2019年7月23日火曜日

The sharing economy: from regulation to promotion


I am a member of the Sharing Economy Investigative Committee, which is organized by the IT Headquarters.

The White Paper on Information and Communications, published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, has identified that Japan has a lower level of familiarity for the sharing economy than other countries.

For vacation rentals, the United States is at 87%, Germany is at 86%, China is at 91%, and South Korea is at 91%, while Japan is at 72%.
For Uber, the United States is at 85%, Germany is at 80%, China is at 91%, and South Korea is at 82%, while Japan is at 48%.

The main cause has been identified as a high level of anxiety regarding the safety/reliable of the services in regards to accidents and trouble. The situation requires a response for the use and demand aspects as well as a plan to eliminate this anxiety.

When the government examined this matter last year, the discussions focused mainly on regulations, such as a participation regulation, the obligatory provision of information, and regulations for overseas.

Later, however, there was a change of direction to emphasize the meaning of a sharing economy, moving towards encouraging it and allowing for self-regulation. I support this change, and would like to create a scheme that balances encouragement with safety.

For the sharing economy, one important point is how industry laws will be applied or relaxed for it. However, there also needs to be a discussion on how the sharing economy can move past the boundaries of industry law because C2C is at its core, not businesses.

In order to maintain a standard of service, we had a discussion on the framework for businesses to make voluntary rules, and the framework for the recognition of service providers. We are now considering a model and guidelines for these purposes.

With the consent of the public and private sectors, we will create a framework focusing on joint-regulation rather than public-regulation. This is a creative measure to find a balance between the freedom of the U.S. West Coast approach and the traditional Japanese industrial law-based regulations approach.

One more important point is the degree of freedom for businesses.

Setting aside the black zones forbidden by law or the white zones permissible for business, we are left with the problem: the grey zones. That is where the real juiciness of the sharing economy is. However, Japan is a country where grey zones are shrunken down, making it hard to do business in them.

In truth, there is an “Act on Strengthening Industrial Competitiveness” being enforced that is full of measures for eliminating the grey zones. For sectors where it is unclear if the current regulations can be applied, this scheme will have the authorities examine and judge if the business plans apply or not, and propose deregulation measures where applicable.

These practical applications of the system and expansion plans for measures have also become a theme. We should put our heads together and take action to allow the Japanese-style sharing economy to function without being hampered.

2019年7月9日火曜日

An IP-based broadcasting is finally on the horizon


I spoke with Takuya Watanabe of the Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association’s Digital Internet Research Society about American broadcasters.
American broadcasters are currently facing the three problems of maintaining advertisement revenue, monetizing digital distribution, and overseas developments. Japan is no different.
Internet Protocol (IP) was this year’s keyword for the National Association of Broadcasters. “IP-based broadcasting” is finally on the horizon.
To switch to IP-based broadcasting is done on many levels, including the broadcast system (production/distribution), digital distribution, marketing, business, and operating model. It is finally time for the broadcast system, the true crux, to change.
TV shows are traditionally transmitted using a video signal format known as Serial Digital Interface (SDI), but there will be a complete switch over to IP. This will make a system that integrates both broadcasting and distribution into one package. The movement is to have TV become cloud-based.
Over the past 20 years, the world of telecommunications has seen the total switch from phones to the internet, from switchboards to routers, and from circuit switching to packets. This change will be just like those of the past.
One particular example is US’ ABC making the switch to IP and cloud-based broadcasting. A great deal of capital investment will be required for the initial transition, but costs will later decrease dramatically. Some even theorize that the total costs involved will be halved. If ABC succeeds with the transition, then other broadcasters are expected to follow like an avalanche.

When a broadcast system becomes IP-based and is outsourced to the cloud, broadcasting, distribution, VOD, and social media interaction are integrated into a single package. This turns the traditional broadcasting station into a station for the production and editing of content. The question is whether or not broadcasts have the resolve and strategies to handle this change.

There is also the alternative strategy of operating the system without outsourcing, keeping the intangibles and tangibles in balance. However, this is more expensive than outsourcing to specialists and threatens to be a security risk.

Of course, this trend wave will also reach Japan. It is a tsunami compared to the telecommunications/broadcast fusion 20 years ago, the internet fusion of 10 years ago, and the advent of smart TVs 5 years ago. How will Japanese broadcasters face this wave?

There has actually been a great amount of research done by Japanese broadcasters on the theme, and manufacturers are taking a serious marketing stance. The matter comes up from time to time at the IPDC Forum, which I am a representative of.

For the telecommunications/broadcast fusion, the digital distribution of TV shows was a major theme. Though we take it for granted now, it was originally feared to destroy the traditional broadcaster business model, and even discussing it was almost considered taboo.

And now, the switch to IP-based broadcasting will bring another sweeping change to the system. At the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ Takenaka  committee 12 years ago, there was a strong opposition from the TV industry regarding the hot topic of an “All-IP Broadcasting Era.” Even though the industry was making strides in internet development, they foresaw the All-IP Broadcasting Era as a disastrous  future.

However, changes in system technology like these are unavoidable, and like the case of the internet was for telecommunications, the change will be swift. For the time being, we should keep a careful eye on the situation.