-Contributing to safe data management in the fields of genomic research and medicine-

Toshiba Corporation, Tohoku University Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization (ToMMo), Tohoku University Hospital, and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) have developed a distributed storage technology that combines quantum cryptography communication and secret sharing technologies, successfully demonstrating the world’s first experimental large-scale genome analysis data backup to multiple sites. These technologies will allow data backup that prevents data leaks and tampering over long periods and are expected to contribute to safe data management in the fields of genomic research and medicine.

- New material platform for large-scale integration of superconducting qubits -

Researchers at the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT, President: TOKUDA Hideyuki, Ph.D.), in collaboration with researchers at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST, President: Dr. ISHIMURA Kazuhiko) and the Tokai National Higher Education and Research System Nagoya University (President: Dr. MATSUO Seiichi) have succeeded in developing an all-nitride superconducting qubit using epitaxial growth on a silicon substrate that does not use aluminum as the conductive material. This qubit uses niobium nitride (NbN) with a superconducting transition temperature of 16 K (-257 °C) as the electrode material, and aluminum nitride (AlN) for the insulating layer of the Josephson junction. It is a new type of qubit made of all-nitride materials grown epitaxially on a silicon substrate and free of any amorphous oxides, which are a major noise source. By realizing this new material qubit on a silicon substrate, long coherence times have been obtained: an energy relaxation time (T₁) of 16 microseconds and a phase relaxation time (T₂) of 22 microseconds as the mean values. This is about 32 times T₁ and about 44 times T₂ of nitride superconducting qubits grown on a conventional magnesium oxide substrate.

Providing information for Marunouchi Street Park 2021 Summer Event Manager & Visiting Attendees

The National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience (NIED; Haruo HAYASHI, President), the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT; Hideyuki TOKUDA, President), Japan Weather Association (JWA; Ken HARUTA, Chairman), Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. (Shinichi HIROSE, President), Tokio Marine dR Co., Ltd. (Taizo SHIMAKURA, President & CEO), and Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd.(Junichi YOSHIDA, President & CEO) will conduct a proof-of-concept experiment to provide responsive weather forecasts with a 30-min lead time for event managers and attendees during the Marunouchi Street Park 2021 Summer event held from August 2nd to September 12th.

- Hijacking the command neuron governs Pavlovian conditioning -

The group lead by Executive Researcher, YOSHIHARA Motojiro, and Senior Researcher, SAKURAI Akira, at the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Kobe (NICT, President: TOKUDA Hideyuki, Ph.D.) unraveled a neural correlate of Pavlovian conditioning. The feeding command neuron, which was discovered by the same group in the brain of fruit flies (Nature, 2013)1, was found to be hijacked by an originally-independent stimulus, leading to the conditioned response. Furthermore, the experimental system of Pavlovian conditioning made possible real-time observation of cell-cell connection for memory formation.
These results were published in Current Biology at 11 AM on August 4 (US Eastern Standard Time) in 2021.

The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT, President: TOKUDA Hideyuki, Ph.D.), Sumitomo Osaka Cement Co., Ltd. (President: MOROHASHI　Hirotsune), and Waseda University (President: TANAKA Aiji) jointly developed the first transparent fiber-millimeter-wave-fiber system in the 100-GHz band using a low-loss broadband optical modulator with direct photonic down-conversion. The developed broadband modulator and photonic down-conversion technology were utilized to successfully demonstrate a high-speed transmission of more than 70 Gbit/s over a wired and wireless converged system consisting of two optical fiber links and a 20 m radio link at 101 GHz.

An international team of researchers from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Boston University, University of Leicester, Space Research Corporation, and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), led by Dr. James O’Donoghue, found that Jupiter’s intense aurora, the most powerful in the solar system, is responsible for heating the entire planet’s upper atmosphere to surprisingly high temperatures.

– Toward efficient utilization of a new radio-communications resource between microwave and infrared light –

The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT, President: TOKUDA Hideyuki, Ph.D.) has developed a broadband and high-precision terahertz (THz) frequency counter based on a semiconductor-superlattice harmonic mixer. It showed a measurement uncertainty of less than 1 x 10-16 from 0.12 THz to 2.8 THz. This compact and easy-to-handle THz counter operating at room temperature suits for various THz applications supported by the next-generation ICT infrastructure, “Beyond 5G / 6G”.

- >120 nm signal bandwidth comprising 552 WDM channels and using both-doped fiber and Raman amplification -

Researchers from the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT, President: TOKUDA Hideyuki, Ph.D.), Network Research Institute, succeeded the first S, C and L-bands transmission over long-haul distances in a 4-core optical fiber with standard outer diameter (0.125 mm). The researchers, lead by Benjamin J. Puttnam, constructed a transmission system that makes full use of wavelength division multiplexing technology by combining different amplifier technologies, to achieve a transmission demonstration with date-rate of 319 terabits per second, over a distance of 3,001 km. Using a common comparison metric of optical fiber transmission the data-rate and distance produce of 957 petabits per second x km, is a world record for optical fibers with standard outer diameter.

Conclusion of the APOnet Memorandum of Understanding

NICT, along with ten other global leading-edge research and education networks in North America, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania, signed a memorandum of understanding to join the Asia Pacific Oceania network (APOnet) and collaboratively improve high-speed network services in the Asia Pacific Oceania region.

Looking into the future ICT through Local (Rural) 5G and Beyond 5G / 6G

The Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB) and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) will co-organize the Symposium on the Development of Frequency Resources 2021, under the theme of “Looking into the future ICT through Local (Rural) 5G and Beyond 5G / 6G” on July 9 at Meiji Kinenkan and on Zoom webinar.

- Succeeded in real-time visualization of packets flowing in the vast address space of IPv6 -

[Highlights]
・Integrated cyber attack analysis platform "NIRVANA Kai" newly supports IPv6 and enhances its functions.
・Observation of IPv6 communications, collection of IPv6-related alerts, and real-time visualization of IPv6 networks
・Expected to simplify security operations in IPv6 networks.

Keeping a daily gratitude journal for as little as two weeks can help keep students motivated for months

Our dynamically changing lifestyle can make it hard for many to stay motivated on work and study, which calls for new intervention strategies. In a recent study published in BMC Psychology, researchers explore how nurturing feelings of gratitude can enhance motivation among college students. Their results show that a keeping a daily gratitude journal for only two weeks has a positive impact on academic motivations that can last months.

The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT, President: TOKUDA Hideyuki, Ph.D.) has released white papers on “Beyond 5G/6G” and “Quantum Network” to accelerate R&D collaboration with other research institutions. The white papers summarize the social vision and use cases that are expected to be realized through the progress of Beyond 5G/6G and quantum network technologies, as well as the key technologies and R&D roadmap necessary to realize them.

Aiming to incorporate quantum-safe cryptography into the quantum secure cloud technology and enable secure communication, storage, and use of data.

Tokyo - April 5, 2021 - Toppan Printing (Toppan) (TYO: 7911), a global leader in communication, security, packaging, décor materials, and electronics solutions, and Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) have entered into an agreement to conduct joint research on bringing post-quantum public key cryptography to the quantum secure cloud technology.