Japan is preparing for the 2020 Olympic Games by advancing mobile connectivity, ensuring spectators can stay connected and follow athletes in real time. To support this goal and the expected commercial rollout of fifth‑generation mobile technology in 2020, the country has launched trials of 5G systems in both Tokyo and rural regions.
Led by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), these trials will run over the next three years and bring together a wide range of private sector companies to test and refine 5G use cases, share expertise, and evaluate the infrastructure needed for large public events. The collaboration aims to accelerate practical deployment and identify services that can benefit from 5G’s enhanced speed and low latency.
Japan’s three major mobile operators—NTT Docomo, KDDI, and SoftBank—are contributing their carrier expertise, while manufacturers such as Panasonic, Sharp, and Fujitsu are supplying essential hardware including base stations and user devices. The trials will also involve global and domestic technology vendors to validate end‑to‑end performance across varied environments.
MIC projects that 5G will deliver speeds roughly 100 times faster than the most widely used LTE networks in Japan today, and about ten times faster than current 4G services. The 5G Trial Promotion Group (5G‑TPG) has already proposed more than 40 projects exploring concrete applications of the technology.
Yukihiko Okumura, leader of the 5G Mobile Communications Promotion Forum’s 5G Trial Promotion Group, noted during a keynote at the 3rd Global 5G Event that member organizations have submitted over 40 utilization projects. These initiatives span multiple industries and scenarios to demonstrate how 5G can enable new services and improve existing ones.
The proposed projects are grouped across six key use cases:
- Entertainment: Enhancing stadiums, event sites, theme parks and tourist areas with immersive content, real‑time streaming, and interactive experiences.
- Security and Disaster Defense: Deploying advanced surveillance, rapid communications, and resilient networks to support emergency response and public safety.
- Logistics, Agriculture, Office and Factory: Applying 5G to optimize supply chains, enable precision agriculture, and support smart workplace and industrial automation.
- Remote Control and Surveillance of Robots and Drones: Leveraging low latency and high reliability for remote operations, real‑time monitoring, and coordinated autonomous systems.
- Connected Cars and Automated Driving: Supporting vehicle‑to‑everything communications, real‑time traffic data exchange, and autonomous driving functions.
- High‑Speed Moving Vehicles: Ensuring consistent connectivity and service quality for trains, buses, and other fast moving transportation modes.
Participants in the 5G Trial Promotion Group include major carriers and technology companies such as KDDI, NTT Docomo, Fujitsu, Ericsson, Sony, SoftBank, NEC, NTT, Nokia, Panasonic, Hitachi, Huawei, Mitsubishi Electric, Anritsu and Keysight Technologies. Their combined efforts focus on validating technical performance, refining deployments, and creating practical demonstrations that showcase 5G’s potential before full commercial launch.
The trials are intended not only to meet the connectivity demands of high‑profile events like the Olympics but also to stimulate broader adoption across industries and regions. By testing real‑world scenarios now, Japan aims to identify the operational requirements, regulatory considerations, and business models that will help scale 5G services nationwide.
What impact will the 5G trial system have on public events, industry, and daily life in Japan? Share your thoughts and perspectives on how fast, reliable mobile networks could change the way people experience entertainment, work, travel, and emergency response.