Tokyo, Japan - Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO Hiroaki Kitano; hereinafter referred to as Sony CSL) announced today that the company will open Kyoto Laboratory, its first branch office in Japan, in April 2020.

Sony CSL is working on creating new technologies and solutions by undertaking various research activities designed to contribute to social progress and to the betterment of humanity. Efficiency and automation brought about by the evolution of technology will continue to provide convenience and benefit to people's lives; yet the company recognizes that a future with an even higher quality of life is possible, going beyond financial and material satisfaction. Guided by this understanding, Sony CSL will use its Kyoto Laboratory to conduct research focused on the fulfillment of human values.

With the opening of its Kyoto Laboratory, Sony CSL will pursue research into the augmentation of human abilities, including creativity, which is one of its main research themes. The research will be conducted in a decentralized, collaborative manner with its Tokyo laboratories. The Kyoto Laboratory will build on the geographic location and proximity to the regional culture - including the tangible and intangible assets, human resources, and other merits unique to Kyoto and the surrounding Kansai region - as it explores diverse scientific fields in collaboration with partners in industry, government and academia from various cultural backgrounds.

With the establishment of the Kyoto Laboratory, Sony CSL will provide collaboration opportunities for outstanding researchers in and outside of Japan, leveraging the new organization to create value.

Jun Rekimoto, Ph.D., Director, Sony CSL Kyoto Laboratory, said "What are we really looking for once efficiency and convenience are achieved? The Japanese word yutakasa ("abundance of life") refers not only to economic and material contentment, but also to a sense of higher fulfillment—including spiritual abundance, oneness with Nature, and inner peace and serenity. While the advancement of information technology is making it convenient to connect anything all around the world, it is also helping us realize the intrinsic value of a given location, something that cannot be found anywhere else. This is why, at Sony CSL Kyoto, our research aims to contribute to the fulfillment of human values."

According to Hiroaki Kitano, Ph.D., President and CEO, "Since the establishment of our Tokyo office in 1988 and the subsequent opening of the Paris office in 1996, Sony CSL has consistently advocated "research for the future of humanity." This process, of course, reflects each of our researcher's values and their views of the world. With the addition of our new Kyoto Laboratory, we hope to undertake new challenges of shaping the future we aspire to realize."