I have been swimming since I was a child. It all started when I started going to swimming classes with my older brother. Seeing my brother swimming in the pool made me want to become a good swimmer myself, so I went to swimming school every day. It was really fulfilling to go through the practice routines and improve my times and skills.
My dream at the time was to become an Olympic swimmer. I still vividly remember the image of Daichi Suzuki winning the gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Swimming taught me the importance of having a goal and persevering until I achieved it. I still go to the swimming pool every week, and it is a nice change of pace from my research work.
For more than 10 years since I first joined Fujitsu, I have been conducting research on mobile networks. When I started out, Fujitsu was actively participating in WiMAX standardization activities through technical proposals and testing. As standardization activities are conducted on an international scale, many organizations and companies participate and cooperate with each other.
I played a key role within Fujitsu with regard to making standardization proposals. As I one of the team in charge of studying the specifications and conducting simulations to demonstrate their effectiveness. I continued to work with stakeholders to develop specifications and apply for relevant patents. The process of coming up with ideas for patented inventions starts with the identification of issues, and there are various steps from idea development, evaluation, and feasibility studies.
My approach was to conduct series of weekly brainstorming sessions on patent ideas. I tried to build up the ideas by reflecting comments from the team members. If an idea was tested and found to be less feasible, we would explore other possibilities. We went over and over and over again until we found an idea that was new and highly feasible.
I realized that persistence is important in R&D, and it has become one of my main strengths. Although the process of submitting an application was difficult, I gained a great sense of accomplishment when my idea was eventually translated into a specification.
Later, for algorithmic research on Wi-Fi and cellular selection technology using reinforcement learning, I studied abroad in England for a year. The experience of being exposed to different cultures and new knowledge was invaluable and I believe that this has helped me to develop a broader perspective. I was also able to acquire new research methods and technical skills by being exposed to cutting-edge technology.
However, after studying abroad, I learned how difficult it is to translate research results into business. Although the technology I proposed to the division was adopted, the product did not sell as well as I had hoped, and this made me think about the significance of my research. I think it was a valuable experience for me to rethink what customers really need.
In the following R&D, we developed the Fujitsu Virtual Private Digital Exchange Technology (*1), an information distribution infrastructure using blockchain as a technology to distribute corporate and personal information securely. We also designed the architecture of the information banking infrastructure. When discussing information banking infrastructure with external parties, it is of course important to explain and discuss the technology, but I realized once again the importance of benchmarking and the effects that can be obtained over and above that. Since then, we have been asking ourselves what effects and value can be obtained from the technology, I have come to value the process of thinking about what customers want in my R&D.
Also, in order to keep R&D running smoothly, even if it is a small update from the previous discussion, I made an effort to create and explain materials. I believe that this minor effort is an important element in quickly moving R&D in the right direction. By aligning the awareness of the people involved and the researchers, improvement efforts proceed smoothly, and I believe that this will result in the creation of valuable technologies.
When I was a child, I lived in Singapore and Indonesia, as a result of my father's job transfer. Living in foreign countries and having foreign friends when I was a child may well have contributed to my desire to be active globally as an adult. In June this year, I transferred to our new research center in Israel (*2) where I am working on strengthening our R&D on network trust. Network trust is an important new technology designed to secure trust in a borderless world, where real and digital worlds merge. It has a key role to play in future online transactions across the globe.
As a first step toward the realization of network trust, I am researching mechanisms that can verify where the data being traded is managed geographically. It’s also important to know whether the accessing party is operating from a trusted location, in terms of data cross-border and economic security. This information will allow us to verify that data transactions are legally sound, and will ensure safe and secure data transactions. One of the mechanisms we are considering is to verify the geographic location of data and trading partners. By knowing where the data we own is located and where the trading partners are located, we can verify that data is legal and can take action if necessary.
To expand transactions on the Web3 platform (*3), we need technologies that can address issues of ownership, privacy, and trust in the digital world. Together with our members, we want to develop a future network trust mechanism that connects individual and corporate data, which are dispersed across various systems, while ensuring trust.
――To create new technological value by connecting people and ideas.
