6G INSTAR-Japan Standardisation Areas Alignment Workshop

Date
27 April 2026 08:00–11:30
Location
Online

This online workshop, by the Cooperation and Support Action INSTAR, aims to foster alignment and create grounds for EU-Japan collaboration on 6G research and development towards pre-standardisation/standardisation. The workshop is structured around three main pillars:

  • State of play of 6G standardisation and research in Europe, covering key domains such as network architectures and systems and NTN, spectrum usage, Open RAN, and energy-efficient and sustainable 6G technologies.
  • Perspectives from leading Japanese 6G experts, highlighting Japan’s technological priorities, ongoing R&D activities, and pathways towards pre-standardisation/standardisation.
  • Interactive discussions on alignment and joint actions, focusing on identifying common priorities, synergies, and gaps, and on shaping concrete joint outputs, including collaborative research initiatives (e.g., SNS JU - Japan opportunities, Horizon Europe-Japan opportunities) and coordinated contributions to global standardisation bodies.

This workshop is part of the overall INSTAR activities focused on strengthening international cooperation in standardization, research, and innovation through structured dialogues and joint priority settings.

Audience: Participation by invitation. JBCE, Japanese 6G experts; TTA, Republic of Korea 6G experts; INSTAR partners; European experts involved in the 6G ETF and beyond; 6G-IA, SNS-JU experts, EC .

Expected outcome:

  • Potential interest in collaborating towards 2026 Horizon Europe and SNS JU proposals or similar.
  • List of joint actions to develop until the end of INSTAR (e.g., to speak with a specific SDO; or to prepare a recommendation document to an SDO; public events, etc).
     

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Agenda

Time (CET)Session DetailsSpeakers

8:00 - 8:10 CET

16:00-16:10 JST 
 

Opening Remarks and Agenda Overview 
Welcome and outline of knowledge area prioritisation objectives 

Damir Filipovic (BluSpecs)

Prof. Dr. Rute C. Sofia (fortiss, 6G ETF Chair)

8:10-8:35 CET

16:10-16:35 JST
 

Insights into 6G Europe Development and Policy Frameworks 
Overview of European 6G initiatives, strategic priorities, and standardisation landscape.

  • DG CNECT: European 6G policy context
  • 6G-IA: Industry and research priorities
  • SNS JU: Programme objectives and links to standardisation
Moderator: Damir Filipovic 

Carlos Lopez (EC, DG CNECT) 
Dr. Kostas Trichias (6G-IA) 
SNS JU Ops (TRUST-IT/Eurescom)

8:35-9:20 CET

16:35-17:20 JST 
 

EU Perspective on Knowledge Areas and Standardisation Priorities (INSTAR)

  • INSTAR / 6G ETF: Key knowledge areas & priorities: overview on the main findings
  • ITU-R: IMT-2030 directions
  • IETF: Networking & sustainability tracks (GREEN)
  • IEEE

Alignment Discussion (10m)

  • Where priorities converge/diverge
  • Gaps needing joint EU-Japan focus
Moderator: Prof. Dr. Rute C. Sofia (fortiss, 6G ETF Chair) 

Samyuktha Indrasena, IioT Researcher, fortiss, Germany (10 min) 

Dr. Marja Matinmikko-Blue, Research Director, University of Oslo, Finland (ITU-R) (10 min) 

Dr. Diego R. Lopez, Senior Technology Expert at Global CTIO unit Telefonica, Spain (IETF) (10 min) 

Prof. Dr. Periklis Chatzimisios, (IEEE) (10min)

9:20-10:15 CET

17:20-18:15 JST 
 

Enabling Topics: Beyond-5G and 6G Technologies 

Overview on examples of Japan’s national Beyond-5G/6G vision, technological priorities, and standardisation strategy. 

  • National Beyond-5G / 6G vision & standardisation strategy
  • Key technology priorities for Japan-EU collaboration
  • Applied research & key technology priorities
  • O-RAN perspective
Moderator: Dr. Hidetaka Ozawa (JBCE) 

NICT, (10 min) 

Tokyo University (Prof. Dr. Fumihide Kojima; Prof. Dr. Akihiro Nakao, Japan coordinator, 6G-MIRAI), (10 min) 
Muroran Institute of Technology, Dr. Mianxiong Dong, (10 min) 

OTIC, Rakuten Mobile, (10 min)

10:15-10:40 CEST

18:10-18:40 
 

Enabling Topics: NTN & Pre-Standardisation 

  • NTN integration & standardisation challenges
  • NTN and new services
  • Pre-standardisation pathways discussion
Moderator: Prof. Dr. Rute C. Sofia (fortiss, 6G ETF Chair) 

Dr. Morio Toyoshima, NICT (10 min) 
Dr Tomaso de Cola, DLR (10 min)

10:40-11:10 CEST

18:40-19:10 JST

Beyond-5G and 6G Directions towards Pre-Standardisation 

Aligning early research, proof-of-concepts, and pre-standardisation activities across regions. 

  • EU-Japan digital and 6G dialogue
  • 6G MIRAI-HARMONY and current standardisation collaboration mechanisms
  • Path forward

Moderator: Damir Filipovic (BluSpecs) 

Peter Fatelnig, Minister-Counsellor for Digital Economy Policy, EU Delegation to Japan

Adam Flizikowski, IS-Wireless /6G MIRAI 

Carlos Lopez, EC, DG Connect

11:10-11:30 CET

19:10-19:30 JST

Convergence and Next Steps 

Summary of aligned priority area, agreed follow-up actions, and closing remarks 

Prof. Dr. Rute C. Sofia (fortiss, 6G ETF Chair) 
 

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6G japan alignment workshop