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HOSAKO IwaoDirector General of Wireless Network Research CenterAfter completing a doctoral program, Iwao HOSAKO worked for NKK Ltd. (cur-rently JFE). In 1996, he joined the Com-munications Research Laboratory, Min-istry of Posts and Telecommunications (currently NICT). He has been engaged in research and development of tera-hertz semiconductor devices and vari-ous application systems. Ph. D. (Science).Cyber Physical System and Beyond 5G / 6Gobile communications systems are rapidly increasing in sophistication. Cyberspace—composed of core networks that support mobile communications sys-tems and servers on the internet—enables interactions between dierent people, be-tween people and devices and between dierent devices. These interactions are becoming increasingly important in many aspects of our social activities. As commer-cial deployment of 5G networks is already underway, current R&D focuses are shifting to beyond-5G or 6G networks. In this article, I will describe our beyond-5G / 6G R&D in relation to various interactions mentioned above, which continue to grow in demand and which can be achieved through the in-tegration of physical and cyber spaces.■ BackgroundIn response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Japanese government issued a state of emergency declaration on April 7, 2020, to some severely affected prefectures, which was subsequently expanded to the entire nation on April 16 and was nally lifted for most prefectures on May 14. Even after the declaration was terminated, many people continue to refrain from making unnecessary outings to avoid the 3Cs (i.e., closed space, crowds, and close contact with others), work from home and use online schooling. This experience raised our awareness about the important role information and communica-tions technologies (ICT) play in coping with infectious diseases and remote working. On the other hand, some experts view that the current technological levels and penetra-tion rates of ICT in Japan are inadequate for people to maintain a “new normal” lifestyle. This view led to the July 17, 2020, cabinet approval of “Declaration to make Japan the most advanced digital technology nation in the world," a guideline promoting the imple-mentation of adequate digital technologies to strengthen anti-COVID-19 measures and support a new normal lifestyle.Integration of cyber and physical spaces: cyber-physical systemsThe following insight came to me while working from home and experiencing in-creased online activities in response to the declaration of a state of emergency. People dispersed in space as they began working from home, using online schooling, and ex-ercising other measures to avoid the 3Cs. Under the current circumstances, it is de-sirable to create a system in which spatially dispersed people can continue to be produc-tive and engage in activities valuable to them by allowing them to remotely work together with other people, robots and avatars using ICT. Urgent efforts should be made to de-velop this system as soon as possible. The specic types of ICT I am referring to here are the internet and cyberspace composed of groups of interconnected servers (cloud). It is also important to develop a cyber-physical system in which various real-world events (e.g., COVID-19 outbreaks) are measured to collect data, which is then organized into big data and processed in cyberspace as the way of nding optimum solutions to social issues.■ Greater role of beyond-5G networksMobile communications systems evolved from mere communications infrastructure (1G to 3G) to infrastructure vital to everyday life (4G). The role of the 5G network as social infrastructure is more diverse: it connects not only different people but also people and de-vices. Its use is expected to accelerate wide-spread adoption of the DX (digital transfor-mation) initiative. Through beyond-5G/6G R&D, we plan to develop the articial neural networks needed to bring Japan's Society 5.0 vision into reality by integrating physical space (real-world) and cyberspace.MHow NICT R&D Can Underpin COVID-19 Aected SocietyNICT NEWS 2020 No.68