23:00
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, the seats so low they seem to be squatting, eating box lunches they’ve set beside them on the bench. A family sitting on the bare ground, gathered around a rice cooker. People eating rice. Dogs. Cats. They have all staged an occupation of the sidewalk, and it is impossible to pass. A glance upwards is met with the sight of countless telephone wires. Some of them are snapped and have fallen to the ground.
Good going, Asia.
Countless bicycles approach from the other side of the street. A pointless klaxon blares. Were the 3 people on that bike that just cut across the street children? Old women balancing baskets on a pole front-to-back, shouldering an umbrella, as you often see in those Vietnam War movies. The baskets are full of large melons and papaya.
Under a low ceiling of dark grey clouds, a marathon being held on the shores of Lake Hoan Kiem. Scores of police officers in green uniforms stand at attention along the route. To the side of them, some elderly stand as well, lighting up thick bamboo pipes and puffing the smoke. Runners, as they pass through it all. Runners, clad in uniforms of red, yellow, blue. Half of them barefoot. Run, keep running.
Good going, Asia.
Fruits in a riot of colors. Dragon fruit, litchi, durian. Perch, mullet, eel, catfish, snapping turtles, in buckets filled to the brim with water. Quail, frogs, pig’s feet. Fruit and vegetables and fish and animals alike, a brilliant sight spread out before one’s eyes. It goes on and on, they sell just like that, skinned and cut into chunks. In the midst of the heat and humidity, under the shade of the thick tropical canopy which forms the ceiling overhead, all of it is fresh, lively, clean, and vibrant.
Good going Asia.
Hanoi resident Ain says, “Japan? Yeah, I know Japan. Doraemon, Dragon Ball, Conan, Naruto, Pokémon. Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest.”
Pretty quick with those answers, aren’t you? Can you name any famous Japanese People?
“Hidetoshi Nakata. Everyone knows him.”
That so? 10 years ago, as well, when I visited Morocco, local kids would come up to me going “Nakata, Nakata.” And here we are, and Japan still equals “Nakata”? Does that mean that we haven’t created any new heroes in a decade?
23:00
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 equipped with computing ability and a network connection that allows them to send and receive data.
Consider “Bits meet Atoms” spoken about by Dr. Negroponte, founder of MIT Media Lab. The concept of combining atoms (objects) and bits (information) was first implemented in the 90s with atom→bit. This was the internet. It was when the basic stuff of reality: work, life, play, became something one could do on the internet.
And in the 2000s, we can look forward to the reverse of that trend, bit→atom. Information is crossing back into the Real World. No matter where we are, the information of the internet can reach us. It has become ubiquitous.
It’s 25 years since Dr. Mark Weiser, former scientist at XEROX, provided a notion “Ubiquitous Computing.” 15 years ago, as part of that model, that brought attention to wearable computers, and suggested a number of goggle-type displays, though they never caught on, even though it would have been hands-free computing. It was most likely a matter of fashion rather than a matter of the technology. Sufficiently cool wearables never materialized.
But, more than that, ubiquity is about the possibilities that we see emerging from a category of infrastructure which is not dominated by fashion and design on all fronts. It is the insertion of the digital into objects such as signage, equipped as part of an outward facade, as well as municipal power supplies, made up of smart grids managed by information technology.
When it comes to bringing the digital alive in objects, Japan’s qualifications as legendary are high. 8,000,000 gods are quietly inhabiting every little corner, after all. Because life dwells within all things. That is why we can accept digital pets, vending machines on street corners which greet you with “Welcome!” and turnstiles which silently open and close in response to tickets generated by “digital wallets” no matter what cellphone they originate from.
If we go by data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication, the amount of data being transmitted in Japan has increased 30 fold in the last 10 years. Estimates for the next 10 year predict a further 300-fold increase in the amount of data worldwide. The growth rate is explosive. But this is all person to person communication. If we consider the connections in machine to machine communications, assuming 100 machines for each person, that would be 100 x 100. A far greater increase in information. Things will certainly be lively from now on.
23:00
“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, in each of these categories, Japan pulled out ahead. In terms of things like finance, IT, and Hollywood, America has been out ahead of the world, displaying its creative power in the world of business, but I believe if we see expressive culture as not a matter of a small segment of creators, but in terms of the ability of every citizen to create, that Japan clearly surpasses the US in this matter.
Among the cities rated, 30% picked Tokyo for the top spot (New York 12%, Paris 15%). Tokyo is made up of many communities such as Ginza, Shibuya, and Akihabara, each illuminated with their own vibrant color. No matter where you go in the city, public toilets meeting the highest standards in the world have been prepared for use, in the spirit of hospitality. You can dine on top quality cuisine from around the world. And I doubt there there’s another city with quite so many Italian and French flags flying. And your wallet will be safe, even if you lie down for a nap on a train platform bench. It’s no wonder that people are paying attention to the creativity that is radiating from an environment like this.
