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2020.1.6 Column

5 IT and Technology trends for 2020 in Japan –
B2B trade shows you cannot miss

2020 is going to be a very interesting for IT and technology and Japan is at the forefront of it all. With the European “Industry 4.0” or the Singaporean “Smart nation”; in Japan the project, “Society 5.0”, is taking shape. In recent years, Japan has been intensifying efforts to update its technology-oriented policy and the numbers of exhibitions and trade shows focusing on new technologies has increasing even more. 

In this article, we want to introduce to you the most important trends in IT and technology Japan for 2020! 

Also, be sure to take a look to the exhibitions list at the end of this article and let us know if you are interested in any of them!

1. IOT

Lamps, coffee machines, watches, glasses. These are the easiest examples of how Internet of Things is changing our society and way of life.
IoT in Japan is the core of the “Society 5.0” project and is represented by autonomous cars, smart factories and homes.
Also, experiencing a rapidly aging and shrinking population, Japan is now improving the power of IoT to support its aging population in the healthcare field. Healthcare is now merging with technology and Japan is taking advantage of this.

2. 5G and Mobility

Photo by Puk Patrick on Unsplash
 

5G is another hot topic for 2020 in Japan. Even if Chinese companies are the leaders in the 5G technologies and patents, Japan’s Government plans to commit billions of dollars to support the development of ultra-high-speed communication. According to NTT docomo, one of the most important telecommunication carriers in Japan, the company plans to expand its 5G commercial service to all the 45 prefectures by June 2020, right before the Olympics Games. 

Not only telecommunications, but 5G is going to disrupt the videogame world as well. Already presented at the Tokyo Game Show 2019, game-makers are already taking advantage of ultrahigh speed 5G mobile data networks to innovate the world of gaming.

3. AI


 

AI is probably one of the main topics in 2020 and parts of the Society 5.0 project. According to a report by EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation, Japanese companies active in consumer electronics have a strong presence among applicants with biggest number of patents. Currently, in Japan, patent domain is dominated by image processing, information retrieval and medical diagnosis related technologies. However, the most dramatic growth can be observed in robotics field.   

Also, as IoT, AI-related technologies would help solve social issues such as aging society, labor shortages and so on.
 
In the HR field, the adoption of AI technologies on the workplace is welcomed with optimism. For instance, according to a study by Oracle and Future (AI at Work), the 29% of Japanese people admitted using some form of AI at work. 
The opportunities in Japan are very high and also the number of exhibitions related to the AI technologies are increasing even more in 2020.

4. Robotics

With the New Robot Strategy in 2015, the Robot Revolution is already officially underway in Japan.

Although most people have a human like image when thinking of robots, in Japan a robot is basically an intelligent machine system containing sensors, an intelligent control system, and a drive system.

Opportunities in robotics are wide in Japan: from manufacturing, to healthcare; from infrastructure inspection, to disaster preventions. 

5. Digital Marketing

Even if a bit delayed compared to some other countries, marketing is finally going digital in Japan. Marketing Automation and Digital Advertisements are just two examples of this transformation. All around the country, exhibitions, seminars and conferences focused on digital marketing have become even more popular. 

Trade shows you should not miss!

Trade shows are the best tool to discover the Japanese market and trends, as well as the perfect way to make your first step into the Japanese market. 
Take a look at the exhibitions list and let us know if you are interested in participating to some of them!

Click on the "Download" button below.

Bigbeat Inc. helps foreign business aiming to enter in the Japanese market. If you need detailed information or assistance for participating to an event in Japan or organize your own event, do not hesitate to contact us using the form here!

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