Humanity has achieved progress as it has deepened its mutual understanding and shared its wisdom, overcoming barriers due to national, regional, ethnic, generational, and other differences. Communication is the most critical activity in human society, and information and communications technology (ICT) is the basis of that communication. ICT is also the infrastructure that supports humanity's advanced intellectual and economic activities. The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) promotes the full spectrum of research and development in ICT from basic to applied research with an integrated perspective, and thus promotes the advancement of Japan as an intellectual nation that leads the international community. Moreover, NICT forms close ties with the academic and business communities in Japan as well as with research institutes overseas and returns its R&D findings to society in a broad range of fields. In this way, NICT contributes to the creation of lifestyles that are affluent and safe, a society that is full of intellectual creativity and dynamism, and a world that values harmony and peace.