The future of content, freedom, education and technology

■The future of content, freedom, education and technology

Kickoff of the LDP Intellectual Property Research Council Digital Content Subcommittee @ LDP Headquarters.

In the presence of relevant government ministries and agencies, including Takayuki Kobayashi, Takashi Yamashita, Norio Tokai, Taku Otsuka, Taro Yamada, and Ken Akamatsu, they were given the topic of "The Future of Content," and while introducing discussions at the Intellectual Property Headquarters and other organizations, they presented their opinions as follows.

Changes in the content industry environment. Documents from the Intellectual Property Task Force.

・Shift to digital distribution

・The rise of global platforms, i.e. changes in the global market

・Expanding creative talent : the era of all creators

While raising these points, he also expressed the view that content is an intermediate good and a communication consumer good in the economy and society.

The Intellectual Property Task Force has raised the issue of "balancing the facilitation of use with the interests of rights holders" as a future outlook and challenge, based on its recognition of changes such as digital distribution, the global market, the spread of creativity, and intermediate goods in the digital economy.

In other words, the direction is to "establish a creator economy for everyone."

My interpretation.

The word "content" was coined around 1993. In 2003, the Intellectual Property Headquarters was established, and industrial policies aimed at expanding the scale of the content industry.

However, 20 years later, the scale of the industry has not expanded significantly and remains flat, currently worth 14 trillion yen.

The policy is based on two pillars: Internet measures and expansion of overseas markets.

On the other hand, there were two major changes.

One reason is not the scale of the industry, but the explosive growth in the amount of content and creators.

the past decade, the fusion of the 3Cs is progressing, with content at the core, communication becoming more active, and communities being created.

Another reason is that the way the world sees Japan is that it is primarily focused on pop culture and content, such as anime and games. "Cool Japan." Japan is changing its face from an industrial country to a cultural country.

These will evolve through new technologies such as AI, VR, and blockchain, and expand into new areas such as the metaverse and web3.

Current state of the industry. The content industry was hit hard by COVID-19 but is now recovering.

The effects of the policy are being seen in the areas of online and overseas issues.

The online content market share has risen from around 10% ten years ago to 43%.

The overseas market has also grown to 4.5 trillion yen. It is important to involve overseas communities and capture inbound demand.

More importantly, as an industrial policy, is the ripple effect of content. The total value of content and five related fields such as communications and characters is 50 trillion yen, or 10% of GDP. Content functions as an intermediate good. How can Japan incorporate content into its economic ecosystem, following the strategy of Hollywood movies in which people drive American cars and drink coke?

Policy development.

The Intellectual Property Plan 2022 will first set out a content strategy for the Web 3 era, focusing on the metaverse and NFTs.

Regarding the copyright system, the government is aiming to realize simple and centralized rights processing through the establishment of a cross-sectoral contact point and a system through the development of a database.

It also lists strengthening measures against piracy.

We plan to advance these three pillars.

My comments.

In terms of traditional Internet compatibility, it is important for the copyright system to adapt to the digital age.

Now that system reforms have been made to address the convergence of communications and broadcasting and a major industrial policy task has been accomplished, the next major theme is a cultural policy that will make it easier for everyone to use and create content.

With regard to overseas expansion, efforts are being made to combat piracy.

This issue is also one in which efforts are being made across the Diet, the government, and the private sector, with the copyright system now in place and international cooperation also being strengthened.

In addition, measures for the metaverse and web3 are being implemented.

As new technologies such as AI, 5G, VR, and blockchain revolutionize the content industry, related policy themes are emerging one after another.

Moreover, since this involves a borderless virtual space, it needs to be approached as an international strategy.

In addition, I would like to see policies that take into account the three Cs: content, communication, and community, be strengthened.

This is a Cool Japan initiative that promotes so-called "oshikatsu," attracts inbound tourists, and links with food, fashion, tourism, and other areas.

These are short-term policies that we would like to see strong political leadership push forward with, but what I would also like to ask of you is longer-term policies.

I would like to see content recognized as a major national strategy and a sustainable cultural industry policy that makes use of Japan's strengths.

What are Japan's strengths?

There are many, but three to mention are freedom, creativity, and technique.

Freedom. Backed by historical culture, norms such as religion and class are loose, and there are few restrictions on expression. There is an atmosphere where both adults and children can enjoy anime and games.

And the creativity and IP production. From top professionals to amateurs and children, everyone can draw pictures and play the flute. The number of creators is huge.

Furthermore, although some say that the technology is declining, Japan also possesses high technical capabilities in media expression. It is important to maintain and develop these capabilities, and this is what we hope for from politics.

I hope that this cultural environment of freedom will be protected.

I believe this is the source of Cool Japan, and an invaluable source of encouragement for overseas fans to visit Japan out of their affection for it.

When it comes to creativity, education is paramount. Japan has a wide range of arts and crafts and music classes, which are directly linked to creativity.

