CEATEC, one of Asia's largest IT and technology trade shows, kicked off on Tuesday in Chiba Prefecture, with participants keen to showcase how their latest technologies could contribute to creating a sustainable society. The four-day event at Makuhari Messe features 684 firms and organizations with 305 new entrants and 195 from overseas. Hot technological trends such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality and robots are on display. Looking at some of the booths by leading tech companies at this year's CEATEC (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies), there is a clear focus on pursuing sustainability through their products and technologies.

Japan's major annual electronics show involving more than 300 companies opened Tuesday, with the spotlight on cutting-edge technologies designed to achieve carbon neutrality. As was the case last year, organizers decided to hold the Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies online as a precaution against the coronavirus. The event through Friday, under the theme of "Toward Society 5.0 with the New Normal," is accessible by the public with pre-registration. Rechargeable batteries to store renewable energy and carbon recycling technologies are among exhibited products that may help Japan and other countries reach the goal of net zero carbon emissions in the next several decades. The concept of Society 5.0 to incorporate innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence and robots into society has been promoted by Japanese industries and the government.

We've all tried Google Street View before, but what if you could explore the world and see faraway places through the eyes of a roving machine? At the recent Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies (CEATEC) outside Tokyo, telepresence robots equipped with displays showing their remote users were turning heads on the show floor. These simple machines are basically webcams on wheels, but they formed a striking example of how a system that combines hardware in the physical world with online users and cloud-based artificial intelligence will become part of everyday life. Akira Fukabori, director of ANA HOLDINGS INC.'s Avatar Division, shows off an all-terrain Avatar robot at CEATEC 2019. Developed by OhmniLabs and ANA HOLDINGS INC., the parent company of All Nippon Airways, the newme Avatar telepresence robots are up to 150 cm tall and roll around on a wheeled base at speeds up to 2.9 kph.

CHIBA – Corporate Japan's growing need to rely on new technologies to cope with a shrinking workforce was on show at the recently held CEATEC technology exhibition in the city of Chiba, with service industry companies turning out in greater numbers this year. As more and more skilled workers reach retirement across various industries in rapidly graying Japan, businesses are turning to new technologies to hand down field experience and knowledge to younger workers. East Nippon Expressway Co., operator of expressways and toll roads in Japan, is one of the companies adopting "mixed reality" technology as it seeks to boost training of inspection and maintenance personnel. "We are increasingly required by the government to conduct checks on roads but our skilled workers are aging and cannot work at their fullest anymore. So we needed to rely on high tech to share and pass on their know-how to the younger employees," said Masaki Ishiguro, official in charge of maintenance at the firm, also known as Nexco East.

One of the highlights of this year's CEATEC (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies) is Society 5.0 Town, an exhibition area where companies from diverse sectors such as retail, banking, construction, transport and local governments will showcase their technologies to connect people, information and things to enhance people's lives. Society 5.0 is a concept created in Japan and is defined as "a human-centered society that balances economic advancement with the resolution of social problems by a system that highly integrates cyberspace and physical space," according to the Cabinet Office website. The town's theme is in line with Japan's push to become a global leader in utilizing technology to create a community that maximizes energy efficiency and residents' convenience, as well as welfare. Dozens of predominantly Japanese companies will participate in Society 5.0 Town at CEATEC, to be held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture from Oct. 15 to 18. Participants range from ANA Holdings Inc., Mitsubishi Estate Co. and Taisei Corp., among others. "We are a company about mobility. We want to solve mobility-related challenges. If you want to go somewhere, you have to go to an airport and fly. Avatar saves people from having to do that," said Akira Fukabori, director of the Avatar Division.

CEATEC (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies) is an annual event where innovative technologies, products and services are all exhibited together in one place to illustrate what a future society may be like. This year's CEATEC, for which The Japan Times is a prime media partner, will be held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture from Oct. 15 to 18. It requires preregistration from all visitors on the CEATEC website, www.ceatec.com. People can also register online at the venue reception area during the event. The event, sponsored by the CEATEC Executive Board, comprised of the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association, the Communications and Information Network Association of Japan and the Computer Software Association of Japan, consists of two major parts -- an exhibition and a conference.

Japan's biggest electronics trade show kicked off Tuesday, offering a future peek at how the latest technologies can be integrated into everyday living. This year's CEATEC (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies) at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture is still making a push to cast off the image of being just a home electronics hardware exhibition. Featuring 725 firms and organizations, up by 58 from last year and with 345 new entrants, all are eager to show off a preview of their possible future business models by combining services with hot technological trends such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality and the "internet of things." Convenience store chain Lawson Inc., joining CEATEC for the first time, demonstrated some concepts of its next-generation store. For instance, visitors can shop at its pop-up store, which uses a QR code payment system, in the convention hall.

CHIBA – Toyota Motor Corp. and messaging app provider Line Corp. said Monday they will offer an artificial intelligence platform featuring voice commands for navigation services in Toyota cars in Japan by next summer. The services will use Line's Clova (Cloud Virtual Assistant) Auto system, a cloud-based AI platform, which can understand voice commands and respond. The system will be connected to Toyota's in-vehicle device, they said. Toyota drivers can use such voice commands as "Tell me how to get to Tokyo Tower," or "Tell me traffic conditions on the Tomei Expressway," the companies said. Through voice commands inside cars, users can also turn off their lights at home, check the weather at their destination, send and receive messages, and make free calls via the Line app.

CHIBA – A robot, remote controlled by motion capture, moves in perfect sync with a person in the distance. A device passes an infrared scan over some food and supplies complete nutritional information about the fare. These are among the array of cutting-edge technologies on display as Japan's largest electronics trade show kicked off Tuesday. This year's annual Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies (CEATEC), which will run through Friday at Makuhari Messe in the city of Chiba, is seen as a touchstone for the 17-year-old trade fair. Undergoing a major revamp last year, what had been a showcase for consumer electronics such as TVs and washing machines had reinvented itself as a business-to-business exhibition across sectors oriented toward the internet of things concept, in which everyday items are linked by network.

Impossibly thin televisions, wireless HD video systems for the living room, and TVs that respond to gestures instead of a remote control were all things seen first at Ceatec, the annual gadget extravaganza outside Tokyo. The show's well-earned reputation as a peek into our gadget future remains intact as Ceatec 2010 kicks off Tuesday. It's guaranteed to be full of some of the geekiest stuff you've ever seen, along with some fantastically designed gadgets, and a mostly realistic look into what the rest of the world will some day be buying for their homes, backpacks, and cars. Oh, and there will be plenty of creepy robots too. The annual Japanese gizmo gathering will inevitably lead many Americans watching coverage from afar to ask, yet again: Why can't we get this stuff here?