ISSN 0915-3160

通巻百三十二号

No.

4

Vol. 33 October 2021
Autumn

To p i c s

50th Anniversary of the ITU Association of Japan

Commemorating 50 years since the founding of ITU-AJ
Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications: Message of Congratulations
Holding of the “50th Anniversary Ceremony of the ITU Association of Japan”
50-Year History of the ITU Association of JapanS pec i a l Feat u reLeading-edge of Telemedicine Services in Japan

Expansion of Telemedicine in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic
CLINICS: Japan’s Most Popular Telemedicine System

New Breeze Vol. 33 No.4 Autumn

New Breeze

October 2021

C O N T E N T S

ISSN 0915-3160

Quarterly of The ITU Association of JapanBN Gyoen Bldg., 1-17-11 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku,
Tokyo 160-0022 Japan
Tel: +81-3-5357-7610 Fax: +81-3-3356-8170

https://www.ituaj.jp/?page_id=310
Editorial Committee

		 Topics — 5 0th Anniversary of the ITU Association of Japan
1

Commemorating 50 years since the founding of ITU-AJ

3

Holding of the “50th Anniversary Ceremony of the ITU Associationof Japan”

2

5

Chairman: Wataru Kameyama
Members: Ministry of Internal Affairs andCommunications, Association of Radio Industries
and Businesses, Communication Line Products
Association of Japan, Fujitsu Limited, Hitachi, Ltd.,
Japan Broadcasting Corporation,
KDDI CORPORATION, Mitsubishi Electric
Corporation, National Institute of Information andCommunications Technology, NEC Corporation,
NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONECORPORATION, Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.,
Panasonic Corporation, Softbank Corp.,
Sony Group Corporation,
The Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association, and
The Telecommunication Technology Committee

Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications: Message ofCongratulations

50-Year History of the ITU Association of Japan

		 Special Feature — L eading-edge of Telemedicine Services in Japan
10

14

Expansion of Telemedicine in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic
CLINICS: Japan’s Most Popular Telemedicine System

		Column
18= A Serial Introduction Part 3 =Winners of ITU-AJ Encouragement Awards 2020

Publisher: Tetsuo Yamakawa
Editors:

Junichi Kishimoto
Kaori Ohno
Naoko Ishida

Letters to New Breeze

New Breeze welcomes readers’ opinions. Please sendcomments with your name, address, and nationalityby e-mail, fax, or post to the editor.

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About ITU-AJ
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Association of Japan.
Copyright © The ITU Association of Japan. All rightreserved. No reproduction or republication without written
permission.

The ITU Association of Japan (ITU-AJ) was founded on September 1, 1971, tocoordinate Japanese activities in the telecommunication and broadcasting sectors
with international activities. Today, the principle activities of the ITU-AJ are tocooperate in various activities of international organizations such as the ITU and todisseminate information about them. The Association also aims to help developing
countries by supporting technical assistance, as well as by taking part in generalinternational cooperation, mainly through the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT),
so as to contribute to the advance of the telecommunications and broadcasting
throughout the world.

Commemorating 50 years since the founding of ITU-AJ
Towards the Next 50 years!

Founded on September 1, 1971, the ITU Association of Japan (ITU-AJ) is commemorating its 50th anniversary with the publication of the 2021
autumn issue of New Breeze. We have reached this milestone through the kind support received from many people over the last half-century, and forthis we are sincerely grateful.
On this memorial occasion, we are again reminded of our important role at ITU-AJ with a strong desire to take up the challenges of the next 50 years.
This issue features a collection of 50th anniversary articles.
Editors

Tetsuo Yamakawa

President of the ITU Association of JapanThe ITU Association of Japan (ITU-AJ) was founded in
September 1971 with the aim of coordinating activities with theInternational Telecommunication Union (ITU). This year marks
our 50th anniversary, which could not have been possible without
the support received from many parties and people including the
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), oursupporting members, and ITU-AJ employees. On this occasion, I
would like to extend my deepest appreciation to all concerned.
Our daily lives have changed a lot due to the COVID-19
pandemic. Today, lifestyles making good use of informationand communications technology (ICT) such as teleworking,v ideoconferencing, and online learning have becomecommonplace in society. Thanks to progress in the digitaltransformation, ICT is becoming an even more importantsocial infrastructure that should make great contributions
to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of theUnited Nations. Needless to say, ITU activities such as
management of spectrum and satellite orbits, standardizationof telecommunications technologies, and support for thedevelopment of telecommunications in developing countries will
become increasingly important in the years to come.
This is just a personal story, but when I was still ayoung man directly after entering the Ministry of Posts andTelecommunications, ITU-AJ publications such as “ITU andJapan” and “ITU Research” were used as kinds of textbooks ontelecommunications policies.
I particularly remember the media theory of Dr. Junichi
Hamada (then an assistant and associate professor at
The University of Tokyo) and the institutional lecture ofcommunications policy in the United States (Value Added
Network, etc.) of Mr. Hideo Katsube (then at KDD).
My connection with ITU-AJ was later revived after becoming
director of the International Policy Division just at the time that
H.E Mr. Yoshio Utsumi, then ITU Secretary-General, waspouring much effort into holding the World Summit on the
Information Society (WSIS).
Then, in 2007, when I was director-general of theInternational Affairs Department, I attended for the first timea session of the ITU Council at ITU Headquarters in Geneva.
It was so impressive for me that there were many participating
countries assembled in a huge conference hall. And as part ofdaily meetings with some of the member states, I sometimes hada chance to visit a nearby Japanese restaurant where the batter of
the tempura struck me as too thick! However, during the time that
I was Vice-Minister for Policy Coordination, I attended the ITU
2010 Plenipotentiary Conference in Guadalajara, Mexico andcame to realize that the quality of tempura in Geneva was actuallyquite high. (Incidentally, Japanese cuisine in Europe today is quiteamazing to say the least.)
By chance, I recently had the opportunity to meet with Dr.
Junichi Hamada (past President and Honorary Professor of
The University of Tokyo) and Mr. Hideo Katsube (Chairman
and CEO of Knowledge Company, Inc.), which brought backmemories of the ITU-AJ publications that I used to read. And
now I am writing this article. My experience have been like a wellmade story, as if by fate!
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ITU-related meetings havebasically been held as videoconferences. However, strategicallyimportant issues that need be studied at ITU have been pilingup such as the expansion of frequencies for International Mobile
Telecommunications (IMT) toward 5G and 6G, IoT security
management, and standardization of quantum key distribution(QKD) technology. Studies on these topics are steadily moving
forward despite the ongoing spread of COVID-19 throughout theworld. In June 2022, the World Telecommunication Development
Conference (WTDC) is going to take place for the first time in
ITU history on the African continent (Addis Ababa).
Japan, as one of the most active participants that has been
supporting ITU activities and a member of the Council since
1959, is expected to make further contributions for ITU towardachieving SDGs through digital transformation initiatives. For
its part, ITU-AJ will make an even greater effort to meet the
expectations of everyone who considers ITU to be an important
strategic forum. I look forward to your ongoing support andencouragement in the years to come.

New Breeze Autumn 2021

1

Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications:
Message of Congratulations

TAKEDA Ryota

Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications

I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the
ITU Association of Japan (ITU-AJ) on the 50th anniversary of
its founding. Against the background of this 50-year milestone,
I have heard that the recipients of these prestigious awards
have made remarkable contributions to the development of
information-communications and broadcasting throughout theworld through activities of the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU). I would like to express my sincere appreciation to allaward recipients for their efforts.
Founded in September 1, 1971, the role of ITU-AJ over thelast 50 years has been to connect Japan and the world throughdiverse activities in the ITU, Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT),and other organizations in the fields of telecommunications andbroadcasting.
Looking back over this 50-year period, Japan has faced avariety of severe economic and social upheavals such as the 1973
oil crisis (“oil shock”), appreciation of the yen following the Plaza
Accord, collapse of the bubble economy, Asian currency crisis,2008 financial crisis (“Lehman shock”), and the Great East
Japan Earthquake of 2011. On the other hand, new services andbusinesses in a wide range of fields have appeared and expanded
during this time while social mechanisms and people’s attitudes
and behavioral patterns have undergone great changes. One of themain reasons for these changes is the evolution of information andcommunications technology (ICT) centered about the Internet
and mobile phones.
The members of ITU-AJ have been key leaders of industry
providing vital social infrastructures and facilities related tocommunications and broadcasting as well as services for a widearray of industries. In this capacity, they have developed energetic
business activities and made major contributions to social andindustrial infrastructures and facilities while responding in a
flexible manner to changing times.
Today, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to prevail inJapan and throughout the world, ICT has come to be recognized
more than ever as a technology essential to human existence
and economic activities. Even regions in which digitalization
has not been progressing well are now experiencing a wave of2

