collection
system). So far, these ITS technologies have basically operated
independently, resulting in services that cars can without relying
on any kind of network.
However, the world of ITS has recently been changing andexpanding. In particular, in addition to the advances that are
being made in communication networks in preparation for thearrival of 5G, dramatic changes are also being made to the vehicle
environment, including advances in the application of big data intandem with the spread of IoT technology, and the evolution of
AI based on new theories such as deep learning. These changes
are expected to bring about a “Connected Car Society” where■ Figure 1: A connected car society

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■ Figure 2: Connected car concept (1)■ Figure 3: Connected car concept (2)most cars are connected to the network, creating new value andbusiness.
The images brought to mind by the phrase “connected car”
differ from one person to the next. For the purposes of ourstudy, we concentrated on the mode of connection and defineda “connected car” as a vehicle with the ability to communicate
bidirectionally as shown in Figure 2 and 3.
In the data-driven society that is expected to be result from theuse of connected cars, cars will need to be capable of bidirectional
communication so that data can be collected from cars for analysis
and provided to cars as feedback based on the results of theanalysis.
2.2 National and international trends in connected cars
Efforts related to connected cars and automatic driving are

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being actively promoted both in Japanand overseas.
In Japan, work is under way todevelop technology in cooperation withindustry, academia and government
based on “the Public/Private-Sector
ITS Initiative Roadmap”, which
was drawn up by the government’s
IT Strategic Headquarters on June 3,2014 and revised on May 30, 2017. In
2014, the cabinet office created the
Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation
Promotion Program (SIP), which
included automatic driving systems
among its ten themes. Research anddevelopment efforts were then promotedwith the participation of related
government ministries and agencies.
Connected cars and automatic
driving are also becoming global trends,
especially in developed countries thatare actively pursuing connected cars
and automatic driving as sources ofinnovation.
In 2016 –17, for example, theEuropean Commission invested about€100 million in projects related toautomated driving in a project called“Horizon 2020”, and is working on
projects with practical goals suchas in f rast r uct u re improvements,
demonstrations on public roads, andevaluating the acceptability of this newtechnology.
Meanwhile the US Department ofTransportation is working on programs
based on a 2015–19 ITS Strategic Plan
with strategic themes that include
safety improvements and increasing
the efficiency of mobility systems. Asa specific example, based on the sameplan, they are setting up an ITS research
infrastructure called M-City including a traffic control systemand high precision digital maps, and implementing demonstration
experiments in collaboration with industry, academia andgovernment.
In addition, there is growing interest in the use of mobile
systems such as 4G and 5G in the ITS field, including V2X(Vehicle to everything) which is based on cellular technology.
On the other hand, studies related to the use of radio waves
for connected cars and automated driving are not necessarily
sufficient, and there is currently a need for studies from theviewpoint of what sort of technology will gain popularity in the
future.
Recently, the level of cooperation between the automobile
and ICT industries has been growing at an accelerating pacearound the world. This trend is also occurring in Japan, where themajor automobile manufacturers are increasingly cooperating with
telecommunications carriers and cloud service providers. Similar
moves are taking place at businesses based in other countries,
including Volkswagen in Germany and LG Electronics in South
Korea. In September 2016, three German companies — BMW,
Daimler and Audi — announced that they had established the
5GAA (5G Automotive Association) to collaborate with otherbusinesses including communication equipment manufacturers
and semiconductor manufacturers in the development ofconnected car services using 5G technology. Since then, the
5GAA has been growing, and its members now include dozens
of communication providers and equipment manufacturers,
including some from Japan (Figure 4).

Efforts relating to connected cars include the evolution ofmobile communication systems. 4G is currently in widespreaduse, but efforts are under way to introduce 5G technology from2020. As shown in Figures 5 through 7, this will result in ultrafast communication, support for large numbers of simultaneousconnections, and ultra-low latency. In Japan, R&D anddemonstration trials of 5G are already under way.
Some automobile manufacturers are planning to standardize
in-car communication equipment to make it compatible withalmost all vehicles sold in Japan and US by 2020. One of thebenefits of connected cars is that they are able to communicate at
any time over a wide area, and it is expected that this capability
will contribute to the expansion of services.

