Cool Japan: Ships and Cats

 ■ Cool Japan: Ships and Cats The “Ships” episode of NHK’s Cool JapanJapan has relied upon the sea and its rivers. Our lifestyle and economy has been supported by ships. Tokyo is an unusual capital city in that it faces the sea. Looking at this fact through a cultural lens from the perspective of an outsider leads to many new discoveries.The mysterious world of swan boats, barges and boat racingThe United Kingdom, another maritime nation, is said to mainly think of its waterways as a source of power and has actually hindered the passage of...

Read More

Cool Japan: Ninja and Blades

 ■ Cool Japan: Ninja and Blades The “Ninja” episode from NHK’s Cool JapanI have taken a friend from overseas to the Ninja Restaurant in Akasaka. Ninja have been revisited as something cool that can be used to attract international tourists. They are strong, cool and mysterious. This is a theme that I have proposed. Ninja EventsThe Japan Ninja Council was formed in 2015 in an attempt to raise the profile of ninja, bringing together a group that originally viewed each other as rivals. Five prefectures with links to ninja joined forces with...

Read More

Cool Japan: Umami and cleaning

 ■ Cool Japan: Umami and cleaning The “Umami” episode from NHK’s Cool JapanIt was only with the discovery of umami receptors on the tongue in the year 2000 that it was scientifically proved that “umami” was a distinct flavor. Now that Japanese cuisine has been registered as intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO, there are probably more people overseas who are interested in knowing more about the secret to creating Japanese flavors. The umami of dashi stock and ramenIt is thought that bonito and other fish have been used for dashi stock...

Read More

Cool Japan: Cafeterias and home cooking

 ■ Cool Japan: Cafeterias and home cooking The “Cafeteria” episode from NHK’s Cool JapanThere is no other country in the world with as many international restaurants as Japan. No country has as many French and Italian flags fluttering in the streets. Tokyo has three times the number of Michelin-starred restaurants than Paris. There are many reasons for this.CommunicationJapanese restaurants place importance on entertainment and communication with the customer. The benches at sushi restaurants are calculated to be of a width that makes communication...

Read More

Cool Japan: Manners and Club Activities

 ■ Cool Japan: Manners and Club Activities The “Manners” episode from NHK’s Cool JapanThere is no such thing as a global standard for manners. For foreigners, some manners must be impenetrable and confusing. It is not a matter of right or wrong — manners are merely different. Let’s take a look at manners that are thought to be strange. Waving goodbye to someone until you can no longer see themThis is seen as part of hospitality and showing concern for the other person. One must not assume that it will be possible to meet again. Each and...

Read More

Thinking about education in the age of AI

 ■ Thinking about education in the age of AI There was a symposium called “Thinking about education in the age of AI.” So, what is education in the age of AI? Japan’s best researchers and members of the business community came together to exchange opinions on this question.Three participants were luminary leaders in the field of AI research.One was Dr Inui, Team Leader at RIKEN and Professor at Tohoku University.Another was Dr Saeki, NICT Center Leader.Another was Dr Takamura, Team Leader at AIST and Professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology.Dr...

Read More

Open data - third in the world

 ■ Open data - third in the world I am a group leader for one of VLED’s committees.The Cabinet Secretariat IT Strategy Office, MIC, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), the Keidanren, NTT, KDDI, Fujitsu, NEC, Hitachi, IBM, Microsoft, Dentsu, etc.At the Council for Investments in the Future, Prime Minister Abe announced that he would “forcefully pursue” open data and nominated the time until 2020 as...

Read More

Telecommunications and broadcasting convergence 2.0: Issues and future trajectory

 ■ Telecommunications and broadcasting convergence 2.0: Issues and future trajectory Issues can be divided into 1) business issues, 2) technical issues and 3) systemic issues.1) Business issuesIssues include: how businesses approach the internet; they are not yet conducting live streaming and cannot see a path away from being a business that relies on advertising income; viewing histories are not being used; the issue of copyright processing has been neglected; the business is not keeping up with the fact that the internet is evolving into...

Read More