High Expectations for JIN

by Nobuo Saito

JIN (Japan Information Network, Inc.) has been transformed into a new company to strengthen its services and activities promoting better understanding of Japan overseas. Starting such a new venture, which never existed before, on the 60th anniversary of the war's end is also most welcome.

On the occasion of this 60th anniversary, the mass media has been showing old photos and films showing what Japan was like 60 years ago and later. It made me think about how Japan needs to carefully formulate policies and strategies for its future. The times always change, and during the past 60 years especially, we have seen exceptional historical changes.

Japan becoming the world's No. 2 economic power is due to a number of reasons. The country's push for modern industry, zeal for product manufacturing, and marketing of numerous products with worldwide appeal can be cited as major reasons. Japan is also backed by a scientific and technological prowess ranking among the world's best.

However, how long can Japan maintain this current condition? The 20th century can be called the century of science and technology led by the United States. The 21st century will likely see science and technology advancing further. Asia is also a fast-rising region serving an important role in industrial development.

Even within my own field of Information Technology (IT), India, China, and South Korea are seeing rapid growth. IT specialists in these countries are said to be superior to Japan's IT engineers. As a person who has trained such people in Japan, I feel embarrassed by this. When you consider the huge populations of India and China compared with Japan's, we might think of Japan as near hopeless. The US and Europe are also formidable competitors. Is there a way for Japan to survive this fierce competition, and is there a bright future ahead for Japan? We must seriously ponder over this.

Off-hand, I can think of three strategies: Training people to have high intellectual productivity, promoting industrial innovation, and having a global outlook. To improve labor productivity, economic growth has been essential. However, in the knowledge-oriented society of the 21st century, improving intellectual productivity will be most important, and how we can train people to improve this intellectual productivity will be a major topic. Applying the knowledge and ideas of these people for industrial innovation is an absolute requirement for winning the economic competition in the international arena. The current industrial structure geared for product manufacturing must be changed. The mind-set for this change must be globally-oriented from the start.

Amid such conditions, what role should JIN fulfill? Its foremost function is disseminating about Japan. People with a global outlook and high intellectual productivity who drive innovations in new industries are needed in any country. Japan will lead in this regard. If we can propagate this, we can, for example, spearhead new industries. And in the near future, we can look forward to mutual exchanges between Japan and other countries based on JIN's activities. On the Internet, various tools for mutual communication and exchanges on a global scale provide unlimited stimuli for the next generation of human resources.

Having a global outlook will become normal and part of everyday life for them. Without a good information provider, good information cannot be received. Backed by JIN's longtime experience and expertise, it can certainly provide a platform for meaningful exchanges. This is one of JIN's essential projects to help Japan advance in an increasingly international society.

SFC (Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus)
http://www.sfc.keio.ac.jp/index.html.en