The Kansai Institute of Information System (KIIS) is a foundation established in 1970 as a center for the promotion of infomatization, sponsored mainly by leading Kansai economic groups with support from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Osaka Prefectural governments, the　City of Osaka and local universities. The Institute conducts various programs　aimed mainly toward defining the information society of the future for the Kansai area.