New Breeze Autumn 2021

digitalization. Moreover, it has been pointed out that making
maximum use of digitalization and remote computing can bringabout change at the individual, industrial, and social levels andlead to the creation of new value. Global needs with respect todigitalization will only increase in the years to come. For example,
Japan has been providing 5G commercial services since Marchof last year and the number of contracts for 5G services has been
increasing dramatically in many countries throughout the world.
The global market for 5G services is expected to exceed 70 trillion
yen by 2025 and 150 trillion yen by 2030.
With the aim of contributing to digital transformation on a
global scale, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications(MIC) will pursue the overseas development of 5G andinfrastructure systems such as optical submarine cables. We
also seek to promote a common recognition on an international
level with respect to the use of AI and the distribution ofdata. Furthermore, to improve our industrial competitivenessin anticipation of a post-pandemic world, we will promote thedevelopment of technologies “Beyond 5G” by bringing together
the expertise of both the public and private sectors. We will also
support the strategic acquisition of intellectual property andthe international standardization of research and development
achievements. Through these efforts, we will support the membersof ITU-AJ in the challenges they face in the global marketplaceand in their activities on international stages such as the ITU.
Against this background, the members of ITU-AJ are
expected to be active in a broad range of areas, to create newvalue, and to bring about business reform while incorporating newtechnologies and knowledge. I look forward to your further efforts
in achieving these goals under the leadership of ITU-AJ.
In closing, I would like to express my sincere respect for
the achievements made by the recipients of these awards incommemoration of the 50th anniversary of ITU-AJ. Furthermore,
to all members supporting ITU-AJ and its activities, I offer wordsof congratulations and look forward with great anticipation tofurther developments in Japan’s information-communicationsindustry. I extend my sincere congratulations on the 50th
anniversary of the founding of ITU-AJ.

Holding of the “50th Anniversary Ceremony of
the ITU Association of Japan”

The ITU Association of Japan (ITU-AJ)

Planning Department

The “50th Anniversary Ceremony of The ITU Associationof Japan” was held online on September 1, 2021. This ceremony,consisting of an opening address and congratulatory message,
presentation of awards, and a panel discussion, drew about 280
participants.
The ceremony began with a short video presentation titled “50Years of The ITU Association of Japan” introducing memorable
images since 1971, the year of the founding of ITU-AJ.
This was followed by an opening address delivered by Tetsuo
YAMAKAWA, President of the ITU Association of Japan.
Then, State Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications
Masayoshi SHINTANI gave a congratulatory message on theachievements in the past 50 years and future expectations of theassociation and its supporting members that have contributed tothe development of information and communications.
Hideyuki TOKUDA, Chairman of ITU-AJ Award Selection
Board, then reported on the selection of winners for the MIC
Minister’s Award, ITU-AJ 50th Anniversary Honor Award,
Special Award, and Commemorative Award, and ITU-AJ Special
Achievement Award.
Presentation of the MIC Minister’s Award and ITU-AJ
awards to award winners then began. The MIC Minister’s Award
and ITU-AJ 50th Anniversary Honor Award were presented
to Mr. Yoshio UTSUMI, who served as Chairman of the ITU
Plenipotentiary Conference in 1994 (Kyoto). He was appointed
Secretary-General of the ITU in 1998 and demonstrated
outstanding leadership for two terms (8 years) until 2006.
In addition, the MIC Minister’s Award and ITU-AJ 50th
Anniversary Special Award were presented to Dr. Yasuhiko
ITO, Dr. Akira HASHIMOTO, and Mr. Makoto MIURA,
who, as members or chairmen of the International Frequency
Registration Board (IFRB) and Radio Regulations Board (RRB),
were actively involved as representatives of Japan in resolving
international frequency-related issues. Following this, the ITUAJ 50th Anniversary Commemorative Award was presented to
11 individuals and ITU-AJ Special Achievement Award waspresented to 3 individuals.
The commemorative photo for the ceremony featured Mr.
Houlin ZHAO, Secretary-General of ITU, Mr. Masanori
KONDO, Secretary-General of Asia-Pacific Telecommunity,
Mr. Yasuo TAWARA, Director-General of Global Strategy
Bureau, MIC, and the award winners, each of which was taken
while communicating over the screen—a scene that could only be
captured online.
The second half of the ceremony was devoted to a panel

discussion with Mr. Houlin ZHAO, Secretary-General of ITU,
Mr. Masanori KONDO, Secretary General of Asia-PacificTelecommunity, and Mr. Yasuo TAWARA, Director-General of
Global Strategy Bureau, MIC under the theme of “International
Standardization Activities; Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow—
Expectation and Future for the ITU Association of Japan—.”Moderated by ITU-AJ President Tetsuo YAMAKAWA, this
discussion featured a lively exchange of opinions including theshared belief that “the field of ICT is going through severechanges, which makes the standardization of technology all themore important in such an era.”
Through this ceremony, it was deeply moving to learn again
about the operations of ITU-AJ up to the present thanks to theefforts of many people, and for this we are sincerely grateful.
Under the slogan of “Towards the Next 50 Years!” the mission of■ Mr. Yoshio UTSUMI, winner of the MIC Minister’s Award
and ITU-AJ 50th Anniversary Honor Award■ Dr. Yasuhiko ITO, Dr. Akira HASHIMOTO, and Mr. Makoto
MIURA, winners of the MIC Minister’s Award and ITU-AJ
50th Anniversary Special Award

New Breeze Autumn 2021

3

■ Commemorative photo of award winners■ Panel discussion

ITU-AJ is to serve its members in the upcoming era by joining
forces and working together one step at a time. We look forward to
our members’ ongoing support.

Information on this ceremony is provided on the ITU-AJ
website, so please take a look.
https://www.ituaj.jp/?page_id=25499

List of Award Winners(Affiliation is at time of recommendation)

MIC Minister’s Award
Yoshio UTSUMIFormer Secretary-General ofInternational Telecommunication
Union
Yasuhiko ITOFormer KDDI
Akira HASHIMOTONTT DOCOMO
Makoto MIURA
Former International
Telecommunication Union
ITU-AJ 50th Anniversary Honor Award

ITU-AJ Special Achievement Award
Satoshi OYAMA
Association of Radio Industries
and Businesses
Hachihei KUREMATSU
BHN Association
Takao SHIMIZUTokyo Broadcasting System
Television, Inc.

Yoshio UTSUMIFormer Secretary-General ofInternational Telecommunication
Union
ITU-AJ 50th Anniversary Special Award
Yasuhiko ITOAkira HASHIMOTO
Makoto MIURA

Former KDDINTT DOCOMO
Former International
Telecommunication Union
ITU-AJ 50th Anniversary Commemorative Award
Koichi ASATANI
Kogakuin University
Yuji INOUE
Know et Nova Co., Ltd.
Seizo ONOE
DOCOMO Technology, Inc.
Sadahiko KANOBHN Association
Yasuhiko KAWASUMI
Seisa University
Kohei SATOH
National Institute of Information
and Communications
Technology
Hiroyasu SONOKIFormer Asia-PacificTelecommunity
Yukihiro NISHIDA
Japan Broadcasting Corporation
Tsunekazu MATSUDAIRA Centre for International Capacity
Building
Kazuo MURANO
Former Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd.
Toshiyuki YAMADAFormer Asia-PacificTelecommunity

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New Breeze Autumn 2021

Cover Art

Fifty-three Stations on the Tokaido:
Rokugo Ferry at Kawasaki.
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797~1858)
Collection of the Art Research Center (ARC)
Ritsumeikan University
Object number: BN03828992-1-03

50-Year History of the ITU Association of Japan
July 28, 2021

[1971 – 1983]
Year

The ITU Association of Japan• The ITU Association of Japan founded• Office established in Minato Ward, Tokyo• Touki HACHIFUJI assumes Presidency• ITU Club established• First issue of “International Telecommunication
Union and Japan”• First issue of “ITU Study”

1971
1971 “International Telecommunication Union
and Japan” first issue

International Telecommunication Union(ITU)
In bold: E vents for which ITU-AJ supported theJapanese Secretariat, or an exhibition.

