[Foreign language]
[Foreign language] I would like to begin by explaining the background that led to this new chapter in our collaborative efforts. The starting point of both NTT and Toyota is a desire to enrich people's lives. [Foreign language] so from that base, our two companies have long provided products and services that enhance the value of mobility of people, goods, and information to help create a safe, secure, and convenient society.
As we enter an era in which cars are linked to society through the advancement of connected technologies, important to greater social diversity in which cars and information and communications are integrated, and it is in this context that the collaboration between our two companies began. First, since 2017, we have been working together to develop technologies necessary to spread connected cars, such as data processing platforms. Since 2020, we have been expanding our scope from cars to communities, working under the theme of creating a foundation for smart cities, and we have deepened our collaborative relationship from a broader perspective of a mobility society, and now, as the next step, we will work together to build an AI and communications infrastructure that will support the mobility society with an aim to accelerate our efforts to change the future of cars.
We intend to create diverse value in mobility by expanding the value of cars and integrating cars into social systems. We believe that the driving force of this effort will be software-defined vehicles, or SDVs. Today, as a car maker, we believe that the most important values that SDVs can provide are safety and security. In other words, contributing to achieving a society with zero traffic accidents. This will also lead to our goal of providing mobility for all. To create safe and secure SDVs that are connected to society, first, our vehicle structure needs to change. Toyota will revise our software platform, Arene, as well as our electronics platform. For example, we will overhaul our electronic control systems to enable the extraction and collection of necessary data through smart and appropriate means of communication, as well as timely updating of software.
Building on these platforms, the key to safe and secure SDVs is the evolution of automated driving technologies that utilize AI and communications. Please take a look at this graph. This is the number of traffic accidents in Japan by type. Over the past decade, accidents have decreased thanks to the widespread use of actively safe technologies. Active safety technologies, rather. However, road collisions still account for a large proportion of vehicle accidents. Further efforts are needed to address the many accidents at intersections with poor visibility or when turning right or left.
Given such realities, we aim to take two approaches. One is data-driven development. We will implement AI that can continuously learn from market-derived driving data and that can generate various driving scenarios and learn with a small set of data. This will enable us to increase simulation accuracy and rapidly improve software, further enhancing the performance of autonomous vehicle control. At the same time, another important initiative in moving closer to a society with zero traffic accidents will be a three-pronged infrastructure collaboration approach. If cars can constantly collect information on infrastructure, people, and other vehicles, we can reduce blind spots that affect many traffic accidents. Also, AI learning that information will make it possible to provide driving assistance that accurately predicts the movements of pedestrians and surrounding vehicles.
Through these efforts, we will work hard to realize a high level of safety and security in a variety of situations, such as preventing poor visibility accidents at urban intersections, allowing for smooth expressway merging, and providing automated driving services that address suburban mobility challenges. We believe we can step closer to a society with zero traffic accidents in a three-pronged approach by utilizing AI and communications more for cars. To achieve this, we will build three foundations as a Mobility AI Platform. One is the development of distributed computing resources or data centers. We calculate that as the number of SDVs increases, our necessary communications volume will grow 22x and computational volume 150x by 2030 compared to today. We will establish distributed data centers to support this enormous computational volume by utilizing NTT's IOWN technology. The next is highly reliable next-generation communications.
With AI determining in real-time the optimal communication method according to the traffic environment, we will create the foundation for high-speed, seamless communications necessary for three-pronged infrastructure collaboration. Lastly, is an AI platform. Based on data collected using computational resources and a communications infrastructure, we will create AI models leading to the implementation of various services, such as automated driving and AI agents and the creation of new value. NTT and Toyota will work toward fully constructing their Mobility AI Platform by 2030, and through open innovation, we will work with a view toward standardization so that we can promote the use of our Mobility AI Platform with many partners. Through this collaboration, NTT and Toyota will take a major step toward changing the future of cars. President Shimada values the power of people and taking up challenges above all else to give the world new value.
I feel exactly the same. We believe that the future is for us to build together. I'm very encouraged to be able to take on, with our like-minded partner NTT, this challenge of creating social infrastructure that will enrich people's lives. We will change the future of cars with AI and communications. From here, I would like to ask President Shimada to provide us with details on our initiatives.
My name is Shimada, the President and CEO of NTT. Thank you for joining us at this joint press conference for NTT and Toyota Motor Company . We appreciate your joining us today. For integrating cars and telecommunications, we will create a social infrastructure that enriches people's lives. After our meeting with Mr. Sato, the President of Toyota Motor , we were able to once again identify, share, and identify our vision for collaboration between the two companies.
