Guidance

UK-Japan Digital Partnership (December 2022)

Updated 18 January 2024

Summary

1. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Digital Agency of Japan and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) of the UK (hereafter “both Participants”) have decided to establish an ambitious and comprehensive digital partnership^{[footnote 1]}.

2. This bilateral partnership builds on the existing deep and historic partnership between both Participants, as set out in the UK-Japan Joint Statement in 2019,^{[footnote 2]} the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in 2020^{[footnote 3]} and their joint commitment of 4th May 2022 to deepen bilateral digital collaboration.^{[footnote 4]}

3. The UK-Japan Digital Partnership (hereafter “this Partnership”), outlined in this document, will serve as a strategic framework for both Participants to jointly deliver concrete digital policy outcomes for their citizens, businesses, and economies.

4. The Partnership does not constitute or create and is not intended to constitute or create any legally binding obligations. Nothing in this Partnership will alter or affect any existing agreements between the Participants.

5. Without prejudice to the generality of the immediately preceding paragraph, both Participants acknowledge that this Partnership will not be deemed as an international agreement and will not constitute or create legal obligations governed by international law.

6. The initial focus of this Partnership will be the following four pillars:

a. Digital infrastructure and technologies;

b. Data;

c. Digital regulation and standards; and

d. Digital transformation.

Background

7. Both Participants recognise that this is a period of rapid technological change and global digital transformation. New technologies are redefining the way in which people live, study and do business; whilst presenting new challenges and opportunities in every corner of society.

8. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the potential for digital technologies to help address national and global crises. In many instances it also catalysed digital transformation across public and private sectors.

9. Recent international challenges have underscored the need to protect and champion open, democratic values in the digital field.

10. Both Participants share fundamental values, including freedom of speech, democracy and the rule of law. Both Participants can support each other to stay on the frontier of technological advancement, and contribute to ensuring global norms and standards consistent with such values. Both Participants believe data-driven technology can be a powerful force for good, spreading innovation, driving productivity, and catalysing significant social and economic benefits.

11. Both Participants are specifically aligned on the need to: create more resilient and diverse telecoms supply chains; champion Data Free Flow with Trust and oppose unnecessary data localisation measures; ensure digital technical standards are developed in industry-led, open, transparent, multi-stakeholder settings; protect citizens from harmful online content; increase resilience to cyberattacks; address shared challenges in the semiconductor sector, such as supply chain resilience; and ensure digital markets remain free, fair, and competitive.

12. Both Participants share a joint ambition to influence global discussions on digital policies, through close collaboration in multilateral fora. For example:

a. Building on the UK’s successful G7 Presidency in 2021, both Participants will continue to champion open societies and harness the benefits of digital technologies to tackle global challenges through Japan’s G7 Presidency in 2023, and in other multilateral fora such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD);

b. Both Participants will continue to work constructively in the ITU, especially for the study period commencing 2023, in which both Participants will take the role of the ITU Council members.

13. This Partnership will complement and build on existing collaboration arrangements. For example, in March 2022 both Participants decided to pursue closer cooperation to solve global telecoms supply chain issues.^{[footnote 5]} This included the formation of a supplier diversity working group within which both Participants committed to share information on policy initiatives; explore opportunities for collaborative R&D projects; and foster engagement between UK and Japanese companies.

Governance

14. This Partnership will establish a new annual Ministerial Group (UK-Japan Digital Council) to instruct the scope and objectives of this Partnership, as well as an annual senior official (Director-General) meeting (UK-Japan Digital Group) and suitable arrangements for governance and practical discussion for individual topics.

15. The UK side’s efforts are led by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with input from the Government Digital Service (GDS) and other departments as necessary.

16. The Japanese side’s efforts are jointly led by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Digital Agency, with input from all other ministries as necessary, and coordinated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

17. As needed, both Participants will continue to raise relevant digital policy issues through existing CEPA implementation committees.

18. The scope and objectives of this Partnership has been informed by wide stakeholder engagement by both Participants.

19. Both Participants will hold further joint engagement with industry, academia and civil society groups, all of whom are key to a thriving digital economy, to ensure the outputs and outcomes of this Partnership deliver for all parts of society.