• WARC-71 (Geneva)• World Telecom 71 (Geneva)＊ First event

1971 ITU-AJ Office established• Seminars on CCITT (currently ITU-T) started• Seminars on ITU Constitution started (until 1973)• Seminars on Broadcast Satellite started(until 2000)• Seminars on Planning Committee started (until
1986)• Seminar s on Agre ement relating to theInternational telecommunications satelliteorganization "INTELSAT" started (until 1972)• Lecture series started (until 2000)

1971 “ ITU Study” first issue

1972
1973

• ITU-AJ Awards established• Seminars on ITU Business Practices started• Seminars on CCIR (currently ITU-R) started• CCITT 5th Plenary Assembly (Geneva)• First ITU-AJ Awards Ceremony• Donated two 8.0m × 3.6m tapestries of white plumblossoms and autumn leaves to ITU headquarters• Panel discussions started (until 1989)• PP (Malaga, Torremolinos)• Seminars on Fundamental Problem of ITU started(until 2011)• Seminars on Special Interest started (until 1986)• CCIR 13th Plenary Assembly (Geneva)

1974• World Telecom 75 (Geneva)

1975
1976

• CCITT 6th Plenary Assembly (Geneva)• ITU Chronology issued (commemorating fifth
anniversary of the ITU-AJ)

1977

1973 Tapestry donation (white plum blossoms)• CCIR 14th Plenary Assembly (Kyoto)

1978
1979

• A Short History of the ITU published (commemorating 100th anniversary of Japan’s ITU member status)

1973 Tapestry donation (autumn leaves)• WARC-79 (Geneva)• World Telecom 79 (Geneva)• CCITT 7th Plenary Assembly (Geneva)

1980
1981
1982

• Japanese translation of CCITT Recommendations(Yellow Book) issued• PP (Nairobi)• CCIR 15th Plenary Assembly (Geneva)• Received the Prime Minister’s Award (in the UN
World Communications Year)• Moved to the Watanabe Bijutsu Building in Nishishimbashi, Minato Ward, Tokyo• World Telecom 83 (Geneva)

1983

1982 CCITT Recommendations(Yellow Book) Japanese translation

New Breeze Autumn 2021

5

[1984 – 1991]
Year

International Telecommunication Union(ITU)

The ITU Association of Japan

In bold: E vents for which ITU-AJ supported theJapanese Secretariat, or an exhibition.

• CCIT T 8 th Plenar y Assembly (Malaga,
Torremolinos)

1984• Asia Teletech Organization (ATO) established• Missing Link Report• W o r l d Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n F o r u m(Washington, DC)• WTDC (Arusha)

1985• CCIR 16th Plenary Assembly (Dubrovnik)

1986

1985 Missing Link Report1987• World Communications Development Organization—Japan (WORC-J) established• Seminars on International Cooperation started(until 2000)• World Telecom 87 (Geneva)• Seminars on ITU (special courses) started• Seminars on International cooperation promotion
started• CCITT 9th Plenary Assembly (Melbourne)• WATTC (Melbourne)

1988• ATO merges into WORC-J• WORC-J Regional Cooperation Commit tee
established• Shigeo SAWADA assumes Presidency• First issue of the quarterly, “WORC-JAPAN Journal”• WORC-JAPAN sent specialists to join technical cooperation project in Tanzania, at the request of ITU
Center for Telecommunication Development• Sent research team to CCITT 9th Plenary Assemblyand WATTC’88 (Melbourne)• Moved to the Nihon Chemical Building in Nishishimbashi, Minato Ward, Tokyo

1989• ITU-A J designated as a special non-profit
foundation• Signed a memorandum of understanding forcooperation between ITU-AJ and Korea Telecom
Technology Association (TTA)• First issue of English-language journal, “NewBreeze”

1990

1991

• Sent observers to CCIR Plenary Assembly and asurvey of telecommunication situation in Eastern
Europe, and participated in ITU 125th anniversary
ceremony, and planting of a commemorative cherrytree.
• Donated 20 sapling cherry trees and a conferencetable to ITU headquarters to mark ITU’s 125th
anniversary• WORC-JAPAN issues telephone cards to assist
fundraising for ITU Center for Telecommunication
Development (CTD)• Minoru SHIOYA assumes Presidency• WORC-J International Awards established• Received Commemorative plate from the ITU forcontributions to ITU activities• “The International Telecommunication Union
and Japan” changed to the “Journal of the ITU
Association of Japan• Exhibited at World Telecom 91 Book Fair
• Published Japanese translation of “ITU of tomorrow:
Toward reform (High-level committee)” in “ITU
Study” journal

1989 “New Breeze” first issue

1989 Telecom Tokyo Forum• Telecom Tokyo Forum started• Special APT training course on optical fiber
technology started• CCIR 17th Plenary Assembly (Düsseldorf)• CCITT SG XVIII Matsuyama Meeting1990 Planting the commemo- 1990 Conference table donarative cherry treetion

• Group training course in rural telecom engineering
started, on behalf of JICA

1991 Journal name changed from “The International Telecommunication Union andJapan” to the “Journal of the ITU Associationof Japan”

6

New Breeze Autumn 2021

• PP (Nice)＊ Makoto MIURA selected as memberof the International Frequency
Registration Board (IFRB)• ITU-COM89 (Geneva)• CCIR WP4s Tokyo meeting, WP9s Kobe
meeting• World Telecom 91 (Geneva)

[1992 – 2002]
Year

International Telecommunication Union(ITU)

The ITU Association of Japan

In bold: E vents for which ITU-AJ supported theJapanese Secretariat, or an exhibition.

1992• ITU-AJ merged with WORC-J to form the New ITU
Association of Japan Inc.
• Moved to Kyodo Building, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo• APP-92 (Geneva)• WARC-92 (Malaga, Torremolinos)• WTSC-93 (Helsinki)• RA-93, WRC-93 (Geneva)

1993• Membership in ITU-T, ITU-R, and ITU-D sectors• Tetsuo MORIMOTO assumes Presidency• Received Award from Minister of Posts andTelecommunications during Japan’s Telecom Week
• Merged “ITU Study” into the “Journal of the ITU Association of Japan” publications• Exhibited publications jointly with ITU at the
24 th Union Radio -Scientif ique Internatio nale (URST) General Assembly held in Kyoto• Held series of seminars organized in India, Sri Lanka
and Indonesia, jointly with the Asia Electronics
Union (AEU)• World Telecom Visual Data Book, first issue• PP-94 (Kyoto)• WTDC-94 (Buenos Aires)• Seminars on ITU-R
started• Kansai Telecom
Symposium held

1994
1994 PP-94 (Kyoto)• RA-95, WRC-95 (Geneva)• World Telecom 95 (Geneva)

1995

1996

• Haruki MATSUNO assumes Presidency• Started Recommendation print service as agentof ITU• Web site established

1994
World Telecom Visual
Data Book, first issue• WTSC-96 (Geneva)• WTPF-1996• RA-97, WRC-97 (Geneva)• Telecom Interactive (Geneva)

1997• Mitsuo IGARASHI assumes Presidency

1998• Donated the tapestr y of Mt. Fuji to ITU
headquarters to mark the inauguration of the new
ITU Montbrillant Building

1998 Yoshio UTSUMI
selected as SecretaryGeneral of the ITU• PP-98 (Minneapolis)＊Yoshio UTSUMI selected as SecretaryGeneral of the ITU• WTDC-98 (Valletta)• WTPF-1998• Telecom 99 + Telecom Interactive 99(Geneva)

1999

2000

• Changed name to the ITU Association of Japan, Inc.
• Masato SHINAGAWA assumes Presidency

1999 Donation of Mt. Fuji tapestry

2001• Moved to Kanda KS Building in Chiyoda Ward,Tokyo• Seminars on Digital Opportunity started (until 2003)• Seminars on ITU Business started• WTPF-01• Seminars on International Conference Practicestarted• WTDC-02 (Istanbul)• PP-02 (Marrakesh)

2002• Amateur Radio Station, 8J1ITU established,commemorating World Telecommunication andInformation Society Day• Signed a memorandum of understanding forcooperation between ITU-AJ and the United States
ITU Association (USITUA)• Signed a memorandum of understanding forcooperation between ITU-AJ and the Arthur C.
Clarke Institute of Modern Technologies (ACCIMT)• Received letter of thanks for ITU Activity
contributions to World Telecommunication Day• Masahito TANI assumes Presidency• RA-2000, WRC-2000 (Istanbul)• WTSA-2000 (Montreal)

2002 PP-02 (Marrakesh)

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7

[2003 – 2013]
Year

International Telecommunication Union(ITU)

The ITU Association of Japan• Kaoru KANAZAWA assumes Presidency

In bold: E vents for which ITU-AJ supported theJapanese Secretariat, or an exhibition.