Furthermore, in Japan, everyone is finally learning digitally at once through Giga Schools. The effects are more evident in expression and creativity than in academic ability. I hope the digital environment for education will be strengthened.

And technology. While maintaining the ability to create technology is important, the ability to use it is even more important.

There are many small businesses in the content industry, and there are concerns that the pace of introducing new technologies will be slow. I would like you to support digital transformation in the content industry.

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Cool Japan: Cold noodles

■Cool Japan: Cold noodles

NHK Cool Japan: "Cold Noodles"

Summer in Japan. Udon, soba, somen, and other cold noodles are a symbol of summer.

Eating any type of noodles cold is actually a Japanese characteristic.

The Japanese culture of surviving the heat by eating delicious cold foods.

"Chinese food, pho, pasta"

In summer, Japanese people eat cold foods to cool their bodies.

In winter, we eat hot food to warm our bodies.

Change the temperature of your food depending on the season to keep yourself in good health.

This is a characteristic of Japan.

There are four distinct seasons, with extreme differences between hot and cold.

He pays particular attention to the temperature of the food and changes the dishes he serves with each season.

That's how I enjoy the changing of the seasons.

"Somen"

Somen noodles were developed through the wisdom and ingenuity of the Japanese, who in the past could only grow wheat.

That's why it has been made in various parts of Japan for a long time.

Semi-dried somen noodles have also been made since the Edo period, taking advantage of the local climate and soil to differentiate the product from other regions.

Each region's somen noodles are infused with the wisdom and ingenuity of the area.

Following on from ramen and soba, somen may soon be discovered and go global.

"Cold cup noodles"

A lot of water is needed to make cold noodles.

Boil and rinse in water.

Nagashi somen noodles are mostly just water.

This is possible only in Japan, a country of abundant water, where water is readily available.

So it may be difficult to spread it overseas.

Everyone, please come and try it in Japan in the summer.

Udon, pasta, chilled Chinese noodles, Japanese, Western and Chinese food, I'll cool and chill everything for now, because it's hot in the summer and I have water.

I also like the rough feel of it.

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Government Metaverse Conference launched.

 ■Government Metaverse Conference launched.

has launched the "Public-Private Partnership Conference on Addressing New Legal Issues Surrounding Content on the Metaverse ."

Since it's too long, I'll call it the "Metaverse Conference."

I will be chairing the meeting.

The purpose of the agreement is as follows: "In light of new trends arising from the development of the metaverse, in order to respond to new legal issues, a coordination meeting will be established consisting of private sector stakeholders, experts, government stakeholders, etc. to identify issues and clarify points of contention, and, as necessary, promote the establishment of rules in cooperation between the public and private sectors."

The Secretariat presented three themes.

1. Handling of rights related to intellectual property use that intertwines real and virtual spaces, and the design of virtual objects

2. Handling of avatar portraits, etc.

3. Formulation of rules regarding actions toward virtual objects and avatars, and between avatars, and handling of regulatory measures, etc.

The committee members are Eiji Araki , president of REALITY, Tsukasa Iwasaki, director of Cluster, Yohei Ishii, COO of Virtual Cast, Shun Kubota, representative of Mogura , Kazuhiko Nakama, head of KDDI LX strategy department, Akira Asai, chief producer of Shogakukan, Yasuo Miyakawa, president of Bandai Namco Entertainment, Hiroko Ashiyama, head of the VN3 licensing team, Aimi Sekiguchi, VR artist,

Attorneys Kenshiro Michishita, Hisashi Nakazaki, Kensaku Fukui, Masashi Masuda, Professor Natsuori Ishii of Chuo University, Professor Tatsuhiro Ueno of Waseda University, Professor Hiroshi Okumura of Keio University, Professor Yoshiyuki Tamura of the University of Tokyo, Professor Hirofumi Okajima of Chuo University, and Professor Ichiro Sato of the National Institute of Informatics

Cabinet Office Intellectual Property Secretariat, Digital Agency, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan Patent Office, and Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

It's not a committee but a "cooperation meeting," and it's a community that's a mix of industry, academia, government, players, and users. There are some stiff old guys, and some virtual people who participate with avatars.

It is available online.

I don't think it will be as quiet as a normal government meeting, but we will try to avoid making it as chaotic as an anti-piracy meeting.

The first points were as follows:

1. How do you aim to develop the metaverse space?

2. What kind of rules should be established?

3. How should rules be formed in a borderless space?

4. What are the roles of the public and private sectors and how should they cooperate?

For reference, a draft of the "Metaverse Trust Statement Kyoto Declaration" issued by Kyoto Prefecture and the CiP Council was introduced.

The topics are freedom and openness, tradition/local/overseas, young people/children/elderly/disabled people, technology/research, trial and error, secure/trustworthy, morality, and the future.

Virtual Beautiful Girl Nemu and KDDI's Kazuhiko Nakama, each committee member expressed their opinion.

