We Are Tomodachi Spring / Summer 2017

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14It all dates back to May last year. Chancellor Angela Merkel and I were meeting, and at one point she asked me, “Why don’t you make Japan a partner country at the CeBIT* next year? And you must also come.” Angela, I am indeed here. Japan is indeed a partner country. And also, Japanese companies are here, in a massive number, which is 118, a jump of more than tenfold from the previous year.Today, soon after this event, a landmark document will be unveiled. We choose to call it the “Hannover Declaration.” I would like to share with you my thoughts on the foundation that the declaration is based on.Firstly, we are now in need of a new definition for machines. Machines equipped with AI or machines that are essentially robots no longer perform only narrow, singular functions. Think of concerns we face as humans, like health. Think also of challenges at a global scale, like the supply of energy. The machines of tomorrow will be tasked with the mission of solving that multitude of challenges. The manufacturing industry will also change. It will become a “solution” industry.None of those problems are solvable by a single machine, by a single company, even if it is technologically advanced, or even by single countries alone.That leads us to the second point: we must cherish connectedness, above all else.How can we connect machines with each other? A system to another system, and to a system of systems—how can they be made to relate to each other? What of the interplay between machines and humans for an extended lifetime? And indeed of the interface between and among groups of people, like countries and companies?What kinds of connectedness will we build among each of these? We are in an age in which governments, businesses, and academe will rack their brains in competition with each other over how that connectedness should be designed. This is an age in which cooperation and collaboration will create added value and stimulate growth.Third, and the final point I wish to emphasize about the declaration, is the importance of education and of technology standards. In an age in which we must solve complex problems by regarding them as systems—an age in which all things and all people are interconnected—we will need new systems of modeling language and common technology standards.I would like for Japan and Germany to contemplate these together. Together, let us develop common curricula and common standards. * * *There are only three things that are important for the future of Germany, Europe, and Japan. Number one is innovation. Number two: innovation. And number three: innovation.Full text: http://japan.kantei.go.jp/97_abe/statement/201703/1221682_11573.htmlDelivered at CeBIT Welcome Night in Hannover, Germany, March 19, 2017Speech of the Prime Minister*CeBIT is a trade fair held in Hannover, Germany, featuring applications of cutting-edge technology, including IoT, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and robots. It is the largest such event in the world. At the March 2017 CeBIT, Japan participated for the first time as the official Partner Country.