# Section 1 Promotion of Comprehensive Strategy

### 1. Promotion of national strategy

The IT Strategy Headquarters (hereinafter referred to as the Headquarters) announced the IT New Reform Strategy in January 2006 as Japan’s new national strategy to keep the position as the most advanced ICT nation with the world’s highest infrastructure, ability to use ICT, and technical environment.

The Headquarters also developed the New Strategy for the New Digital Age (three-year emergency plan) in April 2009 to overcome current economic difficulties. Considering the deceleration of the growth caused by the global financial crisis and the emergence of new technologies, the Headquarters intends to formulate a new medium-term strategy for 2015 by around June 2009.

### 2. Realization of a smart ubiquitous network society

In the face of a rapidly-growing aging population with a declining birthrate in Japan, ICT is expected to serve as the trump card in solving various social issues. To maximize the potential of ICT, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) promotes the “u-Japan policy” as a systematic policy for realizing an ubiquitous society.

The MIC also set up the Panel on ICT Growth in February 2008, and published a report titled x-ICT Vision: Towards a Profound Fusion of All Industries/Regions and ICT in July 2008.

Furthermore, the Panel on ICT Vision was established by MIC in October 2008 to draw up a vision for integrated ICT policy by around 2015, looking to the future age of full-digitization, the advent of which is expected after 2011, and released a report titled the Strategy for Achieving a Smart Ubiquitous Network Society in June 2009. The report recommends creating a more advanced ubiquitous society, or a “smart ubiquitous network society” where ubiquitous ICT networks are universally accepted by users so that all people are able to use ICT with a sense of safety and receive benefits from it.

### 3. Promotion of reform in communication and broadcasting fields

To promote reform in the telecommunication and broadcasting fields, the government and the ruling parties formulated an agreement between the government and the ruling parties on regulatory frameworks for communications and broadcasting on June, 2006. In response to this agreement, the MIC developed the Process Program for the Reform of the Communications and Broadcasting Field in September 2006. The program includes concrete plans to be carried out within the next 5 years (by 2010).

In response to the agreement in which the government promised to commence deliberations on the comprehensive legal systems governing communications and broadcasting based on the assumption that the concept for mainstay broadcasting will be maintained and committed itself to reaching a conclusion by 2010, the MIC organized meetings of the Study Group on Comprehensive Legal System Governing Communications and Broadcasting between August 2006 and December 2007 to examine the framework of the comprehensive legal system.

Furthermore, in order to proceed with discussions on specific systems, the MIC made inquiries to the Information and Communications Council in February 2008 about the comprehensive legal system governing communications and broadcasting in order to promote deliberations on a specific system. The Review Committee on the Comprehensive Legal System Governing Communications and Broadcasting was established within the Information Communications Policy Committee of the Information and Communications Council and it announced the Comprehensive Legal System Governing Communications and Broadcasting (summary of medium-term agenda) in June 2008, and public opinions were solicited. Based on the public opinions, the agenda to be discussed concerning the Comprehensive Legal System Governing Communications and Broadcasting, which outlined the agenda discussed at the said committee, was compiled and published in December 2008.

The MIC intends to submit a draft law to the ordinary Diet in 2010 upon receiving a report in response to the said inquiries.

### 4. Enhancement of international competitiveness - promotion of Program for Enhancement of International Competitiveness -

The ICT industry accounts for about 10% of