- Boundary-less discussions through various interactions

- Future-oriented, ongoing discussion

・Discussions on a virtual open platform with industry, academia and government

I think we've now reached a consensus to move forward in this way.

Several committee members suggested holding the meeting in the metaverse.

Someone will say

And just as I thought, it did come out.

I took it on as homework.

Because we know that the government's poor digital capabilities are a problem.

Someone please help.

I'll think about what to do with my avatar.

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Cool Japan: Games

■Cool Japan: Games

　NHK Cool Japan is a long-running BS program now in its 18th year. Foreigners discuss what is cool or not cool in Japan, and the discussion is multifaceted and deep, so there's no end to the topics.

Let me briefly introduce some of my brief comments as I participate once a month .

Game volume.

Do you remember the closing ceremony of the Rio Olympics, when former Prime Minister Abe appeared dressed as Mario? In an instant, the whole world understood what it was all about.

When you think of Japan, you think of games. They are the heart of Cool Japan.

"Game Center"

Arcades are making an effort.

When I was a kid, arcades were hangouts for delinquents.

But it's now a safe place where even children can gather.

They also developed services for seniors, and it became a place where elderly people could gather.

Moreover, they have developed cutting-edge technology and have introduced amazing gaming machines that allow online battles in high definition.

It is evolving in a way that is different from overseas.

"Game Commentary"

professional gamers compete against each other , attracting tens of thousands of people, and these tournaments now attract more viewers than the American football Super Bowl.

However, what's popular in Japan is not so much the kind of amazing professional entertainment, but more of a laid-back, fun type of entertainment that your kid next door might do.

You can make a living just by playing games and talking, which is very Japanese, I guess, or at least very suitable for hikikomori or otaku.

I think various genres will be born from this and evolve in unique ways.

" RPG"

In Japan, grown-ups play games.

When the global gaming industry first took off in the 1980s, it started with genres like action, sports, racing and shooting.

A short time later, RPGs were born in Japan.

Just like manga and anime, it is enjoyed not only by children but also by adults, so there was a demand for something with a story, drama, and depth.

I think it is an achievement for Japan to bring such cultures as character growth and saving the world into games.

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Literacy policy has finally gone from negative to positive.

■Literacy policy has finally gone from negative to positive.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' ICT Literacy Study Group has started. Professor Tatsuhiko Yamamoto of Keio University is the chair, and I am the deputy chair. This is probably the first time that I will be serving as a committee member with Nanako Ishido.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has been focusing on safety and security measures for young people, in other words, risk avoidance, and has not done much to promote their use. Measures for adult use have also been weak. It is finally time for a positive change.

I commented.

he left the government office and founded the NPO CANVAS, which promotes the One PC for Every Child initiative at MIT and helps children develop their digital expression and creativity.

However, Japan was slow to respond, and instead, a trend of keeping digital devices away from children spread. I was the organizer and established the Anshin Kyokai (Safety Association). Filtering and other safety measures have progressed.

At the same time, the Digital Textbook Teaching Materials Council (DiTT) was launched, and the three-part set of one PC per student, school internet access, and digital textbooks was promoted. A positive movement.

It was hard. It took eight years to pass a law allowing digital textbooks, and programming became compulsory. One PC per student was realized through GIGA. If it weren't for COVID, it would have taken another 25 years.

We had originally thought that safety and security measures and the promotion of digital use should be pursued together, but due to a lack of power, it was difficult to integrate them.

Now that all children are in an environment where they can study digitally, I feel that the momentum has finally changed and we have finally reached this point of holding a meeting like this.

The problem is what happens next.

Digital education in schools is progressing. Although confusion and problems will arise, I want to trust in the capabilities of those in the field and the children, and keep a watchful eye on them.

The focus of policy will shift to the home, especially inequality and the issue of whether or not people can use digital devices at home.

From 40,000 schools to 10 million families with children. From education issues to communication issues. The work of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications rather than the Ministry of Education. The most important issue in communication policy.

Literacy in terms of protecting against security and fake information is important, but what's even more important is developing creativity and communication skills.

Even adults don't have this skill. There are some areas where children are better than them.

Two years ago, I opened an ICT university and have been teaching it to students. Children and adults use it together and learn.

Tools change. SNS, mixi , fb, LINE, etc. are constantly changing, so there is no set teaching method.

Even after 150 years, analog education using paper and pencil has not yet provided the ideal education.

Digital learning is in its infancy, and even after 100 years we are still far from our ideal.

It would be good to have the attitude of using it and taking the time to think about it together.

The policy objective is to increase the "user power of the people."

If so, digital

1. Helpful,

2. Fun,

3. Safety,

I think the ranking should be as follows, but the countermeasures taken so far have been biased towards 3.

how to 1. increase convenience and 2. increase enjoyment were missing.

I would like to strengthen measures to enhance creativity and empathy.

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