And we want to further evolve this vision. We are very excited to be able to take the first step toward making this vision further reality with Toyota Motor Company. In Toyota Motor's presentation, there was reference about the vision and the concept primarily. So, I would like to explain about the technology that will make all this a reality. We also want to transform vehicles with AI and communications, becoming smarter and safer. Continuous collection of information on vehicles to drivers and infrastructure such as roads for use in AI learning. We will make cars even more smarter and safer. So, making AI and platforms that support mobility more sustainable, that is what we want to achieve. So, we will realize sustainability through local production for local consumption of renewable energy for distributed data centers and low-power-consuming networks and infrastructure.
Through this data set, we intend to realize sustainability going forward. Now, the key to achieving this is NTT's concept entitled IOWN. IOWN is a next-generation communications infrastructure that goes beyond limitations of existing infrastructure by collecting data from cars and people on the move and from towns and achieving high-speed, low-power processing of vast amounts of data. IOWN is made up of three elements. The first element is an All-Photonics Network, a wireless network that connects everything at high speed with low latency. The second is Digital Twin Computing , which makes highly accurate predictions through various simulations, and the third is the Cognitive Foundation, which connects everything and optimizes ICT resources. The three technological elements of IOWN are key technologies that are essential for achieving a prosperous and sustainable mobility society.
We will be able to anticipate the mobility society by acquiring large amounts of data in real-time from car cameras and sensors via a low-latency network and then simulating the car data using Digital Twin Computing . We will then optimize the whole system using the Cognitive Foundation, and by efficiently using these three foundations with low power consumption, we believe that we will be able to realize these concepts. Owing to the low latency and high-capacity, high-quality features of IOWN, it will now be possible to continue to collect the ever-changing information from vehicles in motion on a real-time basis, and due to its overwhelming power efficiency, it will be possible to collect and process data with low power consumption. It will also function as a mobility infrastructure that enriches people's lives by integrating mobility and information and communications. NTT is providing network services on a global scale.
For example, we have submarine cable , which offers the fastest speed of 400 gigabits per second. We also have more than 200 POPs in different locations around the world. We also have the IP transit network , which is Tier 1. We are able to offer connectivity that covers the whole world. We are also the world's third-largest data center provider, operating 202 data center buildings in 149 locations in more than 20 countries and regions. As you can see, NTT Group already has the global connectivity and data centers necessary to create a social infrastructure that enriches people's lives through the integration of mobility and information communications. First, we will build a computing infrastructure in data centers in Japan and connect it with IOWN. This is a distributed computing infrastructure that accumulates and processes vast amounts of data collected from vehicles and other sources.
Next, in order to collect data from vehicles in real- time, we will utilize the network provided by NTT, select the most appropriate communication using AI, and collect various data by linking people, mobility, and infrastructure through seamless communications. LMM, Large Mobility Data Model, is a mobility AI that learns from vast amounts of data from human mobility infrastructures. LMM provides mobility solutions by directly inputting and analyzing not only language but also various multimodal data. Combining such AI, we will create an affluent society with diverse mobility services such as zero traffic accidents, advanced automated driving, and people-oriented AI agents. Toyota and NTT will build a Mobility AI Platform consisting of distributed computing infrastructure, intelligent communications infrastructure, and AI platform.
The results of the collaboration to date, as well as the technologies and know-how that both companies have cultivated through R&D, will be utilized to realize a safe and secure future mobility society. Finally, let me present the roadmap. Toyota and NTT will start developing a Mobility AI Platform starting today, and from around 2028, together with various partners, we will begin social implementation of a mobility society initiative based on a three-pronged infrastructure collaboration approach, aiming for widespread expansion after 2030. By 2030, the two companies will invest JPY 500 billion to vigorously promote this initiative. Toyota and NTT are envisioning the future of mobility, AI, and communications to create a better world and prosperous society. We want to increase the number of people who support this initiative and expand the circle of this initiative. That is how we see it.
I sincerely hope that President Sato's desire to change the future of automobiles will be realized one by one through the human power of both companies and our partners to create a livable Earth and an affluent society. We hope you will look forward to our future efforts. Thank you very much for your attention.
[Foreign language] We will be moving on to the Q&A session. Please bear with us as we prepare the scene for the, as we prepare the stage, rather, for the Q&A session. Please bear with us. We are preparing the stage for the Q&A session. Thank you for your patience. [Foreign language] Thank you. We would like to start the Q&A session. [Foreign language] And invite all the attendees to take the stage. Please join us on the stage. [Foreign language] First, the attendees. [Foreign language] From Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation , Mr. Akira Shimada, President and CEO.