■ Figure 4: Collaboration between the automobile industry and the communication industry (5GAA)■ Figure 5: Evolution of mobile communication systems

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Furthermore, if 5G systems become available
at any time for high-speed, large-capacity andlow-latency communication, then further
improvements of services can be expected such as
VR and advanced inter-vehicle communication
available in cars.
As shown in Figure 8, progress is being madein other countries. For example, the automotive
field is one of the main fields of 5G utilization in
Europe and is interested in the 5G development
for vehicles, so it will be interesting to see how 5Gdevelops in this field.
As can be seen from the abovementioned
activities of the 5GAA, the use of 5G in theautomotive field is attracting interest not just inJapan but throughout the world. We must ensurethat Japan plays a key role in the future of theconnected car market by successfully seizing theopportunities presented by the introduction of 5G.
Trends related to AI including automateddriving are also important movements withregard to connected cars. The performance of AI
has recently improved due not only to technicalbreakthroughs such as deep learning but also to theincreased computing power and the decreasing costof memory, and the technology has evolved greatly
over the last few years. For example, although there
was once the accepted opinion that AI would beunable to defeat humans in the game of Go, where
each move has to be selected from a huge numberof possibilities, there have already been cases where
professional Go players have lost to AI systems.
As shown in Figure 9, earlier systems
achieved automated driving by relying on physicalinfrastructure such as tracks or magnetic markers
to estimate the vehicle’s position and performsteering. However, with advances in AI, it has
become possible for vehicles to recognize theirsurroundings by means of on-board equipment
such as sensors and radars, and by combining theinformation with high-precision maps, we cannow expect vehicles to analyze and estimate theirposition and steering by themselves.
AI used in automated driving has the potential
to bring about profound developments in ITS.
As shown in Figure 10, when driving support isperformed using conventional ICT, the road traffic
information is conveyed to the driver, but since itultimately has to be provided to the driver after
it has been transformed into a form that can beunderstood by the driver (e.g., on displays), there
are limits to the amount of information that isavailable. However, in automated driving vehicles,
the AI processing is all performed digitally at highspeed, so the amount of information available canbe dramatically increased.
As a result, in the future ITS centered

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■ Figure 6: 5G requirements■ Figure 7: R&D and integrated demonstration trials
aimed at the realization of 5G■ Figure 8: C ooperation between multiple fields in 5G(European example)

■ Figure 9: The effect of AI on automated driving■ Figure 10: T he potential of automated driving AI and connected cars

on connected cars and automated driving, it is also possible touse information provided through cooperation and integration
between various sensors in roads and cars, and this could makeautomated driving safer than human drivers.
Furthermore, in a connected car society, AI data gathered by
one car can be shared with other cars, thereby increasing the groupawareness of all automated driving vehicles equipped with AI.
It will require medium- to long-term efforts to bring thefunctions of automated driving to the critical point (“singularity”)
where AI will completely overtake humans in terms of safety.
As shown in Figure 11, the levels of automated driving in Japanis currently defined by “the Public/Private-Sector ITS Initiative
Roadmap”. Basically, this roadmap adopts the definition of the
SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers), which specifies six levelsof automated driving from level 0 to level 5.

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■ Figure 11: A utomatic driving levels (from “the Public/Private-Sector ITS Initiative Roadmap”)■ Figure 12: N ew online threats

Vehicles currently on the market in Japan are said to have thefunctions of level 2, where driving is partially automated. A level 2
system supports the longitudinal and lateral movement of vehicles
while assuming that the driver bears the responsibility for any
collisions. Specifically, they include functions such as staying inthe same lane while following the vehicle in front. It is expectedthat a greater level of sophistication will make it possible for avehicle to change lanes based on an instruction provided by thedriver, such as operating the turn signal lever.

