No.66 July 1, 2003
Establishing the Ubiquitous Network
Environment in Japan
—From e-Japan to U-Japan—
Teruyasu MURAKAMI
NRI Papers No. 66
July 1, 2003
Establishing the Ubiquitous Network
Environment in Japan
—From e-Japan to U-Japan—
Teruyasu MURAKAMI
I
II
The Future of the IT Environment
Progress in the Shift to Broadband and Reviewing the e-Japan Strategy
1 Progress in Shifting towards Broadband and Measures Being Taken by Various Countries
2 Basic Directions for Revising the e-Japan Strategy
III
IT Environment Realized by the U-Japan Strategy
1
2
3
4
IV
Conceptual Formulation of the Ubiquitous Network
1
2
3
4
V
U-Japan Strategy Aimed at Achieving the Ubiquitous Network Environment
Better Connected Consumers
Corporations Creating New Added Value
Public Services That Reach Consumer’s Real Needs
The Ubiquitous Network as a New IT Utilization Environment
The Ubiquitous Network and Ubiquitous Computing
From P2P to P2O and O2O
Ubiquitous Network I and Ubiquitous Network II
Policy Measures under the U-Japan Strategy
1 Three Areas to Promote the U-Japan Strategy
2 Policy Measures to Promote the U-Japan Strategy
VI
Objectives of Policy Measures for the U-Japan Strategy
1 Steps to Construct the Ubiquitous Network Infrastructure
2 Specific Measures for Establishing the Ubiquitous Network Utilization Infrastructure
3 Promote Extensive Utilization of the Ubiquitous Network
VII Impact of U-Japan Strategy
T
he Japanese government is presently reviewing its e-Japan Strategy. While the concept of the ubiquitous network will be incorporated into its next-stage national IT (information technology) strategies,
this is not necessarily the single strategic concept to be encompassed in the next round of the e-Japan
Strategy. In order to contribute to a future exercise in establishing what can be called a “U-Japan Strategy”
to replace the e-Japan Strategy, this paper proposes a set of structural measures that will be required at the
time of promoting a unified and consistent approach to ubiquitous networking. The three specific areas of
focus include constructing a new ubiquitous network infrastructure, establishing a ubiquitous network
usage infrastructure, and promoting the utilization of the ubiquitous network.
It is important that future IT strategies be designed to meet specific objectives; namely: (1) to put Japan
one step ahead of other countries in IT rather than simply to catch up with them; (2) to establish an IT utilization environment that fully draws on the strength of Japan’s continuing efforts and advances in every
field of IT; and (3) to have impact not simply within the IT industry but in a wide range of manufacturing
and service industries.
With respect to network infrastructure, in addition to further promoting a shift towards broadband for
wired systems it is necessary to organize a broadband network infrastructure for wireless and mobile systems on a systematic and integrated basis that envisions the movement towards ubiquitous networking.
The key to setting up an appropriate utilization framework will be the module-based development of
ubiquitous terminals that can better connect people to people, people to objects, and objects to objects. It is
also necessary to establish a next-generation payment settlement infrastructure and security and privacy
mechanisms.
From the standpoint of usage and utilization, efforts must be made in the following core areas: (1) establishing a distribution and production structure that allows for highly diverse and profuse digital content; (2)
promoting advanced ubiquitous electronics that can connect to consumers anywhere and at any time
through broadband networks that take in various industries such as home information appliances, automobiles, IT, and entertainment; and (3) implementing a host of ubiquitous services that can attentively respond
to a broad range of needs in the fields of medicine, welfare, education, transportation, and the environment.
Copyright 2003 by Nomura Research Institute, Ltd.
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NRI Papers No. 66
I
July 1, 2003
detail, and studies of these strategies may be conducted
in various countries as well. In that process, the strategies for ubiquitous networking will surely come in for
continuing discussion.
Moreover, as the ubiquitous network environment
should be realized through voluntary collaboration
among a variety of industrial fields, determining the
direction of such collaboration still remains an important issue regardless of whatever top-down measures are
adopted as national IT strategies. In order to promote
the ubiquitous network on a unified and consistent
basis, it still remains important to examine what kind of
structural and private sector measures are necessary to
establish the vision for the future of the IT environment.