[Foreign language] Executive Vice President, Ms. Sachiko Onishi. From Toyota Motor Company, Mr. Koji Sato, President and CEO. Also from Toyota Motor Company. From Toyota Motor Company, Mr. Keiji Yamamoto, Senior Fellow. I'd like to ask the attendees to take the seats now. Thank you. Now, let us begin the question- and-answer session. We will first take the questions from those media representatives who are on site. For the questions, please raise your hand. Please wait for the microphone to be brought over to you. When you're designated, please state your name and affiliation, and then go on to your question. We'd like to ask that you limit yourself to two questions at a time so that we will take questions from as many people as possible. So we look forward to your cooperation.
Let's start from the person in the third row. The person in the striped shirt. Please go ahead with your question.
Thank you very much. My name is Nishizono from NHK. I'd like to ask the President the following question. First, automobiles and telecommunications. Can you talk about the meaning of the combination between cars and telecommunications? Also, can you talk about the significance of the three-pronged approach as well? And also, how do you see the traffic accidents? What type of society would you like to create in the face of the traffic accidents-related challenges?
May I start? Thank you. [Foreign language] Myself, Sato would like to respond to your question. And thank you for your question, by the way. Let me address the first question. The meaning of this collaboration between cars, autos, and telecommunications as mentioned at the outset. Creating three-pronged mobility society.
This is a very important vision, I believe. Up until now, we've focused on safety and security, and we've been focused on autonomous mobility, technology evolution. We've been working on advancing such technology on a standalone basis. We need more advanced, self-sufficient mobility environment. In order to do that, we need to make sure that mobility and autos, mobility and cars can come together to create infrastructure for the society. So that being the case, we believe that our collaboration with NTT as partners will be very significant. It will be very significant in terms that both companies will be involved in creating the necessary infrastructure to realize our society. Let me jump to your second question about the traffic accidents. How do we see the challenges presenting to traffic accidents? I showed you the graph in the presentation.
With the advances in technology, the total number of accidents have been declining. But then, as the graph also indicates, we now see the saturation in the drop , in the declining rate of the accidents. So going forward, how do we further reduce accidents? If we want to, it's about that we need to anticipate the potential risks. If we want to further reduce the accidents, so we need to change from passive to a more active mode. We need to anticipate various requirements, I believe. So that is. So in order to address these issues, I believe that we'll be able to have technological developments between the two companies that will be very meaningful. And so what type of society would you like to achieve? In one word, okay, so as I said, mobility, safety, and security. That is the top priority for creating a secure mobility society.
That is the most important priority for us. Thank you.
Thank you. Allow me to respond. Shimada here. Yes, three-pronged approach. People, mobility, and infrastructure. Indeed, we need to make sure that we create that in the overall environment. We need to create infrastructure and basis for that. Conventionally, autos, telecommunications, telecommunications, we had independent positions, independent categories, but if we can bring these together, then we'll be able to combine the three elements in the three-pronged approach. For that purpose, as mentioned by Mr. Sato right now, we need to focus on securing safety and security for the people, and I believe we are partners that we can share this very important concept together. At the same time, the infrastructure which gives the foundation for such evolution will be achieved. We must aim for a more sustainable society, so that being the case, we have been working.
We've been advocating the notion of potential challenges to converge devices. By using those devices, we can actually offer such infrastructure based on a low power consumption basis. I believe that will contribute to the pursuit of sustainability. I believe we will be able to respond to the requirements of the society through such initiatives. The new collaboration between Toyota Motor Company and NTT will really be a way for creating new value for the future. This will represent one major step towards achieving that goal. Thank you.
[Foreign language] Next towards the right area, the front row in gray jacket, please.
[Foreign language] This is Yao from Nippon Keizai Newspaper, Nikkei Newspaper. Thank you. I have two questions. First, a question to President Sato of Toyota. [Foreign language] so in this initiative, you talked about autonomous driving. [Foreign language] The driverless driving development competition is occurring around the world.
And what is the axis, the foundation of your development in autonomous driving? And second question. [Foreign language] for both presidents, the standardization of mobility you talked. So in your initiative, will this standardization be in Japan, or are you looking to the world? And if there is a blueprint or roadmap, if you are going to go global with this. Thank you very much.
[Foreign language] Thank you. [Foreign language] So allow me to go first. So Toyota's view on autonomous driving. [Foreign language] First, our thinking on autonomous driving is autonomous driving is just a method. [Foreign language] The safe and secure mobility society is the starting point. So this three-pronged environment needs to be established. And as one method, autonomous driving will play a role. We are an automotive manufacturer. So when we think of autonomous driving, we have to be people-centered. That is an unwavering stance.