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Currently, efforts are under way to develop products thatare compatible with level 3 (conditional automated driving) by
2020. For example, progress is being made in the development oftechnology whereby driving on expressways can be almost entirely
handled by automated driving systems.
Efforts are also being made to implement level 4 (advanced
automated driving) in limited areas, and studies are being madeof the technical and institutional aspects of this technology as a
new means of transport, which is expected to promote regional
development.

■ Figure 13: N ew services for connected cars

■ Figure 14: The potential impact of connected cars on society and lifestyles

Security is becoming an increasingly important consideration
in initiatives related to connected cars. As shown in Figure 12, aconnected car connected to a network can be exposed to diverse
security risks, and these risks have to be properly controlled.
In particular, it is important to have appropriate measures inplace to deal with (1) remote control and cyberattack threats, (2)data authenticity, and (3) privacy protection, which means that
security measures will be an essential feature of the connected carsin the future. Since an attacker launches an attack by scanning theentire system for vulnerabilities, it is essential that the automobileand communication industries cooperate with each other to ensure
the overall security of their systems.
Security-related initiatives in other countries include a joint
effort of the United States Department of Transportation Road
Traffic Safety Authority and 18 automobile manufacturers,
which have agreed to cooperate by sharing information related tocyberattacks (January 2016).
Meanwhile, the automotive and telecommunication industries
in Europe joined forces by holding an EU Industry Dialogue
on automated and connected driving (launched in September

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2015), where they agreed to cooperate on (1) connectivity, (2)standardization, and (3) security.
Other new initiatives are also under way in the private sector.
Tesla, a US electric vehicle manufacturer, has developed a bug
bounty program that rewards people who report software bugs
or vulnerabilities. When vulnerabilities have been detected,
Tesla vehicles can download security patches via mobile phone
networks, thereby keeping them updated at all times.
2.3 Expected services and businesses
This section discusses the new services and businesses thatcan be expected to arise as progress is made in the introductionof connected cars. In the future, as progress is made in big datatechnology, AI technology, and high-speed and large-capacity
mobile networks such as 5G, we can expect to see various newservices by connecting cars to networks (Figure 13).
These services will have the potential to bring about
substantial changes to society and our everyday lives. For example,

as shown in Figure 14, by connecting a vehicle to the home oroffice, the driver can spend time relaxing as if he were at home,or working as he were at office. This has the potential to maketraveling a much more relaxing or productive experience.
2.4 Service typing and modeling
In a connected car society, it is expected that diverse services
will be provided without being limited to services that are directly
related to cars. With further advances in connected car technology
in the future, we can expect developments such as:• creating new services and businesses across a wide range ofsectors including tourism and entertainment,• addressing various social issues in each region, and• forging new ties with diverse stakeholders associated withthese developments.
Assuming that a wide variety of services will be made available
to connected cars, we should consider how to realize a connected
car society. Firstly, it is important to organize and classify these■ Figure 15: Service classification (example)■ Figure 16: Wireless systems used by a connected car society

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■ Figure 17: C ommunication required for the implementation of a connected car
society (role-sharing of communication systems)■ Figure 18: C ommunication requirements of a connected car society(dynamic map)

services.
In this study group, our most important aim in realizing aconnected car society is to address social issues such as ensuring
the safety and security of citizens, and providing them with aconvenient and comfortable lifestyle. We defined one axis ofanalysis as follows:• Is safety a primary objective?
• Is convenience and comfort a primary objective?
Furthermore, since “connected” implies the distribution ofdata, we defined another axis of analysis as follows:• Is data obtained from the surrounding road traffic
environment (vehicles, infrastructure etc.)?
• Is data obtained from external resources such as servers?
By classifying services according to these two axes (safety/
convenience and comfort and data sources), we have grouped thediverse services provided by connected cars into the following four
categories:(1) Safety (driving support services)(2) Car occupant support (data driven services)(3) Infotainment (entertainment services)(4) Agents (driving support services)
Figure 15 shows how the main connected car services can bemapped according to these two axes.
2.5 Communication requirements of a connected car society
To clarify the problems that should be solved in promoting
the connected car society, it is useful to analyze what sort ofcommunication and other technologies are needed by each kind ofservice.

