Have you heard about Society 5.0? It is a visionary concept first introduced by Japan in 2016 that delineates a super-smart society, where advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT) and big data, are seamlessly integrated with human needs. This concept places humans at the centre, aiming to improve quality of life by leveraging digital innovations to solve societal challenges in areas such as smart cities, healthcare, education and aging populations. The influence of Society 5.0 has since expanded to the world at large, with countries in Asia, Europe and beyond exploring how they can integrate similar principles to address their own social challenges through innovation and technology. In Europe, the European Commission has launched the Industry 5.0 initiative, which shares similar principles with Society 5.0. A transformative approach, Industry 5.0 prioritises a human-centric framework in industrial processes. Notably, the AI Act promotes a human-centric approach to digital technologies, such as AI focused on increasing human well-being. Across Asia, Korea (Smart Korea 5.0), Singapore (Smart Nation initiative), China (Internet Plus and Made in China 2025), India (Digital India and Smart Cities Mission), Malaysia (Malaysia 5.0) and Thailand (Thailand 4.0) and others have introduced visions, policies or initiatives that are either directly built on Society 5.0 concept or align with its core values. While Society 5.0 is seen as a way to promote innovation, enhance public services and improving overall well-being through technology, putting it into practice has challenges, including data privacy concerns, job displacement and inequitable access to technology. There is much potential for collaboration between Asia and Europe across strategic areas, such as digital infrastructure and innovation, sustainability and smart cities, health care and aging populations, AI governance and ethical standards. Harmonising regulatory frameworks will also enable cross-border innovation, while addressing common challenges through multilateral cooperation.
The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), through its flagship youth project, the ‘ASEF Young Leaders Summit (ASEFYLS),’ has chosen the topic ‘Leadership in Society 5.0’ to explore what young people (aged 18-30) need to prepare for Society 5.0 and to lead the transition into this next stage of society (see project editions in 2023 and 2024). ASEF published its 2023 Youth Report on the topic “Stepping into Society 5.0: Youth Perspectives on Technology-Informed Societal Leadership’.
Sources:
- Society 5.0 overview by the Japanese Cabinet Office: Society 5.0 (cao.go.jp)
- The BusinessABC article “Society 5.0: The Fundamental Concept Of A Human-Centered Society” (https://businessabc.net/society-5-0-the-fundamental-concept-of-a-human-centered-society)
- “Society 5.0: A People-centric Super-smart Society” by Hitachi-UTokyo Laboratory, Springer 2020 (https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-15-2989-4_1)
- NEC Asia Pacific’s overview of Society 5.0 (https://sg.nec.com/en_SG/campaign/society5.0/index.html)
- The article “Society 5.0: Concept, Challenges, and Examples” from Innovar o Morir (https://innovaromorir.com/en/society-5-0-concept-challenges-examples/)
- Hitachi’s Knowledge Hub article on the Society 5.0 concept (https://social-innovation.hitachi/en-in/knowledge-hub/techverse/society-5-0/)
- Towards Society 5.0: Enabling the European Commission’s Policy Brief ‘Towards a sustainable, human-centric and resilient European Industry’ Towards Society 5.0: Enabling the European Commission’s Policy Brief ‘Towards a sustainable, human-centric and resilient European Industry’ | Journal of Behavioural Economics and Social Systems (aau.dk)
- ‘The Futures of Europe: Society 5.0 and Industry 5.0 as Driving Forces of Future Universities’ The Futures of Europe: Society 5.0 and Industry 5.0 as Driving Forces of Future Universities – PMC (nih.gov)
Society 5.0 is proposed as a visionary concept “expanded to the world at large” to address social challenges and transform “human-centric frameworks”. If ever effective locally or even globally, it needs the bottom-up involvement of these humans and their civil societies to develop its rules and implement them in democratic multi-level governance. However, your list of national and even EU initiatives to be imposed top-down on the world neglects the variety of societies at their different levels, from the local to the global. Even democratic governance must adapt to each of these stages. More direct democracy suits the directly informed local stage. The higher the stage, the more expertise and responsibility with all stakeholders is required. To achieve the common good at the highest level for global Society 5.0, inter-national decisions by purely national-minded diplomats cannot suffice, but democracy demands inter-popular consensus by all legitimate stakeholders bottom-up.
ASEM should provide an interregional stage to form a coalition-of-the-willing for Society 5.0 to link up and down interpopularly from the local (e.g. 勝手連Katteren in Japan) to the global level (UN: ”We the peoples …”). There, not only narrow national interests under multi-lateralism but all-inclusive priorities ought to prevail in omnilateral deliberations.
(for details see: Wolfgang Pape, “Opening to Omnilateralism: Democratic governance for all, from local to global with stakeholders, 汎地球主義 全边主義”, AuthorHouse UK, Bloomington 2021, 590 p. ISBN 978-1-6655-8213-1)
Dear Wolfgang – thank you so much for your comment. We appreciate your continued support on ASEM all these years. We agree that Society 5.0 must emphasise bottom-up involvement to be truly inclusive and democratic. That is why ASEF has been contributing its share by engage the young generation in Asia and Europe to participate in the Society 5.0 initiative.