In other words, rather than resorting to the driving to the environment and infrastructure, we always need to be people-centered. [Foreign language] and by doing so, the freedom of mobility can be secured. But we cannot do this in one go. [Foreign language] It's not about aiming certain level like we did in the past. We need to be people-centered autonomous driving so secure, safe and secure driving environment is the KPI. [Foreign language] The ideal situation cannot be developed overnight. We need to resolve the challenges one by one, and as we enhance the level of driving, we will be able to realize this in the world. Thank you very much.
[Foreign language] Allow me to answer your question, your second question. [Foreign language] First, our initiative. [Foreign language] We will first lay the groundwork for the standardization in Japan, and then, of course, think of the global expansion.
[Foreign language] The regulation and the traffic situation and communication circumstances differ from country to country. So we want to first build the base model in Japan. [Foreign language] So Mobility AI Platform is the name we have given to this platform. [Foreign language] This is one infrastructure. [Foreign language] We want partners. [Foreign language] We do not think we can develop this just with the two of us. We need to partner with various stakeholders and players to build this platform. [Foreign language] So first, we will work with various partners in Japan and focus on establishing this platform. Of course, both Toyota and NTT are global companies operating in a global environment. So at a later stage, we want to go global.
Thank you very much. [Foreign language] Other questions? [Foreign language] Next question, please. The person in the navy blue jacket, please.
[Foreign language] My name is Abe from TV Tokyo. Thank you for this opportunity. My first question is addressed to Mr. Sato. If I may ask Mr. Sato the following question. He talked about the three-pronged approach, and he talked about continuous connection. This concept, I believe, [Foreign language] . It overlaps with that. [Foreign language] . The Woven City concept as well. So I have different ideas to actually implement what you did, what you're doing with NTT into this Woven City project as well going forward. My second question is addressed to Mr. Shimada. He talked about how you want to expand the number of partners going forward. So I think creating partnership is the key to your own project, isn't it? So on relating that, from 2028, you mentioned that you want to pursue partnership with a large number of parties and partners. What specific verticals or industries are you focusing on in terms of partnerships? Thank you very much. Those are my two questions. Thank you.
[Foreign language] Thank you for your question. Myself, Sato, would like to respond to your first question. [Foreign language] So the relationship between this new collaboration and our Woven City initiative, NTT and Toyota Motor Company are partnering. With regard to partners as Woven City projects, we're already pursuing consideration with concrete in concrete manner. Now, Woven City is about people-centric concept, and we want to test mobility. These are the major missions for this Woven City project. So through this collaboration, if concrete collaboration emerges, then we can actually be able to test that in the Woven City context. As far as the timeline is concerned, as was mentioned by Mr. Shimada, we have certain timelines in place, and we hope that we'll be able to work each concrete theme one by one against that backdrop of schedule. Thank you.
Thank you. Mr. Abe, thank you. Thank you for your question. I would like to respond to your question about IOWN. You mentioned that, yes, the key concept behind IOWN is about partnership, and we thank you for your understanding that concept. Now, we have 150 companies that belong to the global IOWN program, and the number of partners are increasing as we speak.
Now, creating a Mobility AI Platform. IOWN Global Forum will not be directly involved in the creation of this Mobility AI Platform. That is the topic of today's presentation. However, we are considering various test cases, possible cases in the context of IOWN Global Forum. So with regard to potentially mobility use case, there might be room for consideration. I think it could be linked. But having said that, if we want to start creating the foundation here in Japan, then the members of the Global Forum are actually global members.
Of course, there are many Japanese companies that are members of the Global Forum. But I think we might also have to ask for participation from other Japanese companies as well. So I think we need to embark on creating new partnerships. That new initiative, that new work will be needed. I mentioned that we will be starting from 2028. That schedule was provided in the material earlier. But maybe from a much earlier phase, maybe we could actually start working on partnerships that would be willing to offer assistance. We mentioned that we'll be seeking partnerships in very broad industries. Software. We need partnerships in software, for example. We also need more, perhaps, partnerships in other industries. We need to work with people that offer physical infrastructure as well. We need to consider partnerships in all different types of areas.
So I think we need to consult fully with Mr. Sato as we consider that. Thank you.
Thank you very much. [Foreign language] Any other questions? So right side, second from the front, at the wall, please.
[Foreign language] Mizushima is my name. I have questions to two presidents. So from 2025, AI mobility platform development will start, and from 2028, you will work with partners. Collaboration with other partners. So to realize this, the format of the two companies' collaboration if you could share with us anything, I would appreciate it. And when you build partnership, IOWN Global Forum, are you going to build something of that sort? Thank you.
Thank you very much for the question. So first of all, the format and the scheme. [Foreign language] We do not have a concrete idea on what it will look like yet. [Foreign language] So the most effective and quickest forum needs to be discussed and decided going forward. One option is to set up a joint venture, but another option is to do this on a project basis. [Foreign language] First, w e will gather experts from both companies [Foreign language] and f orm a project team.