• OS Forum started• WSIS Asia-Pacific Region Meeting (Tokyo)• APG03-5 (Tokyo)• RA-03, WRC-03 (Geneva)• ITU Telecom World 2003 (Geneva)• WSIS-03 (Geneva)＊First holding of World Telecommunication & Information Society Summit

2003
2003 APG03-5 (Tokyo)

2004• First “Kore de Wakaru ITU”, a guide book for ITU,
issued• Hiroshi MATSUI assumes Presidency

2003 WSIS-03 (Geneva)

2003 WSIS Asia-PacificRegion Meeting (Tokyo)• ITU-T Director Houlin Zhao visits Japan, gives
special lectures• WTSA-04 (Florianopolis)• “Networking of rural community Information
infrastructure” group-training course organized onbehalf of JICA

• WSIS Thematic Meeting “Tokyo Ubiquitous Network Conference”• WSIS-05 (Tunis)

2005

2005 “Kore de Wakaru ITU”,
guide book for ITU• “ITU Journal” first colored issue

2005 WSIS Thematic Meeting “Tokyo Ubiquitous Network Conference”• Follow-up seminars
started2006
2006 PP-06 (Antalya)• PP-06 (Antalya)＊World Telecommunication & Information
Society Day (WTISD) established• ITU Telecom World (Hong Kong)＊First time held outside of Geneva• WTDC-06 (Doha)• IGF Meeting (Athens)2007• Dedicated member Web pages established• Kanichiro ARITOMI assumes Presidency• RA-07, WRC-07 (Geneva)

2008• Provided support for ITU Symposium on ICT and
Climate Change (Kyoto)• Kaleidoscope (Geneva)＊First meeting• WTSA-08 (Johannesburg)

2009• Kiyoshi MORI assumes Presidency

2008 ITU Symposium on ICT
and Climate Change (Kyoto)2008 WTSA-08(Johannesburg)• ITU Telecom World 2009 (Geneva)• WTPF-09• On-site seminars started• PP-10 (Guadalajara)＊Yasuhiko ITO selected as member of theRadio Regulations Board (RRB)• WTDC-10 (Hyderabad)2010
2010 WTDC-10 (Hyderabad)2011• Changes legal status to General Incorporated
Foundation• Seminars on Telecommunication Policy started• ITU Telecom World 2011 (Geneva)

2012• Yasuo SUZUKI assumes Presidency• Journal of the ITU Association of Japan editions
unified to Web edition• Moved to BN Gyoen Building, Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo• Liaison Meetings for ITU Conference Information
started• WTSA-12 (Dubai)• RA-12, WRC-12 (Geneva)• ITU Telecom World 2012 (Dubai)• WCIT-12 (Dubai)• Michiaki OGASAWARA assumes Presidency• ITU-R International Meeting Experience
High-level seminars started• ITU-T International Meeting Experience
High-level seminars started• ITU Telecom World & Myanmar Information andCommunications Trends Study• ITU-T SG3 RG-AO (Tokyo)• ITU Kaleidoscope (Kyoto)• WP5D (Sapporo)• ITU Telecom World 2013 (Bangkok)• WTPF-13

2013
2013 WP5D (Sapporo)

8

New Breeze Autumn 2021

[2014 – 2021]
Year

International Telecommunication Union(ITU)

The ITU Association of Japan• Signed Memorandum of Understanding between
ITU-AJ and ITU-APT Foundation of India (IAFI)2014

In bold: E vents for which ITU-AJ supported theJapanese Secretariat, or an exhibition.

• WTDC-14 (Dubai)• WSIS+10 High-level Event 2014 (Geneva)• APT WDMC-5 (Tokyo)• ITU-T SG16 (Sapporo)• PP-14 (Busan)• ITU Telecom World 2014 (Doha)• Reviewed Seminars
of Telecommunication Policy, started
Seminars on ICT2014 PP-14 (Busan)

2015
2015 International
Negotiation “Performative
Seminars” started

2015 World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Symposium (WTIS)(Hiroshima)• Seminars for International Negotiation Techniques
started• International Negotiation “Performative Seminars”
started• PRF-16 (Tokyo)• WTSA-16 (Yasmin Hammamet)• ITU Telecom World (Bangkok)• Seminars on International Standardization Strategic Business Utilization held

2016

• ITU 150th Anniversary year
• AWG-18 (Kyoto)• WSIS Forum 2015 (Geneva)• RA-15, WRC-15 (Geneva)• ITU Telecom World (Budapest)• WTIS-15 (Hiroshima, with 12-organization
exhibit)2016 PRF-16 (Tokyo)

2017• Suppor ted 19 th International Space Radio
Monitoring Meeting (ISRMM-19)• ITU Telecom World (Busan)• WTDC-17 (Buenos Aires)• Toru FUKUOKA assumes Presidency• ITU Telecom World (Durban)• WP5D (Fukuoka, with 5-organization
exhibitions)• PP-18 (Dubai)＊Akira HASHIMOTO selected as memberof the Radio Regulations Board (RRB)

20182018 WP5D (Fukuoka)

2018 PP-18 (Dubai)• APG19-5 (Tokyo, with 8-organization
exhibitions)• ITU Telecom World (Budapest)• RA-19, WRC-19 (Sharm el-Sheikh)• Toshiyuki MINAMI
assumes Presidency

20192019 APG19-5 (Tokyo)

2020

2021

2019  ITU Telecom World(Budapest)

2019 WRC(Sharm el-Sheikh)• Telework begins (Since April)• World Telecommunication & Information Society
Day Ceremony postponed due to COVID-19
pandemic then held (May to October)• Tetsuo YAMAKAWA assumes Presidency• Supported the Beyond 5G Kick-of f Online
Symposium• Liaison Meeting for
ITU Conference Infor­
mation held online(including participants from Geneva,
Bangkok, and Cali2020 WTISD Ceremony post­
fornia)• Digital World (Hanoi) held online• WTSA-20 (Hyderabad) postponed• Supported Japan Platform for Driving Digital
Development (JPD3) (online)• Supported MIC MRA International Workshop 2021
(online)• Held Ceremony celebrating 50 th Anniversary of
ITU-AJ◆ Number of seminars held (as of Aug. 31, 2021): 2,117◆ Number of regular publications (as of Aug. 31,2021):• “International Telecommunications Union andJapan”: 232 issues• “ITU Study” 265 issues• “ITU Journal”: 368 issues (including its predecessor,“International Telecommunications Union andJapan,” 600 issues)• “New Breeze”: 131 issues• Digital World (Hanoi)(online)• WTDC-21 (Addis Ababa) postponed

poned, then held (May to October)＊1 Based on ITU internal survey data,etc.
＊2 Abbreviations
WARC: World Administrative Radio Conference
CCITT:Consultative Committee on International Telegraphy andTelephony
PP: Plenipotentiary Conference
CCIR: Consultative Committee on International RadioWTDC: World Telecommunication Development Conference
WATTC: World Administrative Telegraph and Telephone Conference
APP: Additional Plenipotentiary Conference
WTSC: World Telecommunication Standardization Conference
RA: Radiocommunication Assembly

WRC: World Radiocommunication Conference
WTPF: World Telecommunication/ICT Policy Forum
WTSA: World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly
APG: APT Conference Preparatory Group
WSIS: World Summit on the Information Society
IGF: Internet Governance Forum
WCIT: World Conference on International Telecommunications
APT WDMC: APT Workshop on Disaster Management/Communications
WTIS: World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Symposium
PRF: APT Policy and Regulatory Forum
ISRMM: International Space Radio Monitoring Meeting

New Breeze Autumn 2021

9

Expansion of Telemedicine in the Wake of the COVID-19
Pandemic
Seigo HaraCEOMICIN, Inc.

In September 2020, with the resignation of former Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe, he was succeeded by Cabinet Minister
Yoshihide Suga. One of Cabinet Minister Suga’s platform policies
was to make telemedicine permanent, and with considerable
discussion among experts in the field, a cabinet decision in June
2021 made telemedicine a permanent policy in Japan beginningin FY 2022. The demand for telemedicine care increased with the
spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, so virtual clinics are finallytaking shape and systems are getting organized. Here, we describe
how telemedicine has developed since before the COVID-19
pandemic.

1. Telemedicine care before the COVID-19
pandemic

Telemedicine care is a form of remote medicine that graduallybegan spreading throughout Japan in around 2015. In 2018,
remuneration for clinical work was reformed; establishing new fees
for telemedicine care and setting guidelines regarding appropriate

Yoko Kiriyama

RA Specialist
MICIN, Inc.

operation of online care (Telemedicine care guidelines). However,
although this was an opportunity to establish systems fortelemedicine care, the conditions were severely limited (Table 1),
and did not lead to significant spread of telemedicine care.
According to documented statistics＊1 of actual medical andclinical behavior in society from an investigation in June 2018,
fees for telemedicine care were charged a total of 65 times, 15times for telemedicine treatment, and 4 times for online homemanagement, so it was not even one millionth of the number ofclaims for medical services per month: approximately 100 million.
Examining results over time, the trend is not increasing＊2, andthere continue to be almost no insured telemedicine treatments.
There are several possible reasons for this, but the four major issues
are summarized in Table 1. They are: (1) constraints on medical
conditions covered, (2) low profitability for insured treatment,(3) strict conditions on provision of services, and (4) guidance for
medications can only be given in-person.