As shown in Figure 16, connected car communication is
expected to involve the use of multiple wireless systems withvarious features, for example, mobile phone networks offering
constant coverage over a wide area, dedicated ITS wireless systems
that are restricted to short range or hot-spot communication, andso on.
Since each wireless system has its own advantages anddisadvantages, they must be appropriately combined to satisfy thediverse communication requirements of connected car services.
When considering the roles of radio communication systems,
their characteristics can be broadly divided into three types:
Hot-spot communication: communication between a car and aserver in a specific place
Dedicated short-range communication: Communication overshort distances, such as between vehicles, or between vehicles andinfrastructure
Wide-area communication: communication between vehicles
and remote servers over a wide area
Figure 17 shows what sort of communication is required foreach field based on the communication requirements of eachindividual service.
Since many different kinds of information are needed torealize and advance a connected car society, it is necessary to use acombination of radio communication systems that are suited to thecharacteristics of each kind of data.
Furthermore, it is expected that further improvements suchas improving information precision and lowering lag times will
also be required to keep up with the enhancement of services as
the connected car society evolves in the future. To achieve this,

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■ Figure 19: Useful forms of communication for an automatic pilot■ Figure 20: D ata needed for the implementation of a connected car society■ Figure 21: T he explosive growth of data derived from vehicles

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■ Figure 22: The diverse players involved in a connected car society

it will also be necessary for the communication systems used byconnected cars to evolve dynamically.
On the other hand, it should be noted that automobiles are
durable consumer goods and are often used for more than 10
years from manufacture to disposal. We must therefore provide
connected cars with future-proof communication systems that can
support the evolution of communication systems while ensuring
compatibility with existing vehicles.
For example, a dynamic map system as shown in Figure 18
consists of four layers of information linked to a high-accuracy
map. These are combined for use inside the vehicle, andcommunication is needed to ensure that these layers accuratelyreflect the current situation in the outside world. Although thisrequires a fairly advanced level of communication, it is likely thateven more advanced communication systems will be necessary
in the future to keep up with the evolution of automated driving
along with the need for information in greater quantities and withgreater precision.
As automated driving systems become more advanced in the
future, it is thought that other communication will also become
necessary in addition to dynamic maps, including the following:
As shown in Figure 19, an automatic pilot is required tocooperate with AI by extending telematics services andenhancing V2I and V2V communication through the use of ITS
communication.
The utilization of data is a major theme of connected cars, andthis data can be classified into the abovementioned four quadrants
as shown in Figure 20. Connected car services can be supported
by using data with these diverse characteristics.
When considering the communication requirements ofconnected cars, it is also necessary to consider how the volume ofdata traffic will increase over time.
As shown in Figure 21, the volume of data is expected to growexplosively due to the increasing number of connected cars withmore sophisticated data requirements.
In Japan, we will have to develop communication and data
storage/processing infrastructures to accommodate the increased
volume of data, based on the recognition that this data will

