Foreword

Introduction
Hello, and kindest of greetings. I am the new director at the WIDE project, elected to this position at the 2010 Spring WIDE camp. WIDE was established in 1988, and in over two decades has played a number of key roles of the development and construction of the Internet in Japan, and across the world. At the 20th anniversary in 2008, WIDE had asked itself important questions as to the future projects, goals, and shape of the organization. This debate continued for several years, in order to frame WIDE for its next decade. The WIDE project consists of members with a wide spread of ages, almost 40 years between the youngest and the eldest. At the same time, we are creating lively and dynamic relationships among from traditional information technology researchers that develop new hardware and software, and to those involved with the legal and financial sectors. As WIDE project and its works spread into a wider sphere within society, we feel the need for a renewal of the structure of the organization in order to best meet the demands of our mission. WIDE Project and its original goal to integrate academia and industry in a single and unique consortium in order to bring free unrestrained innovation from a wide variety of researcher, helping them overcome the traditional boundaries between organizations. WIDE finds its ultimate purpose as an autonomous force utilizing new technologies for the betterment of society. To continue working towards this goal, we require the renewal and rebuilding of our organization. In particular, we must build an organization that is capable of addressing the growing intersection between ourselves and foreign organizations, global organizations, social and governmental projects.
I am honored to serve WIDE in this time of change and transformation. To meet these demands, I have engaged in active discussion with our members through board meetings, research groups, and information camps, regarding these three themes.
• 1) Development of Human Resources
• 2) Development of the industry
• 3) Creation of a global society.
A notable aspect of WIDE has been its large number of student members, accounting for half of the organization. These students and young researchers shall form a core of our group, the future leaders and architects of society only a scant 10 years away. We must foster our youth and develop their global perspective. I believe it is of a pressing need to develop a progressive OJT research and education environment. I ask for the advice and help from our sponsors, domestic, and international partners to make this possible, and create a tangible strategic benefit.
In addition to our existing work to develop cutting edge computer network communications technologies, I believe WIDE must also contribute to increasing the productivity and competitiveness of current industries, as well as finding and developing new industrial opportunities. For instance, WIDE has been a pivotal part of the development of a non-PC device communications network. Popularly known as the Internet of Things, or IoT, WIDE has been involved since 2000, working to define a future global system for IoT. As smart objects are interconnected and interact, we believe a future “smart” infrastructure will be sustainable, effective, and efficient. Our current round of work over the next decade will build the foundations of the next generation infrastructure, defining the new market standard.
WIDE is operated as a consortium of academic and industrial partners. We offer an unrestrained space for the free and autonomous research by our members. Unlike an industrial lab's needs for applicable results, nor the academic lab's demand for unique and creative base research; WIDE project aims to provide a hybrid of pragmatic base research, and applications research. With this space, WIDE has nurtured fruits of research that have not been found in traditional research organizations. This research model stands as a core unique to the WIDE project. As a defining element of WIDE, it is critical we further develop and maintain our stance on research.
In 2011, the inevitable exhaustion of the IPv4 address space became a reality, marking an end of an era. WIDE Project had established a next generation IP working group in 1995, starting its collaboration with American and European researchers in developing IPng(IP next generation), which would eventually become what we now call IPv6. In 1998, we conducted the development of a BSD UNIX based IPv6 software development system entitled KAME, along with the IPv6 functional and interconnectivity validation system TAHI projects. This was followed by the Linux IPv6 system development project USAGI in 2000, and IPv6 for mobile communications development project Nautilus6. These projects have contributed to global IPv6 system research and development.
In addition, WIDE internet, INTEROP Tokyo ShowNet, Asian Internet Interconnection Initiatives (AI3) Satellite network, and the Japan Gigabit Network (JGN) are all projects establishing multivendor interconnectivity conducted through the research and development network. In 2000, Jun Murai chaired the newly established IPv6 Promotional Council. In 2008, I oversaw the foundation of the IPv4 depletion response task force as director. This work has been a small part of the global effort to the real world adoption of IPv6 systems, without disrupting existing internet infrastructure. This essential and ground laying work is nearing completing, in no small part to the 15 years of diligent efforts contributed by WIDE Project and its members. Large scale and tangible response such as implementing IPv6 in all ICT systems, is an essential challenge that the internet industry must meet. Such efforts are not something that can be conducted quickly. This issue is not constrained to ISPs, but will affect homes, offices, and all digital mobile devices such as internet enabled smart phones. Training engineers, establishing management and operations best practices, creating a support infrastructure, payment systems, security functionality, applications development; these and many more fields require immediate transition to IPv6. Especially important is the rapid development of internet infrastructure in developing nations. The adoption of internet technologies is a great enabler of modernization, allowing the development of internet technologies in all facets of industry.
The depletion of IPv4 address space at the IANA only highlights the importance and pressing nature of our work.
We at WIDE are committed to greeting our responsibility to the global society with renewed enthusiasm in developing our members. We will do this by designing and implementing new organizational structures to best meet the demands of the 2010s, building on our pledge to be leaders on a path to building a better society.
As the new director, I would like to take this opportunity to express the deepest of gratitude and respect to the members of WIDE project. I hope that you will continue your inspiring work as educators, researchers, and students within the organization. I look forward to serving you, and am excited at the work we will accomplish together.
Thank You.

March 2011
Hiroshi Esaki