Is Industry Responsible for Flame Wars?

 Eating establishments have frequently been the victim of flame wars. A part-time worker at a convenience store posts a picture of himself in a cooler to Facebook, and they get flamed. That convenience store has temporarily closed. A part-time worker at a steak chain posts a picture of himself in the freezer and they get flamed. That store had to close their doors and is now looking into how to seek reparations for the damage done to their business.  There are also cases that involve customers. At a gyoza (dumpling) shop in Kanezawa,...

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Selling Japan through “Cool Japan”

 NHK has a program called “Answer Questions about Cool Japan!” Here are my answers. Q. The government has started to expend energy in promoting “Cool Japan.” What is the real condition in the business world? A. The content industry is 13 trillion yen. That represents 1/10th of the worldwide 160 trillion yen market, and puts us in second place after the U.S. It’s centered on the Manga, anime, and game industries, but the market in Japan is showing a contractive tendency.  Japan’s percentage of content exports is 5%, which is fairly...

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Digital Textbooks: 1 person; 1 year; 10,000 yen

 In 2010, when the DiTT (Association of Digital Textbooks & Teaching) was established, there were those who said that our goal of having digital textbooks and a device in the hand of every student was just a castle in the air. Some recommended that we amend our goal to use regular textbooks rather than digital. In the last year, things have changed.  Osaka City, the Arakawa section of Tokyo, Takeo city in Saga prefecture, and Bizen city in Okayama Prefecture have all pledged to put a digital device into the hand of every elementary...

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Living alone in the age of “everyone”

 It’s the era of “Everyone.”  In 2006, TIME magazine’s person of the year was “You” and the cover included a computer with a mirror for a screen. The person reflected in the mirror used digital technology to play a leading role. This age was called Web 2.0.  After that, social media exploded onto the scene. Everyone was connected, and everyone’s voice had the potential to directly influence society. It influenced presidential elections, shaped the Arab Spring, and played a part in demonstrations from London to New York. Japan...

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