become a source of considerable added value.
2.6 Cooperation among various players
For the creation of new connected car services, it will beessential for the automobile industry to establish wide-ranging
ties with other industries. For example, Figure 22 shows how
relationships with various industries can be mapped to the four
quadrants of Figure 15.
To realize services that are suitable for a connected car society,we should build frameworks and mechanisms for collaborationand cooperation with other industries while bearing in mind theclear division of roles of automobile manufacturers, equipment
manufacturers, telecommunications carriers and so on.
2.7 Issues to be resolved in order to realize a connected car
society
Our study group has identif ied three issues and one
interdisciplinary issue as problems to be addressed in order torealize a connected car society:[Issue 1] C onstruction of a reliable real-time wireless communication network– Based on the widespread use of LTE as a general-purpose
network, we will consider the technical and businessaspects of various communication technologies (including
newer LTE-based methods such as LTE-V2X) while
keeping an eye on international trends.
– In the future, we will combine 5G and various othertechnologies to support services aimed at ensuring andimproving the safety of communications. This will involve
making improvements to characteristics such as reliability,
robustness and real-time responsiveness in order to satisfy
the individual requirements of these services in the best
way possible.
[Issue 2] Use of data to promote the creation of new industries andbusinesses
– Improving the collection, storage and utilization of data

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handled by connected cars requires not only technicalmeasures but also the creation of a supportive environment(e.g., with bigger incentives to promote data utilization).
[Issue 3] Establishment of an environment for innovation andcreation– To construct a model where the added value of new services
remains in Japan, we need a forum where diverse foreignand domestic stakeholders can meet the challenge of new
initiatives.
– We need to establish an environment where data canbe strategically collected, stored and utilized, andcooperate with local authorities to promote cutting-edge
demonstration trials with diverse stakeholders. This willlead to the development of new services and promotesocial acceptance. By broadening the scope of theseresults, we will secure and strengthen Japan’s international
competitiveness.
[Interdisciplinary issue] Securement of privacy and security forsafe and secure use– It is important to accelerate efforts aimed at ensuring
privacy and security are maintained to facilitate safe andsecure use.
2.8 M
 easures for the implementation of a connected car
society
To build the world’s most advanced connected car society herein Japan, we need to strategically and comprehensively address theissues discussed in the previous section.
Promoting the Connected Car Society Project shown in■ Figure 23: C onnected Car Society Project

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Figure 23 should be an effective way of achieving this.
A specific problem-solving approach could be to set up
projects corresponding to each of the three issues mentioned
above, and to promote collaboration between these projects while
using testbeds to resolve interdisciplinary issues.
To promote each project, we will set up and work from anadvanced model based on the specific use of each technology.
[Responding to the construction of a reliable real-time wirelesscommunication network]• The Connected Network project– Edge computing utilization model for driving support– Infrastructure cooperative driving support model– Vehicle-to-vehicle information sharing model[Responding to the use of data to promote the creation of new
industries and businesses]• The Connected Data project– Efficient data collection model– A cloud data utilization model that offers convenienceand comfort[Responding to establish an environment for innovation andcreation]• The Connected Platform project– System architecture model– Cooperative platform model[Ensure privacy and security for safe and secure use]
Privacy and security are defined as interdisciplinary issues
in each project. We will accelerate initiatives such as using atestbed while developing stronger systems for ensuring privacy andsecurity.
With this Connected Car Society Project, as shown in
Figure 24, we aim to implement a safer, more secure and more
comfortable society with connected cars while achieving our major
goals by solving individual issues.

2.9 Connected car society road map
Figure 25 shows the roadmap for realizing a connected car
society, which was formulated based on the government’s overall
strategy on automatic driving technology in the “2017 Public/
Private-Sector ITS Initiative Roadmap”.
In this roadmap, we decided to promote the Connected■ Figure 24: Measures for the promotion of a connected car society■ Figure 25: Connected
car society roadmap

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■ Figure 26: Conceptual image 1 (concierge service)■ Figure 27: Conceptual
image 2 (smart city)

Various sensors installed in a
vehicle are connected to the networkand seamlessly connected with online
services. As shown in Figure 26, thismakes it possible for the vehicle to offer
concierge services that make various
recommendations to the driver.
Also, by using a supercomputer that
instantaneously processes information
obtained from connected cars andother sources, it could be possible tooptimize traffic flow, avoid congestionand promote safe navigation. It
is expected that this will lead to theemergence of smart cities, where theentire city constantly learns and evolvesautonomously based on this dataprocessing capability (Figure 27).

