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[Key issues]
The Government's measures to support the advanced information technology adopted the strategy of "Catch-up based technology development led by convoy system" until the early 1980s, in an attempt to catch up with the advanced technologies of the U.S. and Europe by cooperation among large corporations. However, this traditional strategy was not effective as the U.S. reinforced its system of intellectual property rights and strictly controlled infringement of software copyrights, and also because software technology upon which the "second runner-up strategy" does not become dominant, the traditional strategy of technology development does not function any more. Japan must therefore become a leader in technology development, and sow the seeds of future products. This requires an open and competitive evaluation system at universities as described in (b) of "1.Investigation and analysis of the structures and systems of U.S. technology development". As also described in (c), administrative agencies require a system for allocating talented people like program managers, who can manage and evaluate overall technology development. Furthermore, a legal system for granting incentives to researchers in universities as described in (e) must be set up. All of these require horizontal coordination among many ministries and government offices, as the traditional vertical administration system among the ministries and government offices is ineffective. Borders among industries have been disappearing due to new information infrastructures such as the Internet. Companies are now facing a highly competitive society that demands world's top-rated technology and market size. However, Japanese companies have lagged far behind companies of the U.S. and Europe in their use of information technology and staff pasting, and are becoming less internationally competitive in many industries. Large manufacturers are restructuring by changing their in-house systems or by M&A with other corporations. As a result, companies are forced to shift from paternalistic management and life-long employment systems, to performance-based management, and to give top priority to profits. Recognizing that the industrial world is at a turning point, the Japanese Government, led by the Prime Minister, is holding conferences on enhancing industrial competitiveness and taking pump-priming measures to promote new industries. However, it is pointed out that there is little national vision and no priority investment. This is perhaps due to a lack of information related experts in government as well as a lack of awareness among those who draft policies that information technology is the key technology for industry. |