Shoh Nasu
Vice Chairman, Keidanren
That information wields an enormous influence on societal transformations was made quite clear a few years ago when the massive wall separating East Germany from West Germany was brought down by the hands of East Germans who had learned about the benefits of the Free World through radio.
Advanced information that can be fed to any location through networks has accelerated the global and borderless use of information to a degree never before seen and has promoted the international standardization of systems and institutions. This new age encourages people to act quickly to digest, understand, and assimilate the positive achievements of others. In an international Community where information travels across national boundaries, one must take care to ensure conformity with international norms or risk being alienated from the global economy. Should narrow interests attempt to contravene such conformity, the economic community as a whole would surely suffer a setback.
But can we really build a nation that compares favorably with others in the world simply by pursuing standardization? I believe that the more progress made in the area of international standardization the more important it becomes for individual nations to assert their own identity. The paramount goal is for each country to build its own independent strength without falling into the trap of just keeping up with the Joneses. But such independence must not be marred by smugness, which turns one's eyes away from the current of the times. Such independence is created when you readily recognize other countries' strengths, take those in, and add your own value to them.
For example, in the field of energy--which happens to be my area of professional expertise--we note the extended introduction of elements of competition and the marketplace in the United States and Europe. Japan is actively promoting their introduction at home because of the benefits that accrue to customers. But at the same time, it is important for us to determine what additional value we can bring to the situation, because as a nation poorly endowed with natural resources, Japan must give the issue of energy security more serious consideration than it sometimes receives in the West. It is also essential that Japan, as a large consumer of energy, give the fullest attention to environmental protection.
That viewpoint must guide our future policies on energy, including nuclear energy, if Japan is to remain a strong and affluent country for a long time to come, and if it is to play an important role in fostering greater world harmony and thereby command the respect and trust of developing countries.