The Group of Seven ministers in charge of information and communication technology began a two-day meeting Friday on Shikoku to discuss ways to use advances in the field to drive economic growth while ensuring data security.

The first G-7 ICT ministerial meeting in nearly two decades comes at a time when cyberattacks have become a global reality and the development of such potentially revolutionary technologies as artificial intelligence and the "Internet of Things" (IoT) — the concept of connecting various products to the Internet — continues apace.

Gathering in Kagawa Prefecture, participants from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States are expected to seek stronger collaboration to protect the free flow of information over the Internet while boosting measures to protect data and privacy.