Top > Economic Affairs > The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) > ASEM Seminar on the Digital Opportunity > Session 3: Human Capital--Awareness, Knowledge and Education > Realization of a Digital Opportunity Society (Presentation)

Presentation
Realization of a Digital Opportunity Society

Mr. Masahiro Yoshizaki
Director, Accessibility Division, Information and Communications Policy Bureau, Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications, Japan

Through the advancement of IT, we have been able to use not only real space but also cyber space as a communication medium. Now, we are able to directly and interactively communicate with anyone around the world. As a result, our daily lives are becoming more convenient, and our businesses are becoming more efficient and competitive.

The impact of introducing IT to society is so immense as to change our lives and working styles, and even our concepts of ethics and justice. These changes are not continuous from the present to the future but discontinuous; in other words, they are paradigm shifts. It is up to each individual how to use IT, but it is necessary for everyone to have the opportunity to use IT wherever they wish to do so.

Divides exist among people in terms of the opportunity to use IT, due to geographical, physical, and economic factors. The Japanese government is working on bridging these divides.

The government has provided financial assistance to local governments for establishing transmission facilities for private television broadcasting in areas with difficulties receiving radio waves transmissions.

With regard to divides created by economic factors, quality IT equipment and services have to be provided at reasonable prices in order to bridge those divides. The government has established an environment in which a market mechanism appropriately functions under fair and effective competition. Also, promotion of standardization is expected to foster lower costs through mass production.

In bridging the digital divide, the most important elements are "human resources," the user, and the supplier, such as a technology specialist or a graphic artist.

Most Internet users in Japan are in their twenties and thirties, while lesser numbers of people in other generations use the Internet. Considering that younger users, students under 20, are responsible for the next generation, the government has tried to make sure that they acquire an ability to use IT through education in schools. In fact, IT-related education shall be added to a new teaching curriculum from fiscal year 2002. This course consists of three sections. The first one is "development of an ability to operate equipment." The second one is an "ability to use information," which means an ability to search, create, and transmit information. The third one is "acquisition of manners in using information." Because these sections will become a part of the regular curriculum, I believe that they will contribute to an increase in the use of IT by younger users.

In order to teach IT in schools, a telecommunications network is necessary. Schools have traditionally been regarded as isolated places from the outside, therefore telecommunications networks have not been developed at schools. Thus, the government is promoting the "Internet at Schools" Project, which aims at providing all schools with Internet access by the end of fiscal year 2001.

At the same time, the importance of education for adult users should be emphasized. Given the low popularity of using a keyboard among Japanese people, hesitation, or resistance, against using a keyboard is quite strong. In order to increase adult chances to use IT, the government is attempting to improve interfaces with IT equipment through research and development projects. In addition, the government has implemented "IT Training Courses," which target 5.5 million adults who hope to use, but are not currently using, IT. The government allocated 55 billion yen for these courses in the supplementary budget for fiscal year 2000.

In addition, the government is implementing various policies targeted at people who cannot use IT due to disabilities and aging. For example, the government established guidelines for universal design of IT equipment and services in 1999. Following this, the Telecommunications Access Council, a consortium consisting of users, suppliers, and researchers, set more concrete guidelines and introduced a logo in 2000. Also, because of the difficulty in forming a market for people with disabilities and the elderly, and because of the difficulty in promoting market entry by the private sector, the government has developed IT equipment for people with disabilities and the elderly at the government's expense, and it also has subsidized the private sector for development. One of the reasons why most people with disabilities and the elderly do not use IT is due to a lack of instructors and the lack of a study environment. Thus, the government has invited volunteers to consult on the current situation and effective measures for support. As "e-Government" advances and society becomes dependent on IT, an inability to use IT will mean an inability to live a full life.

Japan needs more technological specialists and graphic artists, especially in rural areas, to lift IT levels. In order to bridge this aspect of the divide, the government plans to support training courses for instructors' wages, educational materials, and so on. It is essential that development of users and specialists be promoted simultaneously with the establishment of equipment and networks.

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