Japan sets aside $450 million fund for 6G

Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is setting aside a $450 million budget for fiscal 2023 to fund research into 6G wireless networks. This initiative is aimed at driving private investments.

This funding will be established at the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology to support research and development in the coming years. Japan is expected to roll out 6G in 2030. 6G testbeds are expected to take place by 2026.

By 2025, 5G subscriptions in Japan are projected to surpass 4G connections, as operators NTT Docomo, KDDI, Softbank and Rakuten expand their 5G networks. By then, 5G will become the dominant technology, accounting for about 70% of the total mobile subscriptions, as 4G continues to decline.