October 5, 2023 | Tokyo

On October 3, the Swiss State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), Martina Hirayama, met with the Japanese Working Group for Promotion of Practical Application of Quantum Technology in Tokyo. The Working Group, established in October 2022, is a discussion forum focused on a vision for a quantum future society and is led by Japan’s Council for the Promotion of the Integrated Innovation Strategy.

State Secretary Hirayama was accompanied by Professor Anna Fontcuberta i Morral of EPFL, who also serves on the Swiss Quantum Commission. Professor Fontcuberta delivered a talk to the audience, which included Japanese quantum experts and a Swiss delegation of leaders from SERI and the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.

The quantum discussion was part of a larger Swiss delegation visit to Japan. On October 1, Ms. Hirayama signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with Mr. Masahito Moriyama, Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, with the aim of strengthening the existing ties between Switzerland and Japan in quantum science and technology as well as other areas of research, including artificial intelligence, robotics, materials science and space research. The same day, Ms. Hirayama also participated in a ministerial round table at the Science and Technology for Society Forum in Kyoto.

The delegation also visited Osaka to mark the inauguration on September 30 of Swissnex in Japan, the latest addition to Switzerland’s global network of science consulates. For the delegation tour, Ms. Hirayama was accompanied by Michael Hengartner, President of the ETH Board; André Kudelski, President of the Innosuisse Board; Professor Fontcuberta; and Régis Nyffeler, Deputy Head of Bilateral Relations at SERI.