There were, however, two worrying points in the report.
The first is that Japan’s self-assessment was low. Compared to the ratings of other countries, Japan alone did not think that Japan was a creative country. In fact, the rate of self-evaluations as creative was in the lowest bracket. Although 52% of Americans thought their own country was creative, only 19% of Japanese did.
It is difficult to evaluate yourself, and difficult to become your own driving energy. The self-generated spark needed to utilize the power of pop culture is pretty hard to draw forth. Even in this most recent survey, we see the tendency towards an inability to make fair evaluations of the things which are your own.
The other bit of bad news is the result that states “Japan ranked last among those who believed that creative power would be the key to economic growth.” Really? Then what do they propose we use? Japan doesn’t exactly possess natural resources or cheap labor. The resources are in Arabia and Russia and China, the labor is in China and India, so what should Japan do? It doesn’t look like we’ve got anything to trade on but our knowledge. Nothing but our creativity.
In the 80s, America was losing to Japan in terms creativity when it came to cars and home electronics, but in the 90s they made a comeback with IT creativity. What kind of creativity will Japan utilize going forward?
23:00
Five years ago I presented a private policy proposal titled “Ten goals for media policy.” Even as we were being rocked by overseas pressure from the likes of Google and Apple, the administration’s media policy was backward-looking, whether on media convergence, encouragement of competition, or opening the airwaves. I was impatient. The 10 goals are listed below. (References to current circumstance indicate 2009, the year at the time they were written).
1. Make all TV programs accessible, whether on television, PC, or cellphones. (Aim to raise the current 13% of secondary terrestrial broadcasts to 50% by 2015.)
2. Make all of Japan’s content accessible around the world.
(Raise the current proportion of the overseas market in the total content revenue, 2.5%, to 10% by 2015)
3. Free ourselves from reliance on paper, CD, and DVD media.
(Raise the 39% transmission rate by internet and broadcasting to 75% by 2015.)
4. Make emergency information accessible anywhere.
(Expand the current 65 billion yen market in digital signage to one trillion by 2015.)
5. Make it possible to conduct all shopping transactions using a cellphone.
(Raise the current 1.5% e-commerce usage rate among retail and service sectors to 5% by 2015.)
6. Manage the activities of colleges, hospitals, and city offices online.
(Raise the current 30~50% ICT usage rate among education, welfare/medical, and governmental services to 60% by 2015.)
7. Produce a television drama performed by household robots.
8. Recruit those interested in becoming top-rate pop culture creators to study in Japan.
(Arrange for 45,000 of Japan’s 300,000 foreign students to study at colleges or graduate schools with a focus on content.)
9. Provide everyone in Japan with the means of creating anime and music.
(30% of the nation’s elementary school children able to create animation and music by 2015.)
10. The result: greatly expanding the content industry.
The content of the goals placed special significance on the media convergence and developing domestic industry. After that, and after several repeated arguments with the administration, the result was that the government agreed to some of the points. 1. 50% rate of secondary broadcasts. 2. 10% overseas consumption of Japanese content. 4. One trillion dollar market in digital signage, and 8. 45,000 exchange students studying content, which were added to the government’s official document.
However, in the last 5 years, the media situation has changed completely. This plan has been rendered completely obsolete. A new strategy has yet to be drawn up. What we need in the current fluid situation is not vision, but decisiveness. The ability to work with what’s in front of you, make decisions, get results, and tidy up afterwards. For the time being, I intend to proceed in this manner.
23:00
At the counter of an Akasaka pub, I ran into a particular Diet member for the first time in 18 years. At that time, 18 years ago, I was a spy in Paris. Dispatched by the government to a certain foundation, I was wining and dining French government employees and members of the media, gathering information.
There was a team of Americans I often ran into during the occasional receptions. They were engaged in the same kind of activities as I. One day, those Americans were forcibly deported for the crime of espionage. That was when I realized that I was a spy, myself.
I shared my concern with an individual at the French ministry of internal affairs. I was engaged in the same activities, was that really OK? "We don't really care what Japan does," was the reply. It was in its way, humiliating.
At that time, the American Clinton administration, which was pushing closer to opening up the movie industry, and the French Mitterrand administration, which insisted that movies were a part of the national culture, were clashing with each other.
Even when it came to internet policy, America, which was aiming for hegemony through globalization, and France, which was preaching diversity of language and culture, found themselves in opposition. The enforcement of the espionage laws may have been a way of teaching a lesson. Of course they wouldn't have cared what Japan did.
My work in France didn't only involve the French. Offering hospitality to guests from Japan was another part of my duty. One day, I was tasked with showing around a group of legislators from the House of Representatives. On that occasion, the Dietman from the pub was one of the guests who stayed out drinking until morning on the Champs-Élysée.
