The new partnership between the Linux Foundation (LF) and the Information-Technology Promotion Agency (IPA) project backed by the Japanese government will officially kick off October 30. Partners will be revealing tangible collaboration plans at the IPA Forum in Meiji Kinen-kan in Tokyo, Japan.

The Linux Foundation states that it will be looking to increase the number of Japanese programmers working on Linux and Open Source development through the project. Cooperation will focus on technological development, standardization and legal issues

The announcement comes at a time where the interest in Free and Open Source Software in Japan is bigger than ever. Several examples clearly demonstrate that more and more electronics manufacturers are starting to use Linux for their devices, says the LF in its announcement. Just recently, the Tokyo stock exchange decided to introduce a Linux-based system as its next generation enterprise application. In July of this year, the Japanese government announced that it will be looking to adopt open standards in all fields. The government has dedicated a budget of 1.5 trillion yens (about US$ 10.4 billion) for this purpose. And there are plans to develop a Linux-based administrative system.

"Japanese companies and developers have been strong supporters of the LF since Day One. We’re determined to do more to support Linux and open source developers in Japan." says Linux Foundation Director Jim Zemlin. "This agreement is part of the LF’s aggressive regional promotion activities and an important way for the open source community to continue to expand."

Just recently market researchers Gartner predicted that Open Source software would account for 60 percent of core applications in business and government in the Asian-Pacific region by 2010, compared to less than 15 percent in 2004.