I think that will be the starting point. [Foreign language] But the operational format further down the road will need to be considered as we move forward. So I'm sorry, but I cannot share with you a clear picture on what this will look like. But we have to be speedy. [Foreign language] So we should not just start from a fixed format. We will start from some action and go from there. [Foreign language] Whether we should set up a Global Forum or a new forum of group [Foreign language] where the members can participate. We're not sure yet, but IOWN Global Forum is characterized by the fact that it's headquartered in Japan. [Foreign language] So we will think of the optimal form this time around. Thank you.
[Foreign language] May I?
Yes, of course.
[Foreign language] Thank you for the question. [Foreign language] So if I could add to that comment. [Foreign language] The content. We are still at the initial feasibility study to think of the content. So rather than thinking of the format, we are still trying to launch a project right away so that we can share ideas right away. Nakajima-san. Or NTT side. Kawazoe-san. Vital leaders. Energetic leaders . So we are discussing very frankly and deeply. And Yamamoto-san is also involved from our side. And we are already starting to put the issues and points into perspective. So over time, we will have a clear view on the format we should have.
Thank you very much. Next question, please. Next question, please. The person in the black p ull over, thank you.
Higashimoto from KYODO NEWS . Thank you for this opportunity. I'd like to ask two questions. You talked about how you want to expand new partnerships from around 2028. Correction, 2028. And you also talked about the possibility of global operations down the road. [Foreign language] Specific organizations or companies would you like for this need to be used? For other automakers. Are you envisioning usage by automakers other than Toyota? Is there a possibility? Another question. You mentioned about IOWN. You talked about the Global Forum at IOWN. And you mentioned that this was based in the United States. [Foreign language] But China and Russia. [Foreign language] I think you've included these two markets in your evolution. How do you see China and Russia in your global operations going down the line? Thank you.
[Foreign language] Allow me to respond to your first question. [Foreign language] I'd like to show you one of the PowerPoints. [Foreign language] Please bear with us. We want to show you a PowerPoint. [Foreign language] Can you see it? I hope you can see it. [Foreign language] Yes, thank you.
[Foreign language] This is the total picture of the infrastructure which we are trying to create. This is the structure of the infrastructure which we are to create. And in the middle, you'll find. AI [Foreign language] Optimal telecommunication sector. Correction, optimal telecommunication option through real-time AI. This will be created by NTT and Toyota. But this will not be fully complete. We need partners. We need to work to intermingle that will link to this. This is AI. Now, this domain. We should not wait until 2028 to work on this. We need to consider [Foreign language] a pproaching companies in open mind who can take part in these domains. Maybe this could then be a potential competition as well. It could be the services being considered by various companies. What are they? What type of infrastructure can we create? I think this is a competitive domain.
But with regard to this foundation, which will be served by Toyota and NTT, this will be a collaboration domain. So this is a point that we robustly create telecommunication infrastructure through strong leadership of two companies. But if other companies are interested in taking part in that, we want to make sure that they are encouraged to take part. With regard to the actual telecommunication part, the end-to-end communication part. We have various parties and operators that are involved in this. So within that framework, we want to approach various parties. So it's important that we create this total picture as soon as possible. So that's how we want to address this situation. Would you like to add?
Yes, thank you. Thank you for your question. As I was mentioned by Mr. Shimada earlier, the technological development, one is to make sure that we create a strong computation infrastructure. We'll be using AI. We also want to make sure that we also create distributed computation infrastructure as well. This technological development we need to work on.
Now, once the distributed computational infrastructure is created, who will take part in that? [Foreign language] This will be a relationship where we ask people to leverage our own technology, which means that we need to be very open and make sure that we are able to have the facility to understand among different parties so that they'll be willing to take part. Also, continuous mobile connection. This is also very important as well. We need to create telecom infrastructure, telecom technology, which has not existed up until now. It's important that we have telecommunication infrastructure that can offer information at any given time.
We need connected, we need connection, seamless. [Foreign language] In the auto domain, it's either connected or not connected, but that's not the case. We need to make sure that we offer smart. It's important that we offer seamless connection. So the upper layer needs to be developed. Once we create this upper layer technology, then we hope that various telecom players will be able to leverage that and use that technology. So that being the case, we are looking for partners, and we want to expand the partnerships in this area in this manner.
Thank you. If I could confirm, what about automakers other than Toyota? Are you considering delivery of these services to automakers other than Toyota?
Yes, we're considering some standardization. We want to make sure that the telecommunications technology becomes standard. Not limited just to Japan, but it's important that there should be standard.
