Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Exhibition Corner at "ITS World Congress Tokyo 2013"

The ITS World Congress Tokyo 2013, bringing together global ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) stakeholders from industry, government, and academia, was held October 14-18 at Tokyo Big Sight in Koto Ward and other venues. Its objectives included solving global transportation challenges and creating business opportunities.

The Road Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) set up an exhibition corner in the West Hall of Tokyo Big Sight to showcase its wide-ranging ITS initiatives, holding an opening ceremony on the 15th.

In his opening remarks, Minister of State for Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Hachiro Nakahara stated, "Japan has pioneered the practical application of car navigation systems and ETC. Moving forward, we will leverage information technology, including big data utilization, to realize a road traffic society that is safe, energy-efficient, and free of congestion."

Guest speaker Minosuke Watanuki, Senior Advisor to the "Parliamentary Group for the Success of ITS World Congress Tokyo 2013," expressed his expectations, stating, "Developing the road network is crucial for effectively utilizing our limited land area, and I hope ITS will play a significant role in this." The opening ribbon-cutting ceremony was then performed by the attendees.

The exhibition area featured the theme "Smartway for Open ITS: Toward Realizing Next-Generation ITS." Panels and videos introduced the "ITS Spot" system, which analyzes big data like driving route information and sudden braking history to identify causes of congestion and accidents and link them to optimal countermeasures. It also covered prospects for automated driving support and the multifaceted deployment of ETC.