Japan is setting up a fund to support research into next-generation 6G wireless networks, according to Nikkei.

Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications will allocate 66.2 billion yen (approximately RMB 3.264 billion) in its second supplementary corrected budget for fiscal year 2023. The fund will be established at the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) to provide financial support for research and development over the next few years.

According to current blueprints, 6G technology is expected to offer communication speeds more than 10 times faster than the current 5G standard. This technology is said to reduce power consumption compared to 5G and help advance carbon reduction efforts, and is expected to be available/commercial by around 2030.China's Huawei, Sweden's Ericsson and Finland's Nokia currently control more than 70% of the global mobile base station market. Although Japanese companies are competitive in some of the components used in these base stations, they are currently unable to gain a foothold in this sector.

The advantage that can be seen at present is that Japan has advanced optical communications technology that is expected to form the backbone of the communications base for 6G networks. By assisting with R&D efforts, the Japanese government will also seek to further consolidate its technological advantage.

Beyond this, the global development race is heating up. From 2021 to 2027, the EU is investing €900 million (approximately RMB 6.48 billion) in research and development. From 2021 to 2025, Germany will invest €700 million (approximately RMB 5.04 billion) in its own research, and China is also working fast on related research.