Where East and West share common ground: I meet Minister Tatsuo Kawabata - Main contents
Today I am very happy to report that despite the obvious geographical distance of some 10,000km, in terms of cooperation Japan and Europe are very close indeed. I had the great pleasure to hold a meeting with Minister Tatsuo Kawabata of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan, together with some of his colleagues, including Vice Minister Yamakawa.
The Minister - responsible not only for ICT matters but also for Japanese home affairs - updated me on the progress in Japan since the terrible earthquake and tsunami of last year, and on the nuclear crisis and the effect this is having on Japan’s energy situation. I was struck yet again by the resilience and fortitude of the Japanese people: my thoughts are with those who have had to cope with such hardship. And I realised that, although Japan and Europe are facing crises of different natures at the moment, we are nevertheless seeing so many of the same challenges.
We discussed a whole range of issues in the ICT field where we could benefit from practical cooperation, such as Internet governance and Internet security; the impact of convergence on the ICT and telecom regulatory frameworks; and the need to address the rise of protectionist tendencies in the ICT field. We also talked about making the Internet a safe place for children and young people, and tackling child pornography. In addition, we noted some of the ICT fields where Japan and the EU have cooperated over the last year, like joint research for the “Future Internet” (to be launched very soon); and a recent workshop on cloud computing.
I must say the meeting left me feeling content and hopeful about our continued future cooperation. We’re united by common goals and problems reaching beyond the ICT field, and there’s great potential in working together.
To make sure we implement it all - and to let others know about it - we agreed on a Joint Statement covering the points I’ve just mentioned. This should serve as a useful “list of things to do” for both sides, which I hope we can examine together when we next meet, hopefully next year.
PS. Last minute news! Just when I was finishing this entry, I received news that the scoping for the EU-Japan Framework Agreement has been finalised. Yet another bond connecting Japan and EU has been initiated, further strengthening our cooperation.