Survey on Standardization Activities

The standardization of technology plays an important role in the marketization of products and services supplied in various industries. Data collection and its common use are considered important in connected industries, an industry area in which growth is expected in the future. To this end, it is important to standardize data format and information exchange methods.

By understanding how much standardization activities are being conducted by companies, this survey (Survey on Standardization Activities [SoSA]) aims to grasp the activities of companies that are in the process of establishing technical standards. The purpose is to gain insights into managing the standardization activities by determining the impact of such activities. The results will be used in the planning of standardization policies to promote innovation in Japan and internationally. At the same time, the results are expected to be reflected in the relevant policy formulation of the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) of the Japanese government.

The survey is based on the reform of the Japanese standards formation system to which services, in addition to products, are added to the scope of the Industrial Standardization Act of Japan in 2019. Universities, national R&D research institutions, and business organizations are required to make efforts regarding standardization activities outlined in the Act (Article 1 and 70).

Note 1) This is the second implementation following the initial implementation in 2018. A summary of previous results "Results of a survey on standardization activities" is available at RIETI HP https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/publications/summary/19080009.html.

Note 2) This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI (Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research), which is a competitive fund issued by the Japanese government to support research activities (No. 19K01827: Research Representative, Dr. Suguru Tamura, RIETI Senior Fellow).