July 8, 2021

GMO Internet Group is participating in
"Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan,
and a task force to launch the flying car":
Contribution to commencement of operation of
flying car in Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan
to be held in 2025 with security technology

GMO Internet, Inc.

Tokyo, Japan – July 8, 2021 – GMO Internet Group (https://www.gmo.jp/en/ ) joins in "Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan, and a task force to launch the flying car" established and operated by the Manufacturing Industries Bureau, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition ("Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan") on Wednesday, July 7, 2021.

On Friday, May 21, 2021, GMO Internet Group has joined in the Public-Private Council for Air Transportation Revolution - operated by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism - where the Japanese government and private sectors work together to consider the “flying car” and other use of air in logistics and transportation, and has been collaborating on security technology for designing of the new plan for Air Transportation Revolution.

GMO Internet Group will contribute to the security technology needed to launch the "flying car" in Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan to be held in 2025 by joining in "Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan, and a task force to launch the flying car" under the use case investigation committee of the Public-Private Council for Air Transportation Revolution.

Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan, and a task force to launch the flying car

GMO Internet Group is participating in the Public-Private Council for Air Transportation Revolution established and operated by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism since Friday, May 21, 2021. The Council consists of experts in industry, universities, and government and holds discussions on technology development and the improvement in the system needed to launch the "flying car" into society.

Officials meeting has been established in 2020 to start considering the improvement in the system according to the actual use case in an aim to start the business of the flying car by around 2023, and the Council is actively putting effort at the working level.

The 1st meeting of "Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan, and a task force to launch the flying car" was held on Wednesday, July 7, 2021, to commence the operation of flying car at Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan to be held in 2025 as part of such improvement in the system according to the actual use case. In addition to members of the industry, government, and schools who are participating in the Council, Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition (which is the organizer of the Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan), municipalities surrounding the venue, and related government ministries participate in the task force, which will hear the concept of how private businesses that participate in the Council will use the flying car in Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan, and more detailed discussions will be held on the development of the port, rules for the flight, etc. according to the above concept. Reviews will be conducted in stages: the concept of how to utilize a flying car in Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan; development of the plan to operate a flying car; and necessary response to problems in systems. Minutes, etc. of meetings at the task force are kept private.

- Public-Private Council for Air Transportation Revolution
URL： https://www.meti.go.jp/shingikai/mono_info_service/air_mobility/index.html
- Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan, and a task force to launch the flying car
URL： https://www.meti.go.jp/shingikai/mono_info_service/air_mobility/pdf/007_02_00.pdf

GMO Internet Group's Approach to Air Transportation Revolution

At GMO Internet Group, GMO GlobalSign HD and its consolidated subsidiary GMO GlobalSign took on initiatives including communications security technology and digital certificate technology.

GMO GlobalSign’s “GlobalSign” develops globally the only Japanese Certificate Authority with No. 1 domestic market share^*1. The company has managed digital certificates for 25 years. Its digital certificates have been adopted overseas, and the business is expanding globally.

Since November 2020, GMO GlobalSign has been giving technology related to enhanced security of communications and control of the drone and flying car to Prodrone Co., Ltd., an industrial drone dedicated manufacturer, and SkyDrive Inc., which develops flying car (DRONE FUND, a venture capital specializing in the area of drone and air mobility, makes capital investments in Prodrone and SkyDrive), by leveraging its accumulated know-how of the management and development of digital certificate technology and security technology, expanding into the area of next-generation mobility. GMO GlobalSign offers digital certificates for free for the demonstration experiment of the above companies in addition to the provision of a wide range of information on enhanced security of communications and control including encryption of communications of drones and flying cars.

GMO Internet Group is aware that air is the “final frontier” of the industries. GMO GlobalSign HD and GMO GlobalSign will work on the development of the security measures and technologies related to communications between and control of airframe and control systems to launch the automatic flight and remote operation of "flying car" into society in the future. GMO Internet Group will contribute to the protection of air safety and the growth of the next-generation mobility industry.
(*1) Source: the British Netcraft's SSL Survey of each hosting. The aggregate number of SSL the customers pay for (as of May 2021).

GlobalSign

GlobalSign started providing services in Belgium in 1996 when SSL security certificates started to be issued in the world, and it was the first Certificate Authority in Europe to acquire WebTrust. It has issued many SSL security certificates to Belgian government-related organizations, and it performs the certification of the Belgian government Certificate Authority, which is the top Certificate Authority of Belgian e-government projects such as eID^*2(BELPIC). It has joined the GMO Internet Group in 2006, and sells government-level security worldwide, including in Japan. It currently has a track record of issuing 25 million digital certificates, including SSL server certificates, and a large number of digital certificates to government-related organizations and major companies.

GlobalSign also participates in "CABF (CA/Browser Forum)" and "Anti-Phishing Working Group" and is actively engaged in activities as a leading company in the digital certificate market. Furthermore, in May 2018, GlobalSign has joined the Cloud Signature Consortium, an international organization consisting of experts in the electronic signature industry and academia, which has been established by Adobe in 2016. It participates in the determination of open standards in the implementation of electronic signatures on the cloud, which complies with international laws and regulations.
(*2) A national ID card project that has started as part of the Belgian e-government project. ID cards with digital certificates are distributed to all Belgian citizens over the age of 12.