Digital Transformation and ITA: 
Opportunities and Challenges
September 2021
Jun Nakaya
Chair of Trade Policy Committee
Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association
(JEITA)
© 2021 JEITA1WTO ITA SymposiumRD/IT/33JEITA is the leading IT and electronics association in Japan
Around 400 members from Japan and abroad
A global business scale of around €300 billion
A platform connecting all industries with electronic equipment, electronic 
components and devices, and IT solutions and services as their core in an IoT era
Strong relationship with ITI, DIGITALEUROPE, and so on..About JEITA:
Advanced
Transport  Systems
HealthcarePCs/Servers
Cyber
SecurityElectronic
componentsAIIndustrial
SystemsCloud
Computing
Smart TVs Smartphones SemiconductorsSmart
FactoriesSmart HomesIT Solutions
Block ChainsEnvironment
2 © 2021 JEITA•Promotion of ICT trade and foreign investment
•Improvement of productivity 
•Increase of employment
•Acceleration of economic growth
•Drive innovation
•Production of prosperity for all nations
3 © 2021 JEITASignificance of ITAEmergence of new social challenges
© 2020 JEITA
4 © 2021 JEITACOVID-19
Social changes brought by COVID-19
City lock-down, remote work, remote schooling
Development of new tools / systems for communication and 
collaboration
Change of common sense :
Commuting, business trip, work style, joining events, etc.
New lifestyle, new business, new sense of value
5 © 2021 JEITASocial Changes by COVID-19 
and IT
Medicine Work/Industry
Education/Home City Changes
Online medical 
consultation & diagnosis
(AI, Sensor, IT)
Big data
Infection control using IT,
AI, sensing technologyRemote
Online
Tele-work
Virtual Meeting
Supply chain management
Digital capable
Decentralized
Home/work place in
closer proximity
More cyber spaceOnline class
Education divide
(Schools / Parents)
6 © 2021 JEITACOVID-19 and ICT
© 2021 JEITA7
Source: RIKEN, Toyohashi University of TechnologyClimate Change and ICT
•Floods, rise of sea levels
•Outage of infrastructure 
•Death and epidemic due to heat wave
•Food shortage and food security because of rising temperature 
and drought
•Shortage of water and decrease of agricultural production, etc.
Green ｘ IT :
Optimization of energy consumption
Sensing technology
Location information technology
Energy management system  
Energy-saving equipment  
Utilization of data
8 © 2021 JEITAEnergy and ICT
•Stable supply of energy
•Control of CO2
•De-fossil energy
•Renewable energy
Saving energy by IT
Analysis and forecast of weather data
⇒ Stable supply of renewable energy
Energy management by bigdata analysis
9 © 2021 JEITAAging Society and ICT
•Japanis world No.1 in aging 
rate(1/3 population 65 and over 
in 2036)
•China, Singapore, South 
Koreafollow
•Social security expenses 
swelling up
Expansion of smart healthcare
Wearable device, IoT, Bigdata,
Medical cloud, VR/ARAI、robots
10 © 2021 JEITAJapan
IndiaChinaPrediction
GermanyS.Korea
UK USASingapore
[Source: UN]Digital Divide and ICT
<Issues>
・Widening the gap between rich and poor
・Possibility of being involved in an incident using the digital divide
・Isolation of the elderly generation
・Lack of human resources to develop and respond to IT 
<Solutions>
Increase in IT human resources by school establishment
Spread of diversifying smart devices
Spread of communication on the Internet
Installation of terminals that can be used free of charge
11 © 2021 JEITAFood shortage and ICT
Food shortage（Over 10 billion people by 2055)
Food loss
Natural disasters by climate change
Decreasing agricultural workers and the aging workers
Energy-saving and efficient agricultural IoT, Robots
•Mass production
•Autonomous driving
•Sensor technology
•Light labor with assist-suit
Early warning of meteorological disasters
•Meteorological satellite and drone
Improvement of food distribution system
Plant / Factory（AI、IoT）
12 © 2021 JEITAContribution to SDGs
13Global Digital Rules and ITAAI IoT
Big Data
5GPrivacy
CloudSecurity
Blockchain
Data
14© 2021 JEITAhttps://jp.123rf.com/profile_kentohhttps://www.un.org/developme
nt/desa/en/news/administratio
n/wsis-forum.html
https://www.computeraid.org/about-us/blog/potential-
ict-based-education-developing-countries
https://theirworld.org/news/
mobile-phones-help-
empower-educate-african-
women
https://theconversation.com/how-digital-
technology-can-help-reinvent-basic-education-
in-africa-85937
ICT can overcome poverty all over the world !!Toward ITA-3
16 © 2021 JEITAICT products
Semiconductors
Semiconductors are essential in modern society
- Cutting-edge Semiconductors enable evolution and development of ICT products
- Semiconductors were covered in ITA-1, since then ICT industries receive benefits 
© 2021 JEITA17Semiconductor-based transducers
(sensors, actuators, resonators and oscillators)
Physical or chemical 
phenomena or actionElectrical signalconvert
convertToward ITA-3 for Semiconductors
-Newly developed devices with innovative semiconductor 
technology
-Enabled to perform transducer function as below
-Contribute ICT products to high performance & compact/lightweight
-Defined as semiconductor devices in HS2022 revision
-Expected to be covered in ITA-3 and receive benefits like conventional 
semiconductors
18 © 2021 JEITABenefits of ITA and its Future
Contribution to new social challenges (all social sectors)
Productivity enhancement, economic growth, 
creation of job opportunities
Promotion of Innovation 
Increase of direct foreign investment
Realization of comfortable, safe and secure society
JEITA expects for the start of ITA-3 negotiation
19 © 2021 JEITA20 © 2021 JEITA