CICC TOKYO DAYORI vol.104

Japan is conducting its once-every-five-years national census based on
information as of October 1st this year. This statistical survey targets
all individuals and households residing in Japan. Its purpose is to
accurately grasp the actual state of society, including population
structure, household composition, employment status, and nationality.
The survey results are utilized in the administrative sector for
measures addressing the declining birthrate and aging population,
disaster countermeasures, revising the number of seats for elected
representatives in electoral districts, and calculating local allocation
taxes. In the private sector, they inform commercial facility expansion
plans and marketing strategies. In the academic field, they support
research on population dynamics and economic analysis.

Previously, part-time surveyors appointed by the Minister of Internal
Affairs and Communications visited each household to deliver and collect
survey forms. However, since 2015, it has also been possible to respond
online. The overall response rate for the 2015 survey was 71%, with
36.9% of those responses submitted online. The subsequent 2020 survey,
conducted during a year marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and flood
damage, saw an overall response rate of 81.3%, with 39.5% of responses
submitted online. At this time, people were still unfamiliar with online
responses, leading to confusion such as survey staff collecting
responses that had already been submitted online. Despite this, the
response rate increased.

With the increased shift to online this year, resistance to responding
via the internet has diminished, making it the mainstream method, and I
believe this has led to higher response rates. I also responded using my
smartphone, and it was very simple. On the other hand, it seems
suspicious emails and websites posing as the census are circulating, so
we must be careful not to fall for scams.

Kawabata Hiroko

＜Topics of Government＞

(1)METI to Host Tokyo GX Week
https://www.meti.go.jp/english/press/2025/0912_002.html

(2)METI Jointly Signs International Guidance on a Shared Vision of
Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) for Cybersecurity with National
Cybersecurity Office (NCO)
https://www.meti.go.jp/english/press/2025/0904_001.html

＜Topics of Industries＞

(1)Hitachi agrees to acquire German data and AI services firm synvert to
accelerate Agentic AI and Physical AI development, driving global
expansion of HMAX business
https://www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/month/2025/09/250924.html

(2)Hitachi Announces NVIDIA AI Factory to Accelerate Physical AI
Innovation
https://www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/month/2025/09/250926b.html

(3)Fujitsu develops AI agent platform for the healthcare sector to
enhance operational efficiency and ensure stable medical service provision.
https://global.fujitsu/en-global/newsroom/gl/2025/08/27-01

(4)Fujitsu starts official development of plus-10,000 qubit
superconducting quantum computer targeting completion in 2030
https://global.fujitsu/en-global/newsroom/gl/2025/08/01-01

(5)Shibaura Institute of Technology, Waseda University and Fujitsu
develop quantum computer-based robot posture optimization.
https://global.fujitsu/en-global/newsroom/gl/2025/08/25-01

(6)Meta, SoftBank Corp., IPS, TM, XLSmart, and NEC to build the Candle
Submarine Cable System, Intra Asia, 24-Fiber Pair Optical Submarine
Cable, Connecting Japan to Singapore
https://www.nec.com/en/press/202509/global_20250922_01.html