Citation[]
Round-Table Conference on ICT International Competitiveness Enhancement and International Expansion, Initiative for ICT International Competitiveness Enhancement and International Expansion (June 2014) (not available online).
Overview[]
The report states that all stakeholders should share a sense of urgency that Japan stands at a historical cross-roads as far as sustainable growth and development are concerned. The report's vision for 2020 set its goals:
- (1) to be a knowledge-driven and information-driven nation (Smart Japan) that strategically applies world-leading knowledge and information, blending real and virtual modalities, in all industrial sectors and social and economic activities and
- (2) to vigorously stimulate Japan's ICT international expansion under a dynamic and effective public-private cooperative framework, with a strategic perspective on what to compete in (sectors), where to compete (markets), and who to compete with (competitors), and to tie this expansion to greater international competitiveness in ICT.
The basic approach for the strategic plan consists of four parts: (1) put forward “three-in-one” ICT-driven solutions for the public issues Japan is dealing with, the global issues the world is facing, and the individual issues partner countries are tackling; (2) propose application packages that encompass infrastructure, disaster management, content, medical care, education, resources, e-government, and financing as comprehensive solutions for partner countries’ issues; (3) devise new architectures centered on the keywords of safety, security, and hospitality; and (4) work in partnership with industry, government, and academia to construct an all-Japan framework.
The report also lists specific policies that should be pursued: (1) establishment of conditions that encourage business ventures — i.e., construction of a Japanese-originated global expansion model and establishment of ICT showcases both at home and abroad to pave the way to erecting a Japan brand; (2) development and deployment of ICT personnel — i.e., introduction of programming classes at elementary school levels and strengthening networks with international exchange students; (3) enhancement and extension of technology diplomacy — i.e., international expansion that makes sharp distinctions between existing technology and systems and promising technologies and strategic promotion of [standardization]] that stresses exit strategies; and (4) construction of a public-private all-Japan framework — i.e., dispatching public-private missions (top-level sales), construction of local public-private taskforces in countries targeted for expansion, and arrangement of mechanisms such as expense-sharing for international expansion.
Source[]
- Information and Communications in Japan 2014, at 15-16.