Japan to encourage data sharing by tech companies to help exports
Japan’s ministry of economy, trade and industry has announced plans to facilitate cooperation and sharing of industrial data among Japanese businesses working in robotics, biotechnology and autonomous driving. The scheme, known as Connected Industries Tokyo Initiative, will include developing frameworks for sharing information between companies and creating large-scale data banks for the use and sharing of industrial data. Hiroshige Seko, the minister of economy, trade and industry, argued that Japanese businesses need to cooperate more to expand into global markets rather just competing at home.
TOKYO -- Japanese businesses dealing in such fields as robotics, biotechnology and autonomous driving will find it easier to cooperate and share industrial data under a new policy initiative announced Monday by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Through its tentatively named Connected Industries Tokyo Initiative, the ministry aims to forge or revise frameworks for sharing information across company boundaries in order to spur tie-ups as well as the development of big-data-driven goods and services.