20. In the implementation of this Partnership, both Participants will maintain high security standards and robust governance arrangements for the handling and processing of sensitive information.

21. The scope, objectives, and means of optimal cooperation will be reviewed in response to domestic and international changes.

Digital partnership: strategic framework

22. This Partnership will provide a general framework for collaboration between the Participants. The scope of the long-term collaboration between the Participants will be subject to iterative refinement and expansion in response to advancements in technology, the evolving geo-political landscape, and the evolving policy preferences of both Participants.

23. The core aims of this Partnership are to:

a. Structure, accelerate and deepen bilateral collaboration across digital and data policy priorities;

b. Share policy knowledge, expertise and resources to deliver better outcomes for both Participants’ citizens, businesses and economies;

c. Coordinate activity to promote free, responsible, secure and resilient approaches to digital policies globally, including in multilateral fora (for example, G7, G20 and OECD) and multi-stakeholder fora;

d. Jointly broker pragmatic solutions to key global digital challenges, for example, cross-border data flows;

e. Strengthen joint activities in third countries and regions, including in the Indo-Pacific region, to maximise the impact of digital activity;

f. Create stronger foundations for tech trade and investment between both Participants’ economies, for example, encouraging regulatory alignment and interoperability to facilitate UK and Japanese businesses; and

g. Ensure the wider benefits of digital transformation, in areas including education, skills, transport, housing, culture, arts and the tackling of climate change, are realised across the UK and Japan.

Joint actions

24. This Partnership will deliver the following:

Pillar one: Digital infrastructure and technologies

Telecoms diversification

a. The global telecoms supply market has undergone a sustained period of consolidation due to a range of commercial and technical factors. Stimulating a more competitive and diverse supply market will increase the resilience, innovation and efficiency of both Participants’ networks. International collaboration and policy coordination between national governments is necessary to drive long term and sustainable change in the supply market.

b. Both Participants will work together on multiple fronts to:

i. Realise the overall value of a resilient supply chain, facilitation of innovation, energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness for the future, and robust security;

ii. Increase vendor diversity in the 5G telecoms supply chain and beyond through attracting new suppliers and supporting the global telecoms supplier ecosystem to scale-up;

iii. Share information on ongoing and upcoming policy and research;

iv. Discuss ways both Participants may support one another in building wider international consensus for interoperable technologies, including collaboration on supporting standards setting;

v. Develop efficient and long standing engagement avenues between UK and Japanese industry;

vi. Develop joint R&D initiatives to support the development of interoperable technologies, such as Open RAN and vRAN;

vii. Explore areas of cooperation and mutual support between testing labs involving both Participants; and

viii. Develop joint initiatives to support the development of future telecoms and Beyond 5G/6G technologies.

Increasing cyber resilience

a. Cyber resilience is the ability for organisations to prepare for, respond to and recover from cyber attacks and security breaches. Cyber resilience is key to operational resilience and business continuity, as well as a growing and flourishing economy.

b. To tackle the increasing complexity of threats in cyberspace, both Participants will work together bilaterally, in international standards bodies and in relevant multilateral fora, to pursue resolutions on cyber security issues; and ensure the realisation of a more resilient cyber environment as envisaged under Japan’s Society 5.0 concept and Cybersecurity Strategy, and the UK’s National Cyber Strategy, respectively. To achieve those goals, both Participants will, through close collaboration among the multifaceted organisations and departments involved, promote initiatives such as:

i. Secure by Design: improving Internet of Things (IoT) product security and app security and privacy, including collaborating to promote information sharing and standardisation activities for IoT security standards and guidelines in ISO and other relevant standards bodies;

ii. Enhancing cyber resilience, including exchanging best practice on incentives and regulations to improve private sector cyber security;

iii. Building cyber skills and developing cyber as a profession;

iv. Information sharing to promote the cyber resilience of Connected Places/ Smart Cities to safeguard citizens, businesses and communities;

v. Strengthening the digital supply chain: addressing the cyber security risks associated with Digital Service Providers (“system integrators”) and insecure software; and

vi. Ensuring the security and resilience of data infrastructure, including data centres and the cloud.

