The Japan Times | Readers in Council
December 3, 2000
In the Nov. 28 article, “State adopts IT national strategy,” it is reported that the Japanese government adopted a national strategy to “turn Japan into the world’s most advanced country in the area of information technology within the next five years.”
This is all very well said, but what will this mean to the average Japanese citizen? Will the achievement of goals such as enabling at least 30 million households constant access to high-speed networks solve the more basic issues facing the Japanese urban consumer today, such as the high cost of living, atrocious commuting and poor housing conditions? Will I, a middle class “salaryman,” be able to afford within the next five years an American-size home in the Tokyo area at American prices, be able to buy American rice at American prices, and take only 30 minutes to commute to the office by car instead of currently being trapped in a cattle car for an hour and a half? Will there be in five years time as many sewage systems in Japan as there are now in the United States and Europe?
The IT National Strategy is a strategy without a vision. It does not state what kind of Japan is to be created as a result of turning the nation into the world’s most advanced IT nation. The policymakers of this country should not forget to address the current issues facing the Japanese consumer at large and strive to create strategies that will turn Japan into the most comfortable country in the world, where everyone from all over would want to live and work.
KO UNOKI
Tokyo
Comments