The conversational topic during that night of drinking was the pros and cons of a single-seat electoral system. I remember him shouting in a loud voice. Soon, the sun had risen. “It’s 6:00. We have a meeting with France Telecom at 8:30,”
When I, worried about the time, told him this, his reply was “Then we can sleep for at least two hours.” I thought to myself that I didn’t want to work with these people. “We’re always putting our lives on the line, here” they were all fond of saying.
Now then, that Diet member had just had a run of bad luck. Sitting alone at that counter, staring off into the distance, wordlessly swilling a large bottle of sake. Another one of the group that had come to Paris would commit suicide shortly after. I have a great deal of respect for those who run for office.
Sir, please take care of yourself, and keep fighting the good fight. I never did say hello to you that night.
23:00
Digital textbook. I created a consortium four years ago, but things don’t catch on that easily. In the first place, there is no such thing, strictly speaking, as a digital textbook. According to law, textbooks are only recognized as such if they are written on paper.
It has become necessary to tackle the three big themes surrounding the legal position of textbooks, matters concerning the exam system, and the ways in which copyright law is used. However, the government has been discouraging people from this as well, citing the lack of concrete evidence as their reasoning. It has always remained a taboo.
Because of this, I issued a proposal for “Reforming the system to make digital textbooks a reality.” I was thereafter surprised to find that positive responses, “Let’s do it,” “Why don’t we build the legal foundation,” came back from all ends of the political spectrum. As a result, the government’s response also changed. In 2012, during an assembly of the committee on intellectual property, attended by all cabinet ministers below the level of Prime Minister, an official resolution—to “investigate” the three themes of the legal position of textbooks, matters concerning the exam system, and the ways in which copyright law is used—was passed.
The taboo was broken. With this, gates were open. In addition, the government’s resolution stated in no uncertain terms that this investigation was to be carried out concurrent to the already ongoing search for concrete evidence. Even so it still seems that this will amount to nothing more than an “investigation.” We must continue until “realization” is reached.
But why didn’t this taboo breaking debate happen while the research was ongoing 30 years ago? Now I understood completely. It was that none off the parties who participated in this issue, not the government, not the Diet, not academia, had had the will or desire to get anything done.
Here, I want to solicit the help of those who do have the will, and move forward to the next stage. To that end, I took the opportunity to officially announce “Statement of Informational-izing Education,” and gather its supporters. Many well known people who represent Japan have responded with their support.
Even more important, close to 50 heads of local government from all across the country lent their voices in support just after the announcement of the statement. Although it is said that the government has begun to take action, it is not as if they will set aside budget or even consider putting their full faith in the project. The movement needs to surge upwards from the local level.
If knocking on the government’s door is the first stage in the plan for the digitalization of education, then we have entered the second phase, pouring new wind into the sails, together with motivated local government leaders.
23:00
Heidelberg Castle rises sharply above the valley, looked upon from below by the Neckar river. Heidelberg University, located along its banks, was established in 1386 and is Germany’s oldest University. The old sanctuary, with its tightly packed rows of chairs, is a dim and austere space, though good for one’s posture.
There were certainly a few rowdy fellows who broke the rules. The school prison from years past still remains. In accordance with respecting the self-governance and autonomy of the school, which existed outside of local jurisdiction, students who broke the rules were locked up here. Those students covered every inch of the walls with graffiti. Their pride and spirit of defiance has been carved onto the pages of history.
Though, not ceding punishment to society outside of the halls of the school, keeping the process between those closest to you, making them break bread together and settle the dispute by paying compensation, is a very warmhearted sort of punishment indeed. Doing this, even though it would have been far more economical to toss the offending parties out into the river as punishment. Perhaps we can say that this is the cost of autonomy for a university.
Looking at another university, I come to realize the distance that exists between college and myself.
When I was in elementary school, the nearby Kyoto University was always in an uproar. Groups of young men with helmets and clubs clashed with riot police and people covered in flame from Molotov cocktails were a common sight. Drunken spectators would gather, shouting encouragement at the students.
Ten years passed before I made my own way past the school gates. They say the student movement had died, but really, the boys in helmets and masks had just taken to loitering. I spent my time in an autonomous territory, the punk-rock palace known as Kyoto University’s Western Auditorium, so the mood wasn’t quite the same as it was typically. This, even though nowadays I must humbly apologize for the transgression of standing on this side of the teacher’s podium.
I have no intention of “teaching” students. My role is not to transmit knowledge. Nor is that within my ability. Above all else, graduate school is not a place where students are taught by teachers, but a place where students come to study, and the advent of digitalization has expanded the possibilities for self-study to an extraordinary extent. What I can do for them is offer hints as to what they ought to study, and an environment in which they can do so. I try to provide those opportunities as I move between industry-university projects.
The common knowledge about how secondary education is something that has come down over decades and even centuries, gradually accumulating until it arrived at its present form. In contrast to this, the number of famous universities offering classes online for free is growing, and the relationships between knowledge and society are changing rapidly. The universities are worried. I may start worrying, myself.
