2026年数字国家：加速日本的数字飞跃

Digital Nations 2026 Accelerating thedigital leap in Japan The GSMA is a global organisation unifying themobile ecosystem to discover, develop and deliverinnovation foundational to positive businessenvironments and societal change. Our vision isto unlock the full power of connectivity so thatpeople, industry and society thrive. Representingmobile operators and organisations across the GSMA Intelligence is the definitive source of globalmobile operator data, analysis and forecasts, andpublisher of authoritative industry reports andresearch. Our data covers every operator group,network and MVNO in every country worldwide GSMA Intelligence is relied on by leading operators,vendors, regulators, financial institutions and third-party industry players, to support strategic decision-making and long-term investment planning. The We invite you to find out more at www.gsma.com Our team of analysts and experts produce regularthought-leading research reports across a range of info@gsmaintelligence.com Authors Kenechi Okeleke, Senior DirectorCeline Yuan, Senior Analyst, China and Asia Pacific Contributors Jeanette Whyte, Head of Policy and External Affairs, Asia Pacific Published April 2026© 2026 – GSMA. Contents Executive summary 1.1A legacy of leadership in innovation51.2Mobile as the foundation for the digital era61.3The impact of the digital cliff takes effect7 2Moving from legacy to digital leap2.1A renewed focus on digitalisation2.2Strategic pillars 3AssessingJapan’sprogressusingtheDigitalNationsIndex 4Realisingdigitalleadershipambitions4.1Comparative advantages4.2Global best practices4.3International cooperation Executive summary Alegacyofinnovationchallengedbya‘digitalcliff’ Japan has long been recognised as a global leader intechnological innovation – a legacy that spans centuriesand continues to shape its modern industrial anddigital capabilities. A combination of factors, includingforward-looking government policies and a strong government’s flagship vision for a “Super SmartSociety”. Although full disruption appears to have beenavoided, Japan’s global competitiveness has felt theimpact of the digital cliff. The country’s aggregate score The Japanese government and private sector haveintensified their efforts to make a decisive ‘digital leap’– a shift away from the incremental modernisationof legacy systems towards a bold, comprehensivetransformation aimed at establishing a fully integrated, For Japan, 2026 marks a critical point, as the challengesidentified by METI are predicted to reach a peakand impact economic performance. It also marks 10 Fromlegacytoleap:Japan’spathtodigitalleadership •Applying global best practicesto accelerateinfrastructure deployment, strengthen a digital-first culture across sectors, and build digital trust Japan’s digital leap has evolved into a strategicendeavour to reposition the country as a global leaderin the digital era. It presents the opportunity to shiftfrom being primarily a technology adopter to becominga standards setter for digital nations. Achieving this •Using international cooperationto shape globalnorms for AI, cybersecurity, semiconductors andfuture connectivity including 6G. This should •Capitalising on comparative advantages, including next-generation connectivity beyond 5G,frontier technology deployment such as quantumand autonomous systems, and demographictechnology leadership. This also includes operator 01Japan’spathtothedigital era 1.1A legacy of leadership in innovation Japan has long been recognised as a global leader intechnological innovation – a legacy that spans centuriesand continues to shape its modern industrial and digitalcapabilities. The country’s tradition of engineeringingenuity can be traced back to the Edo period(1603–1868), when artisans developed sophisticated transformation was underpinned by forward-lookinggovernment policies, sustained investment in R&D, astrong emphasis on science education, and the strategicadaptation of foreign technologies. Cultural factors, These developments cultivated the technical skills,institutional capacity and innovation culture thatenabled Japan’s rapid industrialisation and positionedit for leadership in emerging technologies. They alsoestablished the technological base from which Japan Building on the industrial foundations establishedin the 19th and early 20th centuries, Japan’stechnological ascent accelerated in the latter half of 1.2Mobile as the foundation for the digital era Japan entered the digital era with innovations inconsumer electronics and early advances in mobileand web technologies, establishing a strong foundationfor the expansion of its digital economy. These werecomplemented by policy frameworks aimed at buildingan advanced digital economy. For example, the e-JapanStrategy I & II1(2001–2005) accelerated the rollout of trillion ($803 billion) that year.4A 2024 survey by METIfurther highlights the momentum: Japan’s B2C and B2Be-commerce markets reache