[Symposium featuring the Transport Minister of Germany] Trusted Mobility in an Era of Economic Security: Japan-Germany Cooperation on Autonomous and Connected Transport

The Economic Security Intelligence Lab (ESIL) at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (RCAST), The University of Tokyo, and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany Tokyo is honored to co-host for a public symposium titled:

[Symposium featuring the Transport Minister of Germany]
Trusted Mobility in an Era of Economic Security:
Japan-Germany Cooperation on Autonomous and Connected Transport

This symposium welcomes Mr. Patrick Schnieder, the Federal Minister of Transport of the Federal Republic of Germany, to explore how data-driven services, intelligent infrastructure, and autonomous systems are reshaping global mobility. While these technologies promise safer roads and more sustainable transport, they also raise critical questions regarding cybersecurity, data governance, and infrastructure resilience. For leading industrial democracies like Germany and Japan, cooperation on next-generation mobility is no longer just a matter of innovation—it is a vital dimension of economic security.

Both nations face common challenges, including demographic change, labor shortages, and intensifying competition in the digital mobility sector. In his keynote titled “Intelligent and Autonomous on the Move: How Digitalization Is Redefining Mobility,” Minister Schnieder will outline how AI and software-defined vehicles are creating new business models and shared opportunities for innovation between the two countries.

The keynote will be followed by comments from Dr. Shogo Akagawa and a moderated Q&A session. Together, we will examine how Japan and Germany can leverage their engineering excellence to build the trusted, resilient, and competitive mobility systems required for the autonomous age.

【Speaker】
Mr. Patrick Schnieder
Federal Minister of Transport of the Federal Republic of Germany

Minister Schnieder has served as Federal Minister of Transport of the Federal Republic of Germany since May 2025. A lawyer by training, he studied law at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms University of Bonn and completed both the First and Second State Examinations in Law. Before entering federal politics, he practiced as a lawyer and served as Mayor of the municipal association of Arzfeld from 1999 to 2009. He has been a Member of the German Bundestag since 2009. From 2018 to 2025, he served as Chief Whip of the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group in the German Bundestag, and he has also held several leadership roles related to parliamentary and regional affairs, including as Chairman of the group of parliamentarians from Rhineland-Palatinate in the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group.

【Commentator】
Dr. Shogo Akagawa is a Visiting Lecturer, Faculty of History and Cultural Studies, Free University of Berlin and an Europe-based Editorial Writer, The Nikkei. He is a distinguished expert on European political, economic, and cultural affairs, with an extensive network of high-level contacts among European policymakers and central bankers. In Germany specifically, he has built a formidable reputation through recurring meetings and exclusive interviews with successive Federal Presidents and Chancellors. Raised in both Japan and Germany, he began his career with a traineeship at Deutsche Bank’s Frankfurt headquarters before joining Nikkei Inc. After covering the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Finance, and the Bank of Japan, he was honored with the Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association Award in 1999. Stationed in Europe since 2007, he balances a prolific journalistic career with an academic role as an adjunct lecturer at their alma mater, the Free University of Berlin. Teaching in German, his research is grounded in primary historical documents and direct fieldwork with policy authorities.

【Moderator】
Akira Igata (Project Lecturer, RCAST, The University of Tokyo)

This symposium will be conducted in English.

Notes for participants
- For security reasons, no dangerous materials or food/beverages are allowed inside the venue. Please follow staff instructions during the event.
- Please present your valid photo ID (e.g., student ID or driver’s license) at the reception desk on the day of the event. For security reasons, participants who do not provide complete and accurate information regarding their identity, affiliation, and position may not be admitted.