Japan-EU

Digital Partnership

May 2022
#DigitalEU

The EU and Japan launched a digital partnership at the Japan-EU Summit on 12 May 2022. Japan
is the first partner country with which the EU has concluded a Digital Partnership.

What is the Digital Partnership?

The Japan-EU Digital Partnership will advance cooperation on digital issues to foster economic growth and a human-centric
digital transformation based on our common values. It will be a flexible cooperation instrument that goes beyond dialogue
and exchange of information between Japan and the EU with the view to deliver concrete deliverables in line with the digital
compass.

Digital Compass Skills

Public Services Infrastructures

Business
The Partnership will focus on the four cardinal points of the digital compass: infrastructure, skills, digital transformation of
businesses and digitisation of public services. It should also include a digital trade component.

What are the benefits of the Digital Partnership for Japan and the EU?

Work together on the resilience Help businesses, Drive forward Cooperate on secure
of global supply chains, including SMEs, digitalisation of international connectivity,
secure 5G and beyond, safe to innovate and grow. public services. green data infrastructures
and ethical applications of AI. and digital rules.

Promote digital education Develop global, Facilitate digital trade.

and digital skills for all. interoperable standards.
 How will the Digital Partnership reach its goals?

Collaborate on the development Implement concrete pilot projects in cutting-edge Share views and best practices,
of tech, specifically in research areas such as Artificial Intelligence and digital identity promote regulatory cooperation and
and innovation. to drive technology development and standardisation. develop common principles for rules
and standards where appropriate.

Establish mechanisms Pursue a common approach to the digital Shape digital trade principles
for collaboration in international transformation based on democratic principles and promote regulatory cooperation on
groups and organisations. including defending the open internet key technology enablers for digital trade.
and developing Digital Principles.

Governance
The Digital Partnership will work on a yearly cycle. It will draw on existing digital policy and other sectoral dialogues and specialist
workshops and webinars, which will converge into the Digital Partnership Council, an annual meeting at ministerial level. The
Digital Partnership Council will implement, take stock of progress and review the deliverables. It will be led by Commissioner
Breton on the EU side.

© Z er b or
- i St o c k G et t y I m a g e s P l u s
© Mi
croS
to c
k Hu
b-

to c
iS

kG
et t
y Im
ag e s
P lu s

© European Union, 2022

Updated 2022-5-12 - 1115

Reuse is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. The reuse policy of European Commission documents is regulated by Decision 2011/833/EU (OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p. 39). For any use or reproduction
of elements that are not owned by the European Union, permission may need to be sought directly from the respective rightholders. All images © Getty Images Plus / iStock / DigitalVision Vectors

BOOK ISBN 978-92-76-52783-1 doi:10.2759/294933 KK-07-22-293-EN-C

PDF ISBN 978-92-76-52784-8 doi:10.2759/74688 KK-07-22-293-EN-N