■ Table 1: S ystematic regulations for treatment under health insurance and effects on clinical work

＊1 Central Social Insurance Medical Council General Meeting Document (Sept. 2019), “Calculation of fees, etc. after FY 2018 medical fee reforms”＊2 Central Social Insurance Medical Council General Meeting Document (Nov. 2019), “Regarding online medical management fees.”

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New Breeze Autumn 2021

■ Table 2: C hanges in virtual clinics due to temporary mitigation measures

2. C hanging conditions due to expansion of
the COVID-19 pandemic

However, with the expansion of the COVID-19 pandemic,
these conditions changed completely. In February, 2020, a
specialist session of the government issued a declaration thattelemedicine care would be used as a measure to control further
spread, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare issued
successive notices regarding telemedicine care, and temporary
measures were taken to relax regulations. The main changes
are summarized in Table 2. The change that attracted the mostattention in the media was lifting the ban on performing initial
examinations online, but perhaps more important was therelaxation of restrictions on the medical conditions covered, whichwere extremely limiting previously.
MICIN Inc. has been providing a telemedicine care service
called “curon” since 2016. In March 2020, the environmentchanged, and approximately 5,000 medical institutions are
currently using our product (as of February, 2021). The number of
examinations being done with the system also increased by morethan a factor of ten at that time. Considering that in December,
2019, the number of medical facilities using the system wasapproximately 1,800, it is easy to imagine that the needs of both
medical facilities and patients changed suddenly with the spreadof the pandemic. Other providers of telemedicine care systems
are also experiencing this increase in users, and according toMinistry of Health, Labour and Welfare documents＊3, over
16,000 medical facilities were performing telephone or online
examinations as of August, 2020. New enterprises also continue
to enter the market providing telemedicine care systems, andconsidering current conditions in society, we expect the numberof medical facilities using telemedicine care systems will continue
to increase. On the other hand, the report from a Ministry of
Health, Labour and Welfare review meeting on May 31, 2021,
indicated that the number of medical facilities using such systems
had begun to level off＊4. Based on the current systems andtechnology platforms, telemedicine care platforms and use cases
are beginning to stabilize to some extent.
In the next sections, we introduce the “curon” virtual clinic
service that we provide, and also a new service called “curon
medication support,” providing online guidance for taking
medications.

3. System provided by MICIN(1) The “curon” telemedicine care service
MICIN’s telemedicine care service, called “curon,” has been
providing comprehensive, end-to-end systems mainly to medical
clinics since 2016, including appointments, medical history taking,video examinations, billing, payment and prescription filling anddelivery. The virtual clinic systems from other providers each havetheir strengths, but a major difference between curon and systems
from other providers is that installation and operation is free-ofcharge for medical facilities, and patients are required to pay fee(330 yen tax incl.) to use the application. We considered that oneof the major benefits of telemedicine care is improving access to
medical care for patients, so we decided to collect revenue fromthe patients, who receive this benefit, rather than from the medical
facility. As of February, 2021, over 5,000 medical facilities had
introduced our system.

＊3 Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 10th Review of Appropriate Online Medical Care Operation document, “Trends in medical facilities (Overall, initial examinations)” (August, 2020)＊4 Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 15th Review of Appropriate Online Medical Care Operation document, “Numbers of medical facilities (May, 2021)

New Breeze Autumn 202111

(2) curon medication support
Following the telemedicine care system that has been
established since 2018, there was a plan to lift restrictions on
online medication guidance in September, 2020, according torevisions made in November 2019 to the Pharma and Medical
Devices Act. However, with the spread of the COVID-19
pandemic, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare issued
temporary special mitigation measures, which included lifting
this ban early and giving approval for medical facilities to sendprescriptions to pharmacies by FAX. We had been developing
our online medication guidance service with the intention of
releasing it in September, 2020, but with this mitigation measure,
we developed and began providing additional functions in our
curon telemedicine care service, to upload prescription data andto send prescriptions to pharmacies. Thus, before launching ouronline medication guidance service, we were able to equip curon
with functions to send prescriptions to pharmacies by FAX. Since
the number of patients requested to stay home was expected toincrease greatly, our development team worked day-and-night, andwas able to develop and publish the new features in only three days
from when the measures were announced.
Later, α and β versions of our online medication guidanceservice for pharmacies (“curon Medication Support”) were releasedin May and July respectively, and the first official version was
released in August. The process for curon Medication Support isshown in Figure 1. We had determined to have curon Medication
Support installed and in use at more than 2,500 pharmacies by theend of 2020, and we continue to work to have it used in even more
pharmacies. Note that curon Medication Support is not limited to■ Figure 1: Medication support process with curon

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New Breeze Autumn 2021

curon and can be used with other telemedicine care systems.

4. Telemedicine care and information security

We are sometimes asked whether using a comprehensive
telemedicine care system like the one we provide is necessary
when offering telemedicine care. Not necessarily, and use ofgeneral-purpose video conferencing systems is not prohibited.
However, information security must be considered when doing
so, and medical facilities performing online examinations have aduty to take adequate measures. The differences between using acomprehensive telemedicine care system and system using generalpurpose services are summarized in Table 3.
Here, taking adequate measures to guarantee security meansthat the organization must create systems and operate following
the guidelines for telemedicine care issued by the Ministry of
Health, Labour and Welfare. A comprehensive telemedicine caresystem like the one we provide has already been designed andbuilt confirming to these guidelines (Figure 2), but if general
purpose services are used, the medical facility must prepare theenvironment and operate with consideration for security to ensure
that, for example, video calls are not intercepted, and information
regarding ailments or prescriptions is not leaked, falsified or
destroyed.
There were quite a few medical facilities that began providing
telemedicine care using general-purpose services, which wereimmediately available during the first wave of the COVID-19
pandemic, but considering the above issues, we expect that manyof these will migrate to a comprehensive telemedicine care systemin the future.

■ Table 3: C omparing comprehensive online medical care systems with generalpurpose systems■ Figure 2: Use of curon with system design conforming to guidelines

5. Future of telemedicine care

Use of telemedicine care began to spread, prompted by the
COVID-19 pandemic, but there is discussion of making it
permanent, so we expect it will become established. However,
it is still difficult to escape the image of “medical examination
by video conference.” This is due to technical issues with online
examinations, which do not allow doctors to obtain all of theinformation that is available in a conventional, face-to-faceexamination, using all five senses. However, there have beenvarious developments in digital health in the past few years, andin the future, we expect developments integrating telemedicine
care with compatible digital therapeutics (DTx). We are alreadyworking with pharmaceutical enterprises to establish patient
support programs that aim to improve treatment continuity andadherence for patients, in our efforts to increase convenience forpatients and add new value to telemedicine care.
DTx is a field that is currently seeing vigorous development,
both domestically and internationally. In the USA, many products
are entering the market, starting with the Bluestar smartphone
diabetes treatment application from Welldoc Inc., which wasapproved by the FDA in 2010. Japan is several years behindsome other countries, but in August, 2020, CureApp SC, fromCureApp Co. Inc., was the first digital treatment device to receive
Pharmaceutical Affairs Act approval in Japan, and in November it
attained insurance coverage. We expect various other products to
be developed in Japan in the future.
With progress in system design to make telemedicine
treatment permanent, we look forward to seeing it take root as one
form of medical treatment, and something that can contribute tosociety as the technology develops in the future.

New Breeze Autumn 2021

13

CLINICS: Japan’s Most Popular Telemedicine System

Tomohiro Shinozaki

Business Collaboration Promotion Department
Medley, Inc.

1. Introduction
Telemedicine can be implemented using electronic
communication devices with a video call function. Medical
institutions use telemedicine in combination with face-to-facemedical care as a way of making medical care more accessible
to patients and achieving better outcomes by promoting active
patient participation. Online clinics are sometimes referred toas the fourth form of medical care alongside outpatient care,
inpatient care, and home visits.
The growth in the popularity of telemedicine in Japan differsfrom the situation in other countries. It is widely used in the
United States, and owes its popularity to its ability to facilitate
the flexible selection of optimal treatments with an emphasis
on delivering better patient outcomes. It has been particularly
popular for key areas such as psychiatry, dermatology and primarycare, where patients often require long-term treatment.＊1 In
China, the use of telemedicine has been increasing since before
the coronavirus pandemic due to issues such as the shortage ofdoctors and lack of accessibility to medical care. For example, atelemedicine service called Ping An Good Doctor was launched byPing An Insurance in 2015, and by 2019 it had over 300 million
registered users. In Japan meanwhile, although government
restrictions on the provision of telemedicine were lifted in 2015,■ Figure 1: Overview of the CLINICS telemedicine system

only a small fraction of medical institutions have embraced it.
Although we may be lagging behind other countries, telemedicine
is starting to take off in Japan as a result of efforts to prevent the
spread of coronavirus.