3. Main points of discussion
and issues raised at themeeting
This section summarizes the discussions on the major issues that arecovered in the study group: infrastructure development, security, costs, andtestbeds.

Car Society Project as a core initiative in conjunction with SIP
activities and standardization activities at the ITU.
Specifically, we have decided that from FY2018 we will workon the development and demonstration of technologies that are
assumed to be necessary for specific usage models, and we will
utilize a test bed where diverse players are able to participate.
Through these efforts, we will implement the world’s mostadvanced safe, secure and comfortable connected car society by2020 by not only enhancing the capabilities of connected cars
themselves, but also by treating them as tools for new mobility
services and businesses, and we will also contribute to therealization of more advanced automated driving technology.
2.10 Conceptual images of a connected car society
For reference, a concrete conceptualization of a connected car
society is described below.

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3.1 Infrastructure development
3.1.1 The role of each player
Bui ld ing and ma inta ining aconnected car society entails theestablishment and operation of a newcommunication infrastructure.
Recently, attention has been drawn
to V2X technology based on the cellular technology used in mobile phones.
In the past, cellular technology withrelatively large latency was basicallyused for infotainment purposes such as
downloading maps. However, due toadvances in technology such as mobile computing and edge computing, the latency has been reduced. Cellular technology is now
starting to be deployed in a wide range of applications including
safety support. However, this raises the question of who installs
and operates the communication infrastructure that makes up
these cellular networks, such as cloud computing and edge computing.
The cost of installing communication infrastructure can beborne by the public sector, or by private business. In a connected
car society, since a very diverse variety of stakeholders are involved, it is essential to sort out the role to be performed by eachstakeholder. For example, it would be reasonable for facilities suchas communication base stations to be installed either by communication carriers or by road administrators. There could also becases where other stakeholders such as traffic managers might beinvolved.

