Japan supports information infrastructure development in Vietnam, ASEAN countries

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) of Japan will expand its support for the development of information infrastructure in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.

Under the initiative, the MIC will assist Japanese companies to expand their operations to Asian countries and strengthen their presence in the ASEAN region. Japan will also support the deployment of the "5G" technology in Vietnam and Indonesia.

The ministry will develop projects to support Vietnam and Indonesia from the 2025 fiscal year. For Indonesia, which plans to relocate its capital, the MIC will consider whether it can provide information network infrastructure support in the new capital Nusantara, which is under construction. The Japanese government reached an agreement with Indonesia on the construction of an information network in October last year.

Japan also signed a memorandum of understanding with Vietnam in August this year to develop a high-speed communication network including 5G.

The MIC is strengthening cooperation with Southeast Asian countries in the field of information. It plans to start information network infrastructure support in the Philippines and Cambodia in the 2024 fiscal year.

The development of information infrastructure will use the "open RAN" technology, combining equipment from multiple manufacturers to build low-cost information infrastructure, in addition to Japanese products.

For Japanese companies, which are lagging behind foreign companies in global market share for 5G-compatible base stations, this could be an opportunity to accelerate the export of information infrastructure overseas.