Japanese Ambassador Takashi Okada visited the University of Oulu to witness its 6G Flagship research, which commands nearly 300 million euros in funding and aims to enable instant wireless connectivity for a digital society by 2030. The university highlighted its global impact, noting that innovations from the region serve over three billion people daily, while strengthening ties with Japanese institutions like Tokyo, Nagoya, and Kyoto universities through guest professorships and fellowships. Key research themes discussed include resilient communication networks capable of operating during national outages and the development of domestic AI solutions to ensure technological sovereignty. Additionally, the visit underscored the strategic role of Oulu’s 6G Test Centre as the sole NATO DIANA facility focused on dual-use technologies, opening new avenues for collaboration in ICT for defense between Finland and Japan.
Keywords: resilient networks, technological sovereignty, NATO DIANA, dual-use technologies, AI capabilities