January 15, 2018 Personal Invitation Integration and Disintegration in the Japanese Vision of Society 5.0: A Model for an Open Society in Europe? The European Japan Experts Association (EJEA) e.V. and the Institute for Security and Development Policy (ISDP) invite you personally to the exclusive international conference “Integration and Disintegration in the Japanese Vision of Society 5.0: A Model for an Open Society in Europe?“ on April 13th and 14th, 2018 in Sweden. Background The 5th Science and Technology Basic Plan mentioned in 2016 Japan’s concept of „Society 5.0“. The Japanese vision of a „super smart society“ aims to tackle several challenges by going far beyond just the digitization of the economy/industry towards the digitization across all levels of the Japanese society and the (digital) transformation of society itself. Society 5.0 is about all stakeholders, including citizens, governments, academia and so forth. While in Europe especially in German-speaking areas the realization of Industry 4.0 is under way, Japan is already realizing the concept of Society 5.0, that goes beyond industry and covers the idea of a super-smart society. What Japan essentially does is taking the digitization and transformation dimension, which is mainly happening on the level of individual organizations and parts of society to a full national transformational strategy, policy and even philosophy level. It’s the furthest reaching plan we’ve ever seen in this regard. Aim of the conference The evolution of a society follows different approaches. The Japanese concept of Society 5.0 emphasizes technological solutions for creating a kind of digitalized society in nearly every aspect – it does not only focus on an ageing and shrinking population. The concept should ensure a healthy, secure and prosperous live. Needless to say, it needs a social consensus and a thorough look at social implications. With regards to the interaction of machines and human beings the aim of this conference is to focus not only on technical solutions but also on social, ethical and philosophical aspects, which currently are relevant for Japan as well as for Europe. Whether such a vast societal change will work and the wall of social acceptance will be broken down is a question that has to be evaluated in the future. However, currently the question is, whether this Japanese vision of a “super smart society” is a model we could envision also in Europe with its values of an open society? Outline program The presentations during the conference offer information about how Japan is dealing with its societal challenges we are also facing in Europe (refer to the attached program). All the topics of this conference reflect challenges and chances of digitization in industry, government, society, and security with an aim to stimulate science, technology and innovation. Venue: Hotel Yasuragi ( <https://yasuragi.se/> https://yasuragi.se/) is exceptional and well known for its Japanese atmosphere including onsen, Japanese-styled rooms and Japanese cuisine. The hotel is located ca. 40 min from Stockholm surrounded by beautiful nature! Please refer to the attachment, further details are mentioned in the program, and let us know your participation by returning the registration form. We are looking forward to welcome you on April 13th in Sweden! With our best wishes, Yours Dietrich ALBERT Chairman Sabine GANTER-RICHTER Executive Manager Anders TÖRNVALL Executive Member Prof. Dr. Dietrich Albert, TU Graz and University of Graz, Austria <mailto:dietrich.albert@ejea.eu> dietrich.albert@ejea.eu Tel.: +43 664 73663043 Sabine Ganter-Richter, Network for Science, Bonn, Germany <mailto:sabine.ganter-richter@ejea.eu> sabine.ganter-richter@ejea.eu Tel.: +49 177 2547847 Prof. Dr. Anders Törnvall, Linköping University, Sweden; Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, Denmark <mailto:anders.g.tornvall@telia.com> anders.g.tornvall@telia.com Tel.: +46 13 295121