Information Technology in Japan

Fujio Cho Vice Chairmen of the Board of Councillors, Keidanren President, Toyota Motor Corporation

Japan's economic vitality in the 21^st century will hinge on how the nation copes with the information revolution. Putting in place necessary infrastructure is just a beginning. Yes, we need to build a high-speed communications network and make that network affordably accessible to everyone. But we also need to take further-reaching measures to place information technology at the heart of our economic structure. That includes loosening or eliminating regulatory impediments, revising the tax code, and providing students and employees with pertinent education and training.

The information revolution is every bit as profound in its economic and social ramifications as the industrial revolution of the 18th century. I perceive two core issues for Japan in coping with the present revolution: (1) minimizing social disruption and (2) melding information technology with our traditional strengths in manufacturing.

Information technology offers undeniable benefits in spawning industries, products, and employment and in making life more convenient and rewarding for lots of people. But the technology also has a dark side. It tends to polarize society between people who are equipped--educationally and otherwise--to benefit from the revolution and those who aren't. Information technology even threatens to eliminate some industries and job categories.

Employment is an especially pressing consideration. Information technology has transformed the composition of the labor market in the United States. That transformation has proceeded smoothly because it has occurred during economic growth of unprecedented vigor and persistence and because the U.S. labor market is extremely flexible.

In Japan, we need to promote flexibility in the labor market through training that will broaden people's employability and through employment practices that will heighten labor mobility. Government and business need to provide people with opportunities to learn new skills and new jobs. Vigorous investment in new lines of business is equally important, for we need to generate new kinds of employment. By fostering a more-flexible work force and by cultivating new employment opportunities, we will be positioning ourselves to benefit broadly from the information revolution.

The other core issue for Japan in coping with the information revolution is how to meld information technology with manufacturing. Traditional strengths in craftsmanship and manufacturing have served as the foundation of Japan's economic growth and development. We need to adopt information technology in ways that reinforce that foundation. That means using information technology to configure a new generation of manufacturing systems and to develop exciting, breakthrough products.

Japanese manufacturing can be a vehicle for advances in information technology, just as information technology can engender progress in our manufacturing industries. Infusing systems and products with information and information-related capabilities can and should lead us into new realms of possibility.

We in Japan need to blaze a trail of our own in the brave new world of information technology. Let us fortify ourselves for the journey by drawing fully on well-proved strengths.