We Are Tomodachi Winter 2018

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28Japan is making great efforts to provide an ideal environment for developing automated driving systems. In November 2015, Prime Minister Abe announced, “We want to ensure that it becomes possible to offer driverless mobility services and automated driving on our highways for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. For this reason we are determined to prepare the necessary infrastructure and frameworks, including the human resources to carry out final testing.” In September 2017, changes to the National Strategic Special Zones Law went into effect as part of a concerted effort to support commercial activities focused on demonstrating the viability of automated driving systems. The National Police Agency has also published guidelines concerning the testing of automated vehicles on public roads. Although certain conditions must still be fulfilled, it is now possible to test automated driving at any time without a permit. The Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP) facilitates industry-academia-government cooperation regarding the implementation of advanced automated driving systems. Under its auspices, large-scale operational field testing will be conducted between October 2017 and March 2019. In addition to Japanese organizations, 21 foreign ones, including automotive parts manufacturers and universities, are participating. Research and development is making progress under a diverse array of traffic environments, not only on central Tokyo’s Metropolitan Expressway and on the Shin-Tomei Expressway, but also throughout various regions of Japan.Berthold Wolfram, President and CEO of German automotive parts manufacturer Continental Japan, which is participating in SIP’s large-scale field testing, explains, “In order to implement automated driving systems all over the world it is necessary to conduct research and development that takes into consideration the unique Open Innovation for Fully Automated DrivingAt the Tokyo Motor Show 2017, which took place from October 27 to November 5, 2017, many different companies presented technologies and concept cars related to automated driving.