The Japanese Government has launched a programme of smart city investment for fiscal 2023, which begins in April 2023. The Cabinet Office of the Japanese Government is coordinating three other ministries in an effort to promote the creation of smart city projects throughout Japan, with funding from the central government. The government is soliciting industry for smart city-related projects in order to kick-start its object of regional and urban renewal throughout the country.

The Japanese Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism will work together to promote and solicit applications for smart city-related projects from industry.

In fiscal 2023, the smart city-related business will be part of the “Strategic Innovation Promotion Programme (SIP) Phase 2/Cyberspace infrastructure technology/architecture construction and demonstration research using big data and AI”. This is a follow on to a framework created by the Japanese Cabinet Office in fiscal 2019.

A “Joint Examination Committee for Smart City-related Projects” will be established, and related ministries and agencies will work together to solicit, adopt, and implement proposals.

The smart city-related projects of related ministries and agencies that will be jointly solicited are “future technology social implementation project”, “smart city promotion project for solving regional problems”, “regional new MaaS creation promotion project”, “Japanese MaaS Promotion and Support Project” and “Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Smart City Implementation Support Project”.