Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications formed the Study Group on Network Architecture in January 2007 “to discuss theneed to create a network architecture based on new design conceptsand technology and how R&D should be [pursued],” said MinoruKubota of the Research and Development Office in the ministry’s Information and Communications Policy Bureau.The agency has initiated a project called the New-GenerationNetwork. The Japanese National Institute of Information and Communication Technology is also working on the effort via its AKARI Architecture Design Project, noted Kubota. The groups plan to establish a concept design by 2010, develop and verify the basic technology by 2015, and have the network running by 2020.