2. CLINICS: Japan’s most populartelemedicine system
2.1 About the CLINICS system
CLINICS is the most popular telemedicine system
in Japan.＊2 It supports a wide range of functions, including
online appointment bookings, pre-consultation checks, online
video consultations, credit card payment processing, delivery of
medicines and prescriptions, and support for cooperation withdispensing pharmacies.
Particular features of CLINICS include:・	High usability with an emphasis on on-site operation thanks tothe participation of multiple doctors in the development of thesystem and its ongoing refinement based on actual clinical use
・	Support system for medical institutions and patient users
involving teams familiar with complicated rules and diverse
usage methods・	Compliance with guidelines and proactive approach tosecurity measures
With these features acknowledged, CLINICS has been widelyused by clinics and university hospitals throughout Japan since its
launch in February 2016. The number of medical institutions using
CLINICS passed 2,300 by the end of 2020, and by April 2021, it
had played a part in approximately 300,000 medical examinations.
2.2 Recognition and awards
CLINICS has received favorable coverage in national
newspapers including the Nihon Keizai Shimbun.
・	Selected as a top new product among about 20,000 new
services・	Received the “Best of the Best” Award at the 2018 Nikkei
Superior Products and Services Awards, which recognizes newservices
In addition, at the 14th ASPIC IoT/AI/Cloud Awards
in 2020, we received the Ministry of Internal Affairs andCommunications award (the top award for the service receiving
the most outstanding evaluation out of approximately 70 awardwinning services) and the overall Grand Prix for the ASP/

＊1 Source: 2018 U.S. Telemedicine Industry Benchmark Survey＊2 Source: 2021 Future Prospects for New Markets in IoMT (Internet of Medical Things), Fuji Chimera Research Institute, November 2020

14

New Breeze Autumn 2021

SaaS category specializing in social industry. This is the second
consecutive year that we have received this award, following
the 2019 Best Social Contribution Award in the ASP/SaaS
category specializing in social industry. In FY2020, in addition
to its contribution to society, the system was comprehensively
evaluated for its rich and beneficial use record, the safety of its
services, its utility in addressing new challenges such as improving
the medical experience of patients by tying in with the family
pharmacy support system, and the active collaboration withindustry, government, and academia.

3. Examples of specific diseases for whichtelemedicine is used
Telemedicine is widely used in the departments shown in
Figure 2, especially following the outbreak of the coronavirus
pandemic.＊3 The specific diseases treated by each of thesedepartments are described below.
3.1 General internal medicine: Lifestyle-related diseases
such as diabetes
In general internal medicine, telemedicine is often used forlifestyle-related diseases such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, anddyslipidemia that require continuous treatment. However, many
people with these conditions go untreated or discontinue theirtreatment due to the burden of hospital visits and lack of subjective
symptoms. For example, a survey of people with diabetes＊4 hasrevealed that nearly 60% of both males and females in their 40s
are either untreated or have discontinued their treatment. The
use of telemedicine is increasing because it reduces the burden ofvisiting the hospital and makes it easier for patients to continue
receiving the treatment they need.
3.2 P sychiatry and psychosomatic medicine: Depression,
panic disorders, etc.
Telemedicine is used in psychiatry and psychosomatic

medicine to treat conditions such as depression, panic disorder,
alcohol-related disorders, and insomnia. In this field, many people
discontinue treatment due to the psychological and social hurdlesof going to medical institutions, and the difficulty of leaving thehouse. Telemedicine is used in this field because it makes it easierfor patients to continue receiving medical treatment as they can see
a doctor in a familiar environment such as their own home.
3.3 Pediatrics: Pediatric asthma and autism
Telemedicine is also used in pediatrics involving the treatmentof neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and ADHD,
pediatric asthma, and intractable pediatric diseases. The parentsof a young child often find it difficult to take him/her to hospital,
especially if they also have other young children. In addition,
patients with intractable pediatric diseases often have to travela long distance for treatment due to the degree of specialization
required, and they shoulder a significant burden of arranging
travel and lodging for long-term regular visits. For this reason,
telemedicine, which allows patients to be seen from their own
home or some other location, is considered to be well suited tothis field. Another benefit of online consultation is that it provides
doctors with access to information such as the child’s homeenvironment that is not available when people visit them in person.
3.4 Allergic diseases: Pollinosis, atopic dermatitis, etc.
Many allergic diseases are compatible with telemedicine,as the patients are often young and have stable symptoms.
Telemedicine is used for many allergic diseases such as asthma,
pollinosis and atopic dermatitis.
It is also used in the field of obstetrics and gynecology for
explaining the results of fertility tests and for conditions such as
dysmenorrhea that require regular visits. In this way, telemedicine
is used in a wide range of medical departments, and can be
combined with face-to-face care in various ways according to the■ Figure 2: Breakdown of CLINICS medical examinations by clinical department(based on insurance records)＊3 Medley Inc. survey (June 2020)＊4 Source: 2012 National Health and Nutrition Survey, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare

New Breeze Autumn 2021

15

needs of patients and the strengths of medical institutions.

4. Specialist online second opinions andcoronavirus outpatient clinics
4.1 Online second opinions
CLINICS is also used by medical specialists as a means ofproviding second opinions in their specific fields. It allows patientsand their families to connect online with specialists via personal
computers and smartphones from anywhere in the country, andis therefore expected to alleviate the burden of traveling when
receiving a second opinion. The use of CLINICS is currently
spreading in university hospitals and core hospitals nationwide. At
the University of Tokyo Hospital, this system is now being used
to provide online second opinions among 26 clinical departments.
CLINICS is also being used to provide online second opinions invarious fields such as epilepsy and lung transplantation at Tohoku
University Hospital, and heart and aortic diseases at Kurashiki
Central Hospital.
■ Figure 3: Some of the medical institutions that use
CLINICS to provide online second opinions

4.2 Online Fever Outpatient Clinics
During the current pandemic, CLINICS is also being used
to operate “Online Fever Outpatient Clinics” so that an initial
treatment can be provided without coming into contact withpatients with cold-related symptoms including fever.
The pandemic has led to deregulation regarding the provisionof telemedicine. According to a communique from the Ministryof Health, Labor and Welfare on April 10, 2020, the provision of
medical care via telephones and other electronic communicationequipment has been sanctioned on a time-limited basis without
restrictions of facility requirements or diseases. In fact, as shownin Figure 4, more than 70% of medical institutions feel thattelemedicine is an effective way of preventing hospital-acquired
infections during the coronavirus pandemic.
Last winter, the system was also used as an Online Fever
Outpatient Clinic with the main purpose of dividing the flow of＊5 Source: 2018 Survey of Health Promotion for Working Women, Health and Global Policy Institute＊6 Source: Contraceptive Use by Method 2019, United Nation

16

New Breeze Autumn 2021

patients with fever and/or cold symptoms. This makes it possible
for medical institutions to provide patients for whom SARSCoV2 infection cannot be ruled out with initial treatment without
coming into direct contact with them.
■ Figure 4: Some of the medical institutions that use
CLINICS to provide online second opinions

5. Active collaboration with industry,
government and academia
5.1 Telemedicine demonstration project in Yonaguni
During the project, CLINICS was used to provide
telemedicine for all the inhabitants of Yonaguni island in Okinawa
prefecture.
The island’s only medical institution is the chronicallyunderstaffed Yonaguni town clinic, where a single doctor has
to provide care to approximately 1,700 islanders (about 700
patients per month). If any medical personnel become infectedwith SARS-COV-2 under these circumstances, it will become
impossible to provide the medical care required by the islanders.
It was also found that patients tended to refrain from seeking
medical attention due to anxiety about the risk of infection.
Yonaguni town and its medical clinic therefore sought to maintainthe island’s medical system and address the issue of islanders who
refrain from visiting the doctor by building a system whereby
patients could receive online medical care via CLINICS if they
developed a fever.
5.2 O
 RBIS and Dai-ichi Life use CLINICS to address
menstruation issues
Although there is data showing that 45% of womenexperience menstrual problems that they are unable to cope withsuccessfully＊5, they tend not to have these problems treated forvarious reasons, such as assessing their own symptoms to be
not sufficiently serious, being unable to find the time to visit a
hospital, or being hesitant to visit to a gynecologist. There is also
data showing that contraceptive pills are only used by 2.9% ofJapanese women, which is much lower than the average rate of
16.5% in developed countries＊6. One reason for this disparity isthought to be a lack of proper knowledge about non-contraceptive
uses of the pill, which is incorrectly regarded as having no otherpurpose besides birth control. Therefore, as part of measures tosupport the active participation of female employees, CLINICS is
being increasingly used by businesses in order to raise awareness ofthe correct facts about menstruation and contraceptive pills, and to
alleviate the burden of female workers seeking medical attention.
ORBIS Inc. has started using this system to target approximately
1,000 female employees at its head office and shops, and the Daiichi Life Insurance Company, Ltd. has started using it to target
about 2,000 female employees working in the Tokyo metropolitan
area.