Semiconductors

In view of the importance of semiconductors to our economies, both Participants will promote the following initiatives together:

a. Ensuring a reliable supply of semiconductors: The recent shortage has highlighted the fragility of the supply chain and the range of dependencies in other sectors. Both Participants will work together to consider cooperative efforts to strengthen resilience, including during Japan’s G7 Presidency.

b. Ensuring an assured supply of semiconductors: As a key underpinning technology, semiconductors hold an important geopolitical position in the tech ecosystem, as well as presenting cybersecurity issues for both sensitive and broad-based applications.

c. Enhancing both Participants’ mutual strengths: Through practical cooperation in areas such as R&D cooperation, skills exchanges and strengthening industry and academia links, both Participants will enhance the mutual strengths of both Participants in this sector.

Artificial intelligence

a. Both Participants will work closely to support trustworthy, human-centric and responsible development and application of AI. Both Participants will ensure that shared values on human rights and democratic principles shape AI principles and governance frameworks. Both Participants will continue to coordinate in multilateral fora to prevent a fragmented global market, ensure interoperability and promote responsible AI development.

b. In particular, both Participants will:

i. Deepen collaboration in international fora, notably the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI), OECD and Council of Europe;

ii. Exchange information on progress in the implementation of G20’s AI principles and OECD’s AI principles;

iii. Explore opportunities for collaboration on AI standards, including through initiatives such as the UK AI Standards Hub; and

iv. Share information for the improvement of policies concerning AI and facilitate coordination among like-minded international partners.

Pillar two: Data

a. Championing Data Flows: Maintain, expand and promote the safe international flow of data and operationalise Data Free Flow with Trust initiatives.

b. Regulatory Cooperation: Support collaboration between both Participants’ data protection regulators to provide regulatory certainty for UK and Japanese businesses and citizens, and explore further opportunities for both Participants to promote regulatory cooperation both bilaterally and within multilateral fora.

c. Data Innovation: Explore opportunities for joint collaboration on data innovation (for example on Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs), sharing information on distributed data managing systems such as Japan’s Trusted Web initiative, and compare approaches on improving data sharing and international standards).

Under the Increasing Cyber Resilience heading of this Partnership, point vi, both Participants will also engage on the security and resilience of data infrastructure, including data centres and the cloud.

Pillar three: Digital regulation and standards

Online safety

a. Both Participants will work closely together to adopt and advocate a risk-based, systems and processes approach to online safety which helps to protect users - particularly children - and tackles illegal content. It is vital that any forthcoming measures relating to online safety promote a balanced approach which safeguards and upholds fundamental human rights, including freedom of speech.

b. Through increased dialogue and collaboration on regulatory approaches, both Participants will look to create a safe and inclusive online environment. Both Participants will look to proactively share best practice and information about proposed regulatory changes to support cross-border alignment.

c. In particular, both Participants will look to explore opportunities for deeper engagement on areas of specific interest including disinformation, media literacy and safety technologies.

d. Where relevant, both Participants will collaborate on and share research projects to support and deepen understanding of each others’ regulatory approaches to online safety.

Digital markets

a. Through this Partnership, both Participants decide there is a need to promote competition and support innovation. In particular:

i. Both Participants will share information including case studies and examples of best practice in promoting competition in digital markets in order to improve understanding of different policy approaches;

ii. Both Participants will formalise existing bilateral engagement activities in order to strengthen alignment on how best to promote competition in digital markets.