Should be global standardization. This is important that we hope that we can encourage other automakers also to take use, to make use of this technology. If I may, let me address the wireless environment. We are now involved in creating an R&D called Cradio in the mobile communication. This is technology where you'll be able to choose the most optimal technology at any given environment, which means that you're able to enjoy seamless mobile connection through this technology. So that's the service which we are trying to develop right now. Now, what are the elements that are the structures of this technology? From last year, for example. [Foreign language] You're able to have double SIM cards in your mobile phones. And you can also have a connection to different carriers, which serves as a backup connection.
So I think it's important that there be continuous backup technology for the mobile environment. And you need to be able to make the optimal mobile connection choice. So that's the infrastructure which we need to provide, offering the most optimal mobile connection. We need partners in this domain. Absolutely. [Foreign language] Also, I cannot talk about the political situation. [Foreign language] It's important that we find partners with whom we share the same values.
It's important that we subtly expand business with partners with whom we share common values. [Foreign language] Because of the current political situation on the global, [Foreign language] o n the global scene, we're not sure how to sustain the current political situation will be. We cannot expand our own services at one goal on a global basis. So we need to start with partners with whom we share common values. That's probably the best way to go forward. Thank you. Thank you.
[Foreign language] Thank you very much. [ Foreign language] Next, we would like to receive questions from the online participants. [ Foreign language] if you have questions from the online, please press the raise hand button. We will call your name. If your name is called, please turn your microphone on. [ Foreign language] So, MONOist reporter, please go ahead.
[Foreign language] Yes, IT media. MONOist, my name is Park. Thank you very much. Yes. [ Foreign language] So I have a question to Mr. Yamamoto, Senior Fellow. Yamamoto-san, ITS Japan. You are the Chair of ITS Japan. This time, infrastructure is related. So, like President Sato said, standardization. So ITS Japan will be involved here.
[ Foreign language] Thank you very much, Mr. Park, for your question. [ Foreign language] So ITS infrastructure, [ Foreign language], t he communication platform, [ Foreign language] and t he information processing computational platform will be included in the ITS infrastructure going forward, especially with regards to the communication platform. Standardization and dissemination is one mission. ITS Japan's activity and this activity need to be linked. I want to work hard on that.
[ Foreign language] In case of ITS Japan, there's a global congress, there's global connection. When you think of spreading this global, there's already a roadmap or a channel. Is that the right way of looking at this? [ Foreign language] Your question is thinking of the global connection, how we think of the globalizing this? [ Foreign language] ITS Japan can perhaps play that role. [ Foreign language] In each region, for example, ITS America and ERTICO, a similar organization exists in Europe. The three regions group have periodic interaction with the related industries to come up with new measures, new ideas. And so in this forum, we can bring and present the ideas from Japan.
Thank you very much. [ Foreign language] Thank you. [ Foreign language] We'd like to come back to questions from the press who are here on site. Please raise your hand if you have any questions. [ Foreign language] Let's go on to the gentleman from the second row on the right-hand side.
Thank you. Yamamoto from Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun. Thank you for your call. Thank you for this opportunity. I'll ask the question to both presidents. First, the JPY 500 billion investment scale. What type of investment, what type of items will be included in the investment, and how do you intend to divide the amount between the two companies? Also, from 2030 onwards.
[ Foreign language] What type of investment do you think will be necessary after 2030? I thank you. That's my first question.
[ Foreign language] Yes, thank you. [ Foreign language] So what type of spending are we considering? I think all these foundations will require spending. As far as the ratio is concerned, computation foundation of infrastructure platform will be requiring a lot of investment. With regard to the AI platform, I think we need to develop software. So we need investment related to software. With regard to the telecommunication platform, as I mentioned earlier, we need to offer the way to offer connection to the most optimal wireless technology connection. [ Foreign language] I think all these three layers will be requiring some sort of investment. [ Foreign language] Develop by 2030 and onwards. But for the time being, we want to focus on Japan in the creation of this foundation here in Japan.
But with regard to software, I think we can consider global activities, global operations based on software. So going forward, [ Foreign language] how do we locate computational platform? It will depend on that. So after 2030, how do we expand globally? Depending on how we expand globally, I think this will have an impact on the method of investment. And if we do expand globally, we will need some sort of investment at that juncture.
Yes, thank you. Yes, I think Mr. Shimada responded very eloquently to this question. Now, the two companies will invest, of course, for the time being. The number of JPY 500 billion is out there. But I think we need investment in the peripheral environment as well. So I think going forward, we need to consider concrete investments. I think we want to be fixated on the number of JPY 500 billion.
What is important is that with this number, can we really demonstrate that we're very earnest in wanting to create great infrastructure? We hope that you will see. So what about the division of the investment? So yes, I think we'll take instead of 50/50, yes. I think it'll be 50/50, but yes, both take responsibility in the investment.