guidance, online prescription requests, and cashless payments.
By cooperating with the CLINICS telemedicine system, thismade it possible for patients to enjoy a complete online medical
experience from online treatment to online medication guidance
via a single smartphone app. As of the end of March 2021, thissystem has so far been introduced at more than 3,800 pharmacies,
including every branch of pharmacy chain companies such as
Qol Holdings Co., Ltd., Kraft Co., Tanpopo Pharmacy Co., andNihon Chouzai Co., Ltd.

5.3 Free online mental health consultation for pregnant andpostpartum women
In partnership with the Saitama Obstetrics & Gynecology
Association, Medley, Inc. is utilizing CLINICS as a means ofproviding care and free online consultation to expectant andnursing mothers with regard to SARS-COV-2. Since May 2020,
this service has been operating at seven medical institutionsin Saitama prefecture, including Saitama Medical University
Hospital. This initiative was started not only because of thepossibility that pregnant and postpartum women were not being
provided with adequate mental health care during the coronavirus
pandemic, but also because they harbored strong feelings ofanxiety regarding pregnancy, childbirth and childcare, andbecause of the limited availability of medical staff familiar withmental health needs in the field of obstetrics and gynecology.

6.2 Electronic prescription development
Medley has also developed an electronic prescription
management system based on the FHIR, next-generation medical
information standard, for a project entrusted by the Ministry of
Health, Labor and Welfare to demonstrate the provision of a fullscale electronic prescription service. The system, which ran from2018 to 2019, enabled the examination of specific mechanisms tofacilitate the implementation of electronic prescriptions.

6. Online medication guidance and electronicprescription initiatives
6.1 Family pharmacy support system that facilitates online
medication guidance
In response to rules allowing the provision of online
medication guidance from September 2020, Medley Inc. haslaunched a family pharmacy support system called Pharms.
This system supports functions such as online medication

7. Conclusion
The government and other stakeholders are engaged in diverse
discussions related to telemedicine. At a meeting of the Regulatory
Reform Promotion Council in December 2020, Prime Minister
Suga declared his intention to extend the existing exceptional
measures permitting the provision of telemedicine and online
medication guidance, and to ensure that there would be no
reduction of standards compared to what is currently available.
For this reason, the future design of these services is being closely
watched.
At Medley Inc., we aim to improve the provision of medicalcare for both medical institutions and patients by making useof the know-how accumulated through over 300,000 medical
examinations.

■ Figure 5: A “one-stop” online medical experience

New Breeze Autumn 2021

17

= A Serial Introduction Part 3 =Winners of ITU-AJ Encouragement Awards 2020
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.

Yicheng Zhou

FUJITSU LIMITED

https://www.fujitsu.com/global/
Fields of activity: S MART CITY, SMART ENERGY, ICT

Initiatives in Development of the ISO 37153 International Standard forAssessment and Improvement of Smart City Infrastructure
It is a great honor to receive this ITU-AJ Encouragement
Award at this time. I would like to express sincere thanks to
ITU-AJ and everyone else involved. I would also like to express
deep gratitude to the ISO TC268/SC1 Japan committee, theJapan Standards Association, and Fujitsu Ltd., for their continual
support.
As part of Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)
international standardization development, we promoted creationof international standards for assessment and improvementof smart-city infrastructure, from FY 2014 to FY 2017. We
developed ISO 37153:2017-Smart community infrastructures– Maturity model for assessment and improvement, the first

Takeshi Shirahase

TV Asahi Corporation
Fields of activity: SG6

Japan-led standard, which was issued in December, 2017. I was
the international project leader for ISO 37153, participating indrafting the standard, debate in the Japan domestic committee,
presentation and negotiation at international meetings Afterthe standard was issued, I also planned verification tests andpromotional activities. It was a great learning experience for me.
There is still a need to revise ISO 37153 and create new
specifications as new requirements arise, as the social issues
surrounding the evaluation framework for urban infrastructurechange, and in particular regarding what urban infrastructure
should be like in times of public-health emergencies. I believe that
ICT will have an increasingly important role in the future.

https://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/

Activity for Future Broadcasting Services through ITU-R SG6
I am deeply honored to receive the ITU-AJ Encouragement
Award, and I would like to take this opportunity to thankthe ITU-AJ and all those who offered their guidance andencouragement.
My first participation in ITU SG6 block meetings was in2014. It gave me a great opportunity to join in making some
important recommendations regarding UHDTV and Advanced
Sound System so that we could launch the new broadcasting
service for 4K and 8K UHDTV.
It was necessary to build a simultaneous workflow for making
programs for both HDR-TV and SDR-TV using the same systemand same cameras.
We discussed practical issues regarding methods forconversions between HDR and SDR, adjusting cameras, andmonitoring, with participants from other countries who have18

New Breeze Autumn 2021

different backgrounds. Finally, we achieved the necessary
workflow.
High quality programs such as UHDTV with Advanced
Sound System are distributed to various locations through varioustransmission paths nowadays.
It is more important and more difficult to control quality
in program production, due to the increasingly diverse viewing
environment.
Broadcasting transmission systems have still been the main
field for us, but we can hardly discuss them without taking
streaming through the internet and mobile viewing devices into
account.
I feel it is necessary to have a broader perspective when
considering standardization for future broadcasting.

Teruaki Toeda

NTT DOCOMO, INC. (when awarded)
https://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/
Fields of activity: Mobile communication

Learning from 5G Standardization Activities at the 3GPP/O-RAN
ALLIANCE
I am ver y grateful to have received this IT U-AJ
Encouragement Award at this time. I would like to express
thanks to the ITU-AJ, and to everyone for their guidance andencouragement.
I would like to take this chance to introduce the twostandardization working groups (WG) that I was in charge of:
3GPP RAN3 and O-RAN ALLIANCE WG5.
3GPP RAN3 is creating standard specifications for mobile
phone base-station architecture and related network interfaces. For
5G, to reduce the required transmission bandwidth between basestation equipment, a new functional split was created (CU-DU
split), and an interface between them, called F1, was specified.
At O-RAN ALLIANCE WG5, we were working to connect
equipment and modules from different vendors, each with theirown strengths, to rapidly support new services utilizing 5Gfeatures.

Yoshihide Tonomura

NTT COMWARE Corporation
Fields of activity: ITU-T SG16

One thing I have learned from these experiences is to have an
attitude of not hating anyone, no matter how they behave. WhenI was acting as a discussion moderator, there were times whenpeople seemed to be using time just to obstruct progress. On theother hand, such people may have a reason for their behavior anda compromise between both sides can sometimes be found byasking or guessing the backgrounds of the behavior. I think thisexperience helped me to acquire my skills of finding an acceptable
compromise.
5G commercial services have already started, and this major
accomplishment is obviously due, not to just me, but to mysuperiors at the time, and all of my co-workers in this industry.
I would like to express my gratitude again, and hope that I cancontinue to contribute in some area, to further development of 5G
and subsequent mobile telephone systems.

https://www.nttcom.co.jp/english/

Immersive Live Experience Standardization Activity
I am very honored to receive the ITU-AJ Encouragement
Award, and I would like to thank the ITU-AJ and the Japandelegation members of ITU-T SG16 for their guidance andencouragement. I received this award for activity in ITU-T SG16,
on the Immersive Live Experience (ILE) standard. ILE is astandard that can provide a different viewing experience, feelingas though the athlete is right in front of you. While Virtual Reality(VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) standards assume use of ahead mounted display, the ILE standard assumes such displays
are not used, and provides a sense of realism, like being there, for

Yoshihiro Nakajima

events such as public viewings. Currently, it is difficult to holdpublic viewings, with COVID-19 sweeping over Japan, but thisshould not continue much longer. In the near future, I expect thateveryone will be able to enjoy events such as concerts and sporting
events in front of their eyes, in public-viewing conditions.
In the future, if we can create opportunities for connection
with the open source community, in parallel with standardization,and to use contributions from non-specialists, I believe thatstandardization can have a greater impact globally. I hope to beable to contribute toward that sort of development.

