There has been a growing trend for the resolution of social issues across the world, including the UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). In Japan, Society 5.0 has proposed and been promoted, as a future society that Japan should aspire to. Currently, the Covid-19 pandemic has precipitated an unprecedented global crisis. We need to design a post COVID-19 (New Normal) society. The key is proper use of digital/information technologies. Digital technologies will bring about a paradigm shift that will significantly change our way of thinking and permeate all areas of life and society. From creating a “New Normal” society perspective, sustainability of the earth become increasingly important. Digital /Information technologies ensures safety and sustainability together with rebooting economics. From the “human” perspective, digital will enable each individual—regardless of gender, age, race, or physical disability—to demonstrate their diverse capabilities and be given the opportunities to use those capabilities. This talk introduce some use cases in Japan for creating new values for society. Role of technologies and human will be discussed. As the president of Information Processing Society of Japan, I would also like to touch upon the role of academic society for social innovations.
Katsumi Emura