My question to Mr. Shimada as well. I think you're doing tsuzumi and other. You also have strengths that are unique to NTT. Are you going to leverage your strength in the world of Gen AI as well?
I think in principle, as far as AI is concerned. Well, let me see. There's the notion of AI constellation. It's not just limited to tsuzumi. For example, we are also pursuing decentralized processing, and we can pursue lightweight technology.
But if we are to address severely large-scale technology, then we need to consider the different options. In order to avoid hallucination, I think we need to come up with several different types of AIs. Only send anything that you can add. Yes, thank you. I think if we want to make AI, one single AI, penicillin, that doesn't require a lot of consumption. So depending on, then we need to create an AI model for its fit to purpose, depending on the requirement. So right now, we have AI that are focused on specific solutions. We also combine different AIs and also create new values. This will allow us to pursue this solution based on low power consumption and high efficiency. So I think we need to pursue the best mix to create high accuracy with AI based on low power consumption. That's very required. [Foreign language] Thank you.
[Foreign language] Thank you very much. Any other questions? So this side, third from the front, in a gray jacket, please.
Thank you. I have one question. To President Sato or Mr. Yamamoto. So the collaboration first is to aim for a society with zero traffic accidents. Page two, line five of the handout, the AI agent that will encourage or dissuade the dangerous act. So will this be people, I think? Toyota has had an agent function from 2018. So as an AI agent, what kind of HMI do you have, and what kind of function do you want to offer so that we can reduce the traffic accident to zero?
So allow me to start, and then Yamamoto-san will follow. So people-centered autonomous driving. [Foreign language] behavioral prediction, and vital so these are the information that cannot be utilized, that are not utilized yet.
It's only CAN communication that we're doing internally, and there's so much more data internally and externally. That will be leveraged so that we can have a guidance or support for the decision for the people's behavior. That we can have a prediction type behavior. This will lead to a more safe and secure traffic situation. For example, where the traffic merges during congestion or a black ice , a bad climate, or a truck, driving behind a truck with a large cargo. What is the emotion or mental balance or physical balance are the drivers in? If we can have a comprehensive understanding of that, we can take action, and we can serve as an agent to communicate that to the driver. We've been introducing this agent from 2018. It's Agent, that's the product name, but it's navigation support.
So POI search or the guidance of route. This agent this time is people-centered. And so we need to understand the customers well and then give the advice necessary for driving. For example, when the driving is cumbersome, there is a phone call. And you go, "Oh, so the driving scene should be considered. You should not just do anything." So people-centered AI agent will be leveraged for safer driving.
Thank you very much. I am Nishimura from Japan Automobile Journalists Association. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Next question, please. Yes, the person in the light blue colored shirt.
I'm a journalist. I have a question to both CEOs. Will the user cost be increasing as a result of this collaboration? You talked about investment of JPY 500 billion. At the end of the day, the cars increase with DCM innovation. Maybe the cost will still be incurred with the data costs increasing. Can you talk about the possible image of impact on the user burden?
Thank you for your question. I think responsibility depends on future work. AI mobility infrastructure. And I think we should not, as an assumption, we should not think about passing on the cost. So we're not passing on the cost to customers. How do we generate the necessary revenues to cover this? So for example, if this initiative becomes a reality, vehicle system costs will change because autonomous control will be done. You don't need to. You can have vehicle network without such total coverage. So if this increases, then the cost on the part of the cars will also change. And also software development and lean development will become much more leaner.
So I think there will be impact on the development area as well, so we need to have a comprehensive view and see how we need to identify where we're going to share the cost.
Yes, thank you. You asked about cost, so yes, it's important that we cover. We need to include the cost because we're involved in this level of investment, but then, we're talking about creating a very long-term infrastructure for the future society, so I think we're going to see cost will probably be spread wide and thin. We want to avoid a situation where we have to see increase in cost. We need to create a system where we can cover the cost, recoup the cost steadily, and also we're going to recoup the cost. We need to make sure that we offer returns so that the people are willing to bear the cost.
I think that's the norm of any given society. So I think we need to approach this from a long-term perspective. We need to recoup the cost over a long-term vision and then generate necessary expenses so that can be reinvested for the future. So that type of cycle is probably the best. Thank you.
Thank you. [Foreign language] Any other questions? [Foreign language] so left side, third from the front, person in light blue and black jacket, please.
Nikkei BP, Nikkei Automotive. My name is Honda. Thank you very much. I have two questions. So this is related to the earlier question. [Foreign language] Autonomous Driving Development Foundation . So in ADAS, the U.S., China, the camera vision in AI, autonomous driving approach is now spreading. [Foreign language] you talked about mobility AI like LLM. [Foreign language] Will this enable end-to-end autonomous driving systems? So first of all, President Sato and Yamamoto-san, please.