NTT DOCOMO, INC

https://www.nttdocomo/english/
Fields of activity: N etwork Function Virtualization

Contributions to NFV Standardization Activities
It is a great honor to receive this Encouragement Award fromthe ITU Association of Japan. I greatly appreciate the support of
my team members and family.
ETSI ISG NFV was established in 2012 and is recognized
as the home of Network Function Virtualisation. The concept of
NFV used to be “pie in the sky” in earlier times. Now, ETSI NFVarchitecture has frequently been referenced by many SDOs andis used in commercial deployments, especially by communication
service providers, to introduce 5GC systems.
Since I was appointed as ISG Vice-Chair in 2018, I led thediscussions among operators and vendors on the future directionof NFV and contributed to the development of NFV Release-4

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work items. To promote the use of NFV by operators, I actively
provided feedback on standardization from our NFV commercial
development. I also worked to expand standardization from theperspective of long-term operation and maintenance at operators.
Since the standardized area of ETSI NFV is maintenance andoperation, the definition of standard IF is limited to the provider
side, and there are no end-end regulations that are necessary
for operators. For users, our team has developed a standard
specification for a mandated end-to-end MANO sequence thatcan be implemented with easy integration and minimal workload
for future system upgrades, if the products are compliant with thisYusei Nishimoto

ETSI NFV standard specification.
NFV is a fundamental technology to support recent
trends such as base station virtualization and network nodedisaggregation, and NFV standardization is taking a very
important role in terms of facilitating introduction of related
systems and long-term operation. The concept of virtualizationin the telecom domain is still developing. I believe that the area of
NFV, including RAN and MEC, will expand in the near future. I
would like to contribute to the evolution of NFV standardization,
to expand its scope and its capability to leverage the latest cloudnative, open source, and networking technology.

Japan Broadcasting Corporation
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/
Fields of activity: ITU-R SG4, SG5, SG6, WRC, Broadcasting Services

Efforts to Expand Broadcasting Business through ITU-R/WRC
I am very grateful for the honor of receiving this ITU-AJ
Encouragement Award. I would like to express sincere thanks
to the ITU-J and everyone who has given me guidance in thesestandardization activities.
Since 2017, I have participated in ITU-R SG4 (Satellite
services), SG5 (Terrestrial services), and SG6 (Broadcasting
services), handling agenda items in WRC-19 related tobroadcasting, and involved in technical study and standardization
related to broadcasting. I was also involved in WRC-19, dealing
with international radio regulations related to broadcasting.
To ensure smooth progress when considering shared use withnew wireless technologies to use spectrum effectively, we created
ITU-R reports and recommendations with common parameters inradio technology used by broadcasters, and conducting studies anddiscussion regarding the potential for shared use while protecting
existing businesses. In satellite broadcasting, to ensure stable

Kenichi Yamamoto

operation of satellite broadcasting services into the future, we also
participated in discussion and planning of operational regulations,such as broadcast satellite registration procedures.
Regarding standardization of new technologies supporting
broadcast services, broadcasters from around the world
are highly interested in the leading-edge initiatives of Japan’s
broadcasters. We are involved in creating many ITU-R reports
and recommendations, from core technologies such as 4K/8K
and next-generation terrestrial broadcasting to AI applications inprogram production.
Technology standardization will play an important role in thecontinuing expansion and advancement of broadcast services in
the future. I hope to continue contributing to the development oftechnology to support broadcast services, considering the further
diversification of viewing environments, and other environments
related to broadcasting.

KDDI CORPORATION

http://www.kddi.com/english/
Fields of activity: oneM2M, GSMA Operator Platform Group, 3GPP SA2/CT3

Standardization Activities in oneM2M, GSMA and 3GPP
It is a great honor to receive this prestigious Encouragement
Award from the ITU-AJ at this time. I am deeply thankful to all
who have regularly given me support and advice.
I have been involved in oneM2M activities, which handles
IoT platform standardization, since 2016, creating technicalspecifications as the rapporteur for work items, including
Vehicular Domain Enablement, Edge Computing, andInterworking with 3GPP SCEF API. In 2018, I was alsopresented with a oneM2M Technical Excellence Award, as aparticipant with outstanding technical contribution.
In 2020, I participated in the GSMA Operator Platform
Group, by suggesting requirements for using services functions

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that are exposed by the 3GPP NEF. This group created therequirements for an Edge Computing platform and 3GPP andETSI ISG MEC are planning to hold specification discussions
based on these requirements.
Starting in 2021, I am participating in 3GPP SA2 and CT3
meetings and am involved in standardization of areas such as
Network Automation and Network Exposure.
In the future, I hope to continue contributing to activities inthese organizations, to work to nurture others coming up in thisfield, so that Japan can produce many who can be active in thefront-lines of standardization.

Rudi Lumanto

IDSIRTII BSSN
https://idsirtii.or.id
Fields of activity: Cyber Security

How International Cooperation Is Boosting the Solution of Cyber
Security Problems
I was completely surprised, but I am very happy to receive thisITU-AJ Encouragement Award this year. This award is for all
people that have supported me and given their warm guidance,
both from Japan and Indonesia.
In 2009, I joined National CSIRT of Indonesia, called IDSIRTII/CC (Indonesia Security Incident Response Team ofInternet Infrastructure / Coordination Center), which led me
to understand more about the cyber security problems faced bymy country, especially because limitations in many areas, suchas knowledge, technology, regulation, budget, and even humanresources. In 2011, I was appointed as chairman of ID-SIRTII/
CC and felt the burden from such problems increasing as thecountry, like other ASEAN countries is changing drastically andtrying to boost national development by adopting the latest ICT inmany sectors.
The CSIRT concept as a strategy to manage cyber security
processes and reduce cyber threat was in very poor condition atthat time. However, after some serious national cyber incidents
and encouragement from telecommunication communities and

QKDN Standardization Team

experts, the Ministry of Communication enacted ID-SIRTII/
CC as Indonesia’s national CSIRT in 2007. The purpose of its
establishment, as stated in the Ministerial decree, is building asafer environment and utilization of IP based telecommunication
networks that is safer from any potential threats and attacks.
It is a very big mission but with very limited resources. My
role is to solve these problems by using whatever resources I
have, while trying to reduce the cyber risk. This brings me tothe strategy of international cooperation and how to use andutilize it while solving the problems of budget, capacity building,security awareness, etc., and even contributing to national cybersecurity strategy. International cooperation, especially withJapan, gave many concrete solutions to answer both technical andnon-technical problems. As cyberspace is borderless due to theconnected telecommunication infrastructure, solving one node
helps the overall chain stay safe and secure. I believe international
cooperation gives benefit to not just one country, but to all. I
would like to continue to contribute to these activities together.

NICT Quantum ICT collaboration center
https://www.nict.go.jp/en/
Fields of activity: QKD, QKDN

Receiving a 2020 ITU Association of Japan Encouragement Award
In September last year, we received an Encouragement Award
from the ITU Association of Japan. Some time has alreadypassed since then, but we would like to take this opportunity
to offer thanks to all of those involved. Receiving this award isreally a result of efforts by the quantum key distribution network
standardization team, including members from NICT, NEC, andToshiba. This activity was supported by a strong partnership with
NICT, NEC, and Toshiba.
NICT, NEC and Toshiba made a proposal to ITU-T SG13
and SG17 based on research results from the Tokyo QKD
Network in Japan. At the June, 2019, WP meeting of the SG13,
Y.3800 “Overview of QKDN” was approved, and later, a series ofRecommendations were completed, including Y.3802 Functional
Requirements, Y.3803 Architecture, Y.3804 Key Management,

and X.1710 Securit y Framework. For these important
Recommendations, which is the basic standard set for QKDN,
NICT, NEC and Toshiba worked actively as editors, and the
proposals from Japan were adopted in these Recommendations.
Currently, large scale feasibility tests connecting all of Europe,such as OpenQKD, are being conducted, and a QKDN spanning4,600 km and connecting Beijing and Shanghai is being built
in China. In Japan, a quantum cryptographic network is being
developed and built based on the Tokyo QKD Network, andefforts to implement it are being strengthened. We intend tocontinue building a safe and secure society using quantum
technologies, with cooperation from many partners. We lookforward to everyone’s continued support in these efforts.

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通巻百三十二号

定価一冊一、六五〇円 （本体価格 一、五〇〇円、消費税 一五〇円） 年間購読料

六、六〇〇円 （本体価格 六、〇〇〇円、消費税 六〇〇円）