Digital technical standards

a. Digital technical standards underpin the evolution of digital technologies and can support interoperability of the Internet, telecoms, and other established and emerging digital technologies. Their development and deployment has a real world impact on citizens and societies.

b. In the 2021 G7 Ministerial Declaration, both Participants restated support for industry-led, inclusive, multi stakeholder approaches to the development of digital technical standards. Both Participants committed to strengthening collaboration across global standards development organisations, to ensure that standards are developed in line with shared democratic values and contribute to mutual prosperity.

c. Through this Partnership, both Participants will build on this commitment by establishing a rhythm of regular bilateral engagement to share information, identify areas for coordination, establish connections between technical experts, and discuss the potential for joint approaches and initiatives.

d. In support of the industry-led, inclusive, multi stakeholder digital technical standards ecosystem, both Participants will explore ways to increase engagement and links between UK and Japanese industry and other relevant stakeholders, such as through multi stakeholder events, and existing initiatives, such as the UK AI Standards Hub, and in relation to relevant standards development meetings.

e. Recognising the importance of coordination between like minded governments, both Participants commit to working together to support and improve multilateral coordination through mechanisms such as the Digital Technical Standards Points of Contact Group.

Internet governance

a. Internet governance concerns the current multi-stakeholder arrangements through which the day to day operation of the Internet is managed.

b. Both Participants decide on the need to maintain an open, global and interoperable Internet that is governed through these multi-stakeholder arrangements, such as at The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), and through the Regional Internet Registries.

c. Both Participants will enhance their cooperation in multilateral and multi-stakeholder fora, including the Government Advisory Committee (GAC) of ICANN and the UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF).

d. Both Participants look forward to cooperating ahead of the 2023 UN IGF, which Japan will host, and which will be important in looking ahead and providing input into the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)+20 Review process.

e. Both Participants will strengthen collaboration on other Internet Governance issues, especially in promoting multi-stakeholder governance processes internationally, such as at the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development and at the ITU.

Pillar four: Digital transformation

Digital government transformation

Building on a Memorandum of Cooperation in the area of Digital Government, between the UK’s Government Digital Service and the Digital Agency of Japan, signed on 31 October 2022,^{[footnote 6]} both Participants will:

a. Focus their cooperation in the following areas with a view to assist each other to become better at what they do:

i. User-centred design and design systems

ii. Digital procurement reform

iii. Digital skills and capability

iv. Digital governance, standards and assurance

v. Digital government services, including common components like online payments and messaging platforms

vi. Tech and government cloud services

b. Exchange information, experience and lessons learnt on digital government transformation and reforming traditional approaches to technology.

Ensuring the benefits of digital technologies reach all parts of society.

a. Both Participants decide on the need to ensure the benefits of digital technologies reach all parts of society. This means supporting digital adoption, improving digital access to government services, investing in digital education and skills, and leveraging the opportunities presented by digital technologies to grow and better connect regional and rural economies. There are strong synergies between the UK’s Levelling Up agenda and Japan’s Digital Garden City Nation Initiative.

b. New digital technologies are transforming both Participants’ education systems and creative sectors, presenting new opportunities for partnership and co-production.

Digital identity

a. Both Participants decide to cooperate on digital identity issues through the exchange of information, sharing of best practice and exploring opportunities to discuss a common approach to frameworks that promotes compatibility of standards and fosters international interoperability.

Signatories

For the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan

MATSUMOTO Takeaki
Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications

For the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

For the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan

NISHIMURA Yasutoshi
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry

For the Digital Agency

KONO Taro
Minister for Digital Transformation

Last updated

18 January 2024. New footnote inserted at paragraph 1 to reflect the transfer of this policy from DCMS to DSIT.

1. From 7 February 2023, responsibility for the implementation of the UK-Japan Digital Partnership transferred from Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. ↩

2. UK-Japan Joint Statement: 10 January 2019 ; https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/files/000436826.pdf ↩

3. UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement; https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/ecm/ie/page22_003344.html ↩

4. UK – Japan Joint Announcement on Deepening Digital Collaboration; https://www.soumu.go.jp/menu_news/s-news/01tsushin08_02000135.html; https://www.digital.go.jp/news/c47ebac8-db98-4a50-a870-14f9993879d0/; https://www.meti.go.jp/press/2022/05/20220505001/20220505001.html. ↩

5. UK and Japan forge closer links on telecoms; https://www.soumu.go.jp/menu_news/s-news/01tsushin08_02000129.html ↩

6. UK and Japan strengthen cooperation in the area of digital government; https://www.digital.go.jp/news/db40ee4f-4c34-4b70-96f4-4bf990a3c0c4/ ↩