A mantra for a Culture Ministry

　There is currently a debate about creating a Committee on Broadcasts and Transmissions, or “Japanese FCC.” The idea arose in the latter part of the 90s, and I resigned from the government in opposition. Afterwards, I have continued to voice my opposition as the debate continues to recur. This is because organizations like America’s FCC, France’s CSA, and the United Kingdom’s OFCOM, when viewed with a mind for the realities of Japan’s politics and political administration, pose the danger of encouraging an out of control bureaucracy. Establishing...

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Does IT have a role to play in revival?

 　March 11, 2011. A day which called for a change in IT policy. Very shortly after the earthquake, I saw that, rather than “recovery,” what was needed was a more long term “revival,” and that rather than reviving IT, it was important to direct our effort towards using IT as a tool in the larger revival. In line with this, I published three suggestions.  1. Plan to re-establish networks. The net played an active role post-disaster. The...

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Good going, Asia.

　Verdant paddies dotted with ponds, stretching out across the land, slowly crossed by oxen as they valiantly labor. Amidst the humidity which hangs over it all, rice is being cultivated. 　Upon entering the city of Hanoi, one sees... A playhouse built in imitation of Opera Garnier. A church which looks a bit like Notre Dame. Loud and incongruent houses in the western style. Vestiges of French rule can be seen all over. 　Youth gathered on the sidewalk,...

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The ubiquity of Machine to Machine

  　Recently, the term “M2M” has begun to be heard with fair frequency among the more digitally inclined. P2P, Peer to Peer that also actually means person to person, represents communication between individual people; conversely M2M stands for Machine to Machine, indicating a connection between two objects. In other words, glasses and clothing, desks and chairs, refrigerators and vacuum cleaners, cars and traffic lights, will all one day come...

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Japanese Creativity

 　“The world’s most creative country, Japan. The creative market, Tokyo.” The results of a survey conducted in April 2012 by Adobe. It was a shocking report. http://adobe.ly/IH8hPE　（pdf） 　The investigation comprises the results of surveying 5000 people in the US, UK, Germany, France, and Japan. Outside of Japan, Japan was rated the most creative, taking the top spot with 36% (the US was in second place with 26%). Pop culture, fashion, dining,...

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