Japan: from smart cities to 5.0 society

Smart cities are a reality. Information and communication technologies (ICT) have made it possible to manage, create and improve the systems that make up territories, such as public spaces, infrastructure and transportation. 

Large metropolises such as Tokyo or Osaka, located in Japan, have since the late 1990s focused on digitization and technology to increase efficiency in resource management and public service delivery. 

However, despite the progress made, Japanese cities continued to present problems that challenged the country's sustainable development, such as quality of life, sanitation and climate change. 

To ensure sustainable development, i.e. a balance between economic growth, care for the environment and the social well-being of the population, the Japanese government, since 2015, has sought to consolidate a model of a "super-smart" society or 5.0 society. 

Society 5.0: human beings at the center of technological transformation

Society 5.0 is a connected and intelligent community, where Big Data, the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics are fully integrated, with the aim of providing a digital and physical infrastructure that contributes to the daily lives of the inhabitants.  

It is about putting the individual and his or her needs at the center of technological transformation. Through digitalization, innovation and advances in technology, we seek to solve people's problems and improve their well-being. 

Hence, the 5.0 society defines health, social care, assisted living and mobility as fundamental interests. To achieve these objectives, the Japanese government has implemented various initiatives in its territory. 

In the samurai city of Aizuwakamatsu, an intelligent platform was created to collect data provided by citizens, such as payments, household consumption or children's school progress, which are shared with the government, industry and academia. The purpose of this is to create services that meet the needs of the population in areas such as energy consumption, education, mobility, among others. 

The more information provided by the inhabitants, the more personalized services they will have. For example: if the population shares the data recorded by wristbands or smart watches, they will obtain, in real time, medical recommendations to improve their habits and state of health. 

Another example is the city of Arao, where a wellness mirror was created that can identify information such as pulse rate and provide, through AI, data on a person's age, gender, mood and health condition, with the aim of making recommendations that enable them to lead a healthier life. 

In addition, Japan has introduced autonomous cars that relieve the driver of the stress of driving and robots to serve dependent people. 

The new commitment is the 5.0 society, a community centered on human beings and their needs, which, through digitalization and technological advances, works every day for the sustainable development of the population.