To enable the communication infrastructure itself to develop
soundly, some areas need to be standardized as a common
infrastructure while others need to facilitate competition between
businesses, and this also affects how the facilities are deployed andoperated. From now on, it is important to firmly discuss how roles
will be shared among the public and private sectors.
3.1.2 Improvement of communication infrastructure
The discussion of communication infrastructure for theconstruction of a connected car society was based on the premisethat servers and networks could be used freely. However inother countries, there has been a high degree of specialization ofservers, operating systems, CPUs and the like, and it is becoming
impossible to build systems that can be used freely by combining
general-purpose components. There was also a discussion of how
it is not possible to rule out the possibility of a society where all
the systems related to connected cars in Japan depend on foreigncomponents and are operated in large-scale cloud services situatedoverseas.
In the world of ICT, there is a tendency for a small numberof global players to dominate the industry. This move towards
global consolidation will continue to accelerate. Unless Japan gets
involved in this movement, we run the risk of becoming sidelined.
We must therefore consider what sort of role we are going toplay. As systems are consolidated and moved to cloud, ultimately
all that is left is data. It is vital that each industry and businessconsiders how to protect data in the future.
As for the servers, it is thought that the scale of data collectedfrom vehicles will grow exponentially in the future, which raises
the question of how this data will be stored. The volume ofdata currently being collected corresponds roughly to that of aController Area Network (CAN). But when big data becomeswidespread, data collected from vehicle control information, video
cameras and so on will also be uploaded to data centers. If every
car in the country functions in this way, we will need an enormous
group of servers to handle all the data. It would be difficult for asingle manufacturer to invest in this infrastructure independently.
But if we rely entirely on overseas servers, all the data will go
abroad and we will lose not only the ownership of the data but also
all of its value.
On the other hand, if there is a delay of several milliseconds
in round-trip communication between Japan and the US, it may
not even be possible to use overseas servers from inside Japan. In
fields such as connected cars where response time is particularly
important, it will be necessary to construct certain systems inJapan.
Also, if people depend on foreign operating systems and CPUs
because they are cheap and convenient, there will be nothing left
in Japan in the future. Japan will also have no resources for dealing
with any problems that may develop in the future.
For this reason, it is very important for Japan to maintain acertain level of technology and to create circumstances where it ispossible to supply and operate equipment domestically. Demandfor cloud-based data management will rapidly increase in the
future. Even though some companies may seem to have a large
share now, the absolute size of these shares will seem tiny in 10
years. Instead of depending on overseas providers, it is essentialthat Japan constructs its own technology.
One of the major issues is how to establish a communication
infrastructure at a national level. In realizing a connected car
society, it is important to think about how to build mechanismsthat add value in Japan. From now on, we should reduce the entry
barriers in this field, perform testbed studies, and consider the roleeach stakeholder should play.
3.2 Security
3.2.1 Viruses
In general, cyber criminals use various direct and indirectmeans to attack products and servers. Since a malfunctioning
connected car is potentially a risk to human life, security measures
are particularly important.
Recently, viruses called “cyber debris” have caused problems.
For example, there is a computer virus called Slammer that was
actually released fourteen years ago but is still active. Some viruses
can be very difficult to eradicate once they have made it out into
the wild. Since connected cars usually have a very long life, theymust be able to deal with this sort of threat.
Also, viruses called bots have caused in the telecommunica­
tions industry for a long time. Unlike debris, bots are viruses
that can remain dormant for a period of time without anyone
knowing how or when they entered a system, until some later datewhen they become active and cause problems. By this stage, theycannot be blocked at the entrances to the system because they
have already made it past the system’s defenses. Although it is very
important to apply communication security measures and software
updates as quickly as possible, it is difficult to find bots that havealready made it into the network.
3.2.2 Security
Although connected cars can be thought of as a type of IoT,
cars and their on-board equipment tend to have targets that are
more clearly defined than those of ordinary IoT equipment. As
a result, it can be easier to handle their security requirements.
For example, the world of IoT includes items whose owners
are unknown, whereas a connected car is obviously owned bysomeone, as can be demonstrated by performing proper
authentication. However, viruses are not always delivered byintrusions from the outside. In some cases, backdoors can beformed in the original components of a system, or a bot may be
hidden within its software. Even if no problems arise at the testingstage, a system can still be vulnerable to attack. Therefore it isnecessary to guarantee the origins and authenticity of products andcomponents used in a connected car.
Also, if an incident such as hijacking is detected in a connected
car network, it is possible to adopt a new viewpoint by linking thevehicle’s emergency measures and cybersecurity measures, such as
using the automated driving functions to make the vehicle stopsuddenly at the side of the road. On the other hand, getting the
car to stop may have been the original purpose of the cyberattack,so it is also possible that the vehicle’s emergency stop function
could be targeted and abused.
Security measures generally assume that there will be incidents
that have to be dealt with retroactively after they have takenplace. This is equivalent to the way people resort to surgical or

