The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) promotes Cutting-edge Research and Development on Information & Communication Science (CRONOS) with the aim of strengthening information and communication technology in Japan. The program aims to create innovative information and communication technology that will drive social transformation beyond Society 5.0 and to foster the next generation of researchers. From late October to early December 2024, CRONOS called for information to establish the themes of “Grand Challenges” for FY 2025. Subsequently, JST held a workshop (WS) based on the results of the call.

The workshop gathered a total of 45 participants both onsite and online, including specialists active in related fields and researchers who cooperated with the call for information in advance as well as Mr. Hiromichi Shinohara, Program Director (PD), Dr. Akihiro Nakao, Program Officer (PO) in the information and communications area, and Dr. Yoshihiro Kawahara, PO in the information processing area.

In the discussion, 19 researchers gave presentations and actively exchanged opinions on the discussion themes set by each PO. In the Nakao area, three themes were set: (1) communication architecture and security, (2) elemental technologies of communication, and (3) applications of communication technology. In the Kawahara area, two themes were set: (1) modeling and benchmarking of problems challenging important issues in society, and (2) innovation in information and communication system technology driven by new needs.

Through a series of discussions, we reaffirmed the importance of collaboration across the boundaries between “fundamental” and “applied” research and fusion of different research fields. Furthermore, we considered the call themes to promote research and development with bold ideas from a long-term, interdisciplinary perspective, including the social sciences. Based on the Grand Challenges identified through this WS and other efforts, a call for research and development was launched in March 2025.