Information and communications technology (ICT), which supports our daily lives and economic activities, is an essential foundation for Japan's sustainable growth. The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) promotes Cutting-edge Research and Development on Information and Communication Science (CRONOS) with the aim of creating innovative ICT that will drive social transformation beyond Society 5.0. The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) has provided the “NICT Integrated Testbed” to industry, academia, and government, enabling technological verification and practical demonstration of networks and platforms in anticipation of the Beyond 5G era. A testbed is an experimental environment for testing new technologies and systems.

On January 27, JST and NICT signed the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) regarding the NICT Integrated Testbed and the Strategic Basic Research Programs CRONOS. This cooperation will facilitate CRONOS researchers in using NICT’s testbed more smoothly. Specifically, NICT will develop a testbed utilization scheme for CRONOS researchers to streamline procedures and prioritize resource allocation. Furthermore, through symposia and workshops held by CRONOS and NICT, we will identify promising research topics and findings that will lead to innovation, and will share information and support for their promotion and development.

Through this MoC, we will organically link our initiatives to date, promote integrated research and development in the ICT field, from basic research to practical implementation, and foster the creation of results that will strengthen Japan’s ICT and contribute to social change.

In March 2026, CRONOS opens its third round of calls for new research proposals. Details can be found on the following page.

https://www.jst.go.jp/kisoken/cronos/en/koubo/2026/index.html

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  Mr. KANEKO Hiroyuki, Vice President of JST (Left), Dr. AKUTSU Akihito, Vice President of NICT (Right).