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medical remedies when they get sick or injured. In both cases, it isnecessary to stop before getting back up again. For example, whenassessing a human patient with an unknown condition, a doctor
will collect various data, listen with a stethoscope, look at thepatient’s state of health, and combine this information with many
years of experience and medical knowledge to make a diagnosis
and decide what measures to take. If a similar diagnostic process
can be applied to the big data collected by servers from connectedcars, it might be possible to prevented security incidents before
they actually occur.
Security is an essential factor in the use of data in connectedcars. Since security is an ongoing battle and connected cars takecharge of human life, the security measures must be updated
constantly. From now on, we must engage the public and private
sectors on the issue of connected car security.
3.3 Costs
It is well-known that the free use of data collected byconnected cars in diverse locations will have far-reaching benefits.
However, while the data gathered by connected cars is publicdata, it is also private data collected through the efforts of eachcompany involved. The positioning of the data is therefore very
important. We must consider how to compensate for the social
costs of sharing data within or between industries. However,the connected car society is expected to become an enormous
ecosystem involving vehicle manufacturers, parts manufacturers,
communication carriers, cloud service providers, servicing
companies, and companies that generate and lease out secondary
data. Since the data is expected to be created, stored and used indifferent places, this makes the issue very complicated. We must
discuss how an entire country or industry can cover the cost of
promoting mutual utilization of data collected by connected cars.
The cost of maintaining and updating security and othersystems is expected to be huge, but since this is essential for
ensuring safety, we must also consider how these costs will beshared.
Unless these matters are studied in depth, it will be difficult
for society and individuals to accept a connected car society. It
has been estimated that the infrastructure investment costs of aconnected car society could exceed ¥1 trillion per year. If we are
not conscious of the need to engage in a project of such size inthe future, then we will not progress beyond the discussions oftechnology. In the future, it will also be important for the public
and private sectors to unite and discuss cost sharing.
3.4 Testbeds
The field of connected cars involves various stakeholders
from diverse industries, including automobile industry,
telecommunications industry and service industry, as well as
national and regional governments. These will have to be brought
together in order to resolve issues and make the connected car
society a practical reality.
The automobile industry has traditionally excelled at
implementing its own safety measures such as CO2 reductions
and NCAP safety tests. However, the creation of completely
new technologies and services that cross between different
industries will benefit from the provision of a testbed. A testbed

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New Breeze Summer 2018is a place where it is possible to try out new approaches one after
another in a short period of time. It is felt that this is a preferable
development environment because it is possible to switch to
the next idea straight away if one idea fails. Since multiple
stakeholders cooperate not only with desktop studies but alsowith actual designs in the testbed, this should promote technicalinnovation, the use of diverse technologies, and the combinationof different use cases to create new ideas that can be used in thecreation of a connected car society.
On the other hand, there are various questions we will haveto answer. Will Japan simply follow other countries who leadbased on the development of connected car networks and cloudtechnology resulting from over a trillion yen of investment? Whatsort of technology will we use, and what will we do with it? Whatsort of characteristics should our testbed have? For example, if
we perform R&D with other businesses and industries using
previously unavailable probe data in new methods, this could
become globally unique. Also, on the infrastructure side of things,
there are, for example, about 200,000 traffic lights in Japan,
only about 100 are currently equipped with sensors that cancommunicate with cars. If all the traffic lights in some region
could be equipped with these sensors, then this would create a
testbed not available anywhere else in the world.
Currently, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communica­
tions shares the personal information of volunteer visitors to Japan
with hotels and cultural facilities as part of its “IoT Hospitality
Cloud Business” initiative. We are performing demonstration
trials in which the information is used to provide various services,
and in FY2016 the number of participating tourists reachedapproximately 2,000. However, a number of restrictive andtechnical issues came to light. Unless we proactively engage incharacteristic projects like this, there will be little point in us
repeating the work of studies that are already being performedin other countries. In the future, we hope to discuss the specificdetails of the testbed in more depth, and gather opinions frommany other fields of industry.

4. Future initiatives
Through six study group discussions, we have carried out ananalysis of the current situation and the tasks to be performed inorder to realize a connected car society. The Ministry of Internal
Affairs and Communications also plans to promote efforts towardrealizing a connected car society based on the points raised inthis study. On the other hand, connected cars represent a new
field that combines automobiles and communication, and thestakeholders involved in this technology are far more diverse.
Since we have to trust our cars with our lives, it is not sufficientto pursue the idea of a “best effort” as in other fields. Instead, wemust build systems that reliably ensure the safety of drivers andpedestrians. In this sense, it will become necessary to promote
the development of technology while checking that the technicalrequirements match the actual situation of road users and theirneeds. The government as a whole will go ahead with full-scale
field demonstration tests with the aim of realizing a connected car
society.