On September 25, 2019, Kounotori 8 was launched into space. It was carrying the Small Optical Link for the International Space Station (SOLISS), a project developed jointly by Sony CSL and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). SOLISS was then installed on Kibo, Japan's ISS experiment module, where it established a two-way optical communication link with an optical ground station, thus achieving the world's first Ethernet transmission from an optical communications device installed on a small satellite.

In this session, we will hear from Mr. Kenichiro Sawada of JAXA, a key promoter of the project, about the objectives of the 2019 launch, what we achieved, and what we have retrieved from the ISS. We will also talk about the significance of this partnership between JAXA, Japan's national space agency, and Sony CSL, a private company.

In the Open Energy System project, we have developed a distributed control technology that uses renewable energy as its main energy source. We will contribute to construct a carbon-free society by disclosing this technology and through open innovation.

Since 2021, we have been demonstrating how we build the carbon free community using this technology in Miyoshi City, Tokushima Prefecture. In this demonstration, we have installed solar panels and batteries in a local workation facility with a distributed energy system that efficiently utilizes renewable energy with battery electric vehicles.

With Mr. Masanori Ishida of CAPLAN, Mr. Satoru Higuchi of Kokusai Kogyo, and Mr. Koji Nakahira of Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd., we will discuss the lessons learned from our activities and next steps for the carbon-free society.

Our Planetary Agenda does not simply involve the challenges facing human society. Other living beings probably see humanity as an invasive predator that came out of Africa and conquered the world…terrible Homo sapiens, who drained the food and resources of the earth for his own benefit, is finally choking on his own environmental destruction. If this trend continues, the ecological regime shifts will be catastrophic, and global warming will become unstoppable. We don't just need to save humanity?we need to save our planet as well.

Sony CSL's Synecoculture wants to help in this desperate struggle.

If you are curious about a technology that can enrich biodiversity and help humanity thrive in a way that does not sacrifice other species, then we sincerely hope you will attend this session.

Scientific studies into the conditions of wellness are attracting increasing interests in recent years. Here I review the health benefits of ikigai, the Japanese concept for the meaning of living, based on my book on ikigai (2017). I describe the five pillars of ikigai in a tangible manner, citing examples from Japanese history and culture. I discuss possible further developments of such an approach from the systems point of view, referring to my book The Way of Nagomi (to be published, April 2022). Finally, I discuss the implications of consciousness studies, centered around qualia, which is my main research topic over the years, for the science of health and wellness in the coming years.

While looking back on the Open House over a three-day period, Hiroaki Kitano (Director of Sony CSL) and Jun Rekimoto (Deputy Director of Sony CSL) will discuss the state of the research institute in the with/post Corona era and the future direction of Sony Computer Science Laboratories.

Moderator: Masako Furukawa (Non-fiction writer)