[Foreign language] Thank you very much. [Foreign language] Autonomous driving, we tend to discuss what to do with autonomous driving, but the underlying cause is building a safe and secure society. It's just a method, but we need to enhance and sophisticate this. To do that, we need a lighter weight LMM that goes deeper into mobility, that will speed up the development and to optimize the development. [Foreign language] from that perspective, AI will be used as an axis in this initiative. Based on that assumption, the surrounding environment evolution needs to be considered.
Thank you. Another question is again to President Sato or Yamamoto-san. Toyota, in 2025, will have software platform Arene in the new models. That and this initiative, are they connected? When Arene is matured, it will be introduced. Is there any connection or vision between these two?
[Foreign language] Thank you very much for the question. [Foreign language] so in this overall framework, Arene is the automotive OS, onboard OS, to ease the connection. [Foreign language] So that is the purpose. So the development efficiency, or a quick update, will be built, prepared with Arene. We need to develop the infrastructure platform, and develop the OS that will function on top of that. It is a layer. It will be a layer structure. [Foreign language] So we will work on this comprehensively.
Thank you. [Foreign language] I didn't mean this to be like LLM. It is a different concept. It's a Large Mobility Data Model.
That's what I said. So it is a broader concept than LLM, including the conventional AI and more multimodal data collection method. We are including all that. So it's not the current LLM as it stands.
Understood. Thank you.
[Foreign language] we will take one last question. To the person in the white shirt, we'll go to you, sir. Please wait for the microphone.
Thank you very much. [audio distortion] from Impress Magazine. I have two questions. First, I believe in March 2020, Mr. Sawada and Mr. Toyoda began with the equity investment. It's been four years since the announcement of that investment. And you're now expanding this concept. Can you talk about the catalyst? The technological development that led to the expansion of the scope of your collaboration? Now, last year, there was a year where the traffic accidents were significantly increased. So can you talk about the backdrop as to why you decided to expand the scope of this collaboration further? Thank you.
Thank you for the question. [Foreign language] is this collaboration? [Foreign language] We went to a major milestone back in 2020, as you mentioned. Mr. Toyoda, Mr. Sawada, the two presidents at that time, they discussed possible collaboration based on mobility. They wanted to shift from mobility to society. They want to create a society that is integrated with mobility. And if both parties could work, then both companies, through their collaboration, can contribute to creating a more safe and secure society. So that big vision started out in 2020.
Based on that assumption, working-style consideration really began. Correction, working-level consideration study really began. So the telecom environment and the mobility environment has shifted significantly over the past couple of years. So I think now the time has become ripe for further collaboration. What's important is the cause. What is the overall, what is the goal based on which we are working in this collaboration?
When we take a look at the traffic accident situation, we are still at a situation where the traffic accidents are not decreasing significantly. So we need more in order to further advance safety and security. We need more. There's a limit as to what autonomous traffic can do on their own. So NTT and Toyota, they share the same cause, the same goal, working on the same aspiration. So both parties could present their respective ideas. They're not being the total right answer, but we want to embark on this collaboration. And that momentum has been the momentum. It's the impetus for this current collaboration announcement. Naturally, going forward, there are many challenges. There are many outstanding challenges that we need to address. So some will be difficult. Not all will be straightforward. But what's most important is that we share the same goal.
We share the same goal and aspiration. That is very critical. So I very much hope that we'll, I very much hope that you'll be able to understand our initiative and collaboration.
Thank you so much for your question. [Foreign language] I totally agree with what Mr. Sato just mentioned. These are my thoughts exactly. [Foreign language] About six months ago, we decided we should take this collaboration further. [Foreign language] How do we advance? [Foreign language] Actually, we had serious discussions over the past six months as to how we can concretely put, where we can concretely advance. And today's press conference is the result of that consideration. Yes, you mentioned 2020, but even before that, in the field of connected car simulation, we were working together. Toyota and NTT has been working for a very long time. [Foreign language] In terms of various demonstrations. [Foreign language] We've been involved in such collaboration. And so.
So there has been a significant accumulation of efforts up until that point in time. So I think we shared the same result. Our aspirations are the same. [Foreign language] Yes, we shared the same aspirations. So I just hope that you will help people understand the situation in a very warm light. Thank you.
Thank you very much. [Foreign language] It is now the end of the scheduled time, so we will close the Q&A session now. If you could stand up on the stage. [Foreign language] Thank you very much for a ttending this long press conference, thank you for staying till the end. [Foreign language] So please come down from the stage.