This year marks the fourth year of our country’s initiative to use open data effectively, which has been pursued in earnest since the launch of the “G-Government Open Data Strategy” in July 2012. During this period, open-data programs implemented by various national governmental agencies and local governments have made steady progress. More than 50 regions in Japan participated in International Open Data Day events held simultaneously in various parts of the world in February 2015, drawing a lot of attention from overseas. To further accelerate this initiative in the future, it is necessary to generate as many good examples of using open-data as possible and to enhance interest among companies and the general public, while maintaining and improving motivation at the data-releasing side.
The general incorporated association Vitalizing Local Economy Organization by Open Data & Big Data (VLED) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications have jointly held three open data symposiums. This time, we are changing the venue of the Symposium from Tokyo to Fukuoka, and wish to gather in one place a large number of companies that are pursuing business activities using open data, as well as various organizations active within Japan, in order to deepen mutual understanding about open data through discussions, mainly from the viewpoint of enhancing regional revitalization. We sincerely hope that many people will attend this important symposium.