This paper will set out a proposed U-Japan Strategy.
It is a specific IT strategy that is geared towards the
basic objective of realizing a ubiquitous network IT
environment. I also hope to conceptually organize the
visions, structural measures, and goals that are necessary to promote this strategy. This paper will not
attempt, however, to explain in any way the ongoing
review of the e-Japan Strategy that is being conducted
at the IT Strategic Headquarters. Rather, I have drawn a
clear line between this review work and the ideas presented here, and my remarks reflect only the viewpoint
of a NRI researcher who has been studying the ubiquitous network.
The Future of the IT
Environment
The determination of national IT strategies in Japan
started with the “Basic IT Strategies” that were originally proposed in November of 2000. These objectives
were announced in January 2001 as the “e-Japan Strategy,” and they were subsequently narrowed down to
specific measures that were enumerated in the “e-Japan
Priority Policy Program,” which was reviewed in 2002.
In terms of IT strategies, the e-Japan scheme essentially focused on the promotion of broadband capabilities. The main objective of the specific measures was to
develop the environment for the diffusion of super highspeed Internet access to 10 million households, as well
as the diffusion of high-speed Internet access to 30 million households by improving the communications
infrastructure through deregulating efforts and promoting competition policy. In the 2002 review of the Priority
Policy Program which is scheduled to end in 2005, it
was considered that the objective of improving the network infrastructure itself had been achieved by the
middle of the plan, and that this objective was separate
from developing a framework for IT usage and utilization. Accordingly, it has become necessary to set new
objectives in the national IT strategies.
Under such an environment, in November of 2002
the government organized an Expert Study Committee
on Future IT Strategies under the IT Strategic Headquarters, and this Committee has started to review the
e-Japan Strategy with the aim of finishing its work
around June 2003. I am participating in the Expert
Study Committee, chairing the New Value Creation
Subcommittee1 (which is one of four subcommittees),
and I am carrying out activities in order to help formulate the national IT strategies based upon the ubiquitous network studies that Nomura Research Institute
(NRI) has been carrying out.
Decision-making with respect to national IT strategies is a very complex process in which various factors
and diverse players are involved. It is much more complicated than determining a single, integrated IT framework that can be positioned within the national IT
strategies on an as-is basis. While the new basic IT
strategies that will emerge from the current review are
expected to incorporate elements of the strategies for
ubiquitous networking, it is hard to imagine that these
approaches to ubiquitous networking will exactly coincide with the basic strategies.
Looking at the forefront of change in the IT field in
Japan, however, there is no doubt that the concept of
the ubiquitous network will continue to shape the core
trends in technological development, business development, and the structuring of social systems, all of which
will lead to further changes in the IT field itself. The
national IT strategies will continue to be reviewed in
II Progress in the Shift to
Broadband and Reviewing
the e-Japan Strategy
1 Progress in Shifting towards Broadband
and Measures Being Taken by Various
Countries
The year 2001 when the e-Japan Strategy was announced was one in which Japan’s shift towards broadband suddenly emerged in full bloom. While NTT East
and NTT West had planned to offer ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) service at the end of 2000,
entries by other providers pushed this schedule forward. Most significantly, Yahoo! BB started an 8megabit/second ADSL service for less than ¥3,000 a
month in September 2000—ushering in a sudden
ADSL boom. In addition, usen Corporation started a
100-megabit/second optical fiber network access service for less than ¥5,000 a month in March 2001.
Moreover, a third-generation mobile telephone service
was started in autumn 2001 in the mobile Internet field
as well.
In other words, three kinds of technologies in the
broadband field launched all at once in 2001, making
the year clearly deserving of the appellation “broadband
kickoff year.” It is not correct to say that this shift towards
Establishing the Ubiquitous Network Environment in Japan
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broadband was started solely through spontaneous
moves in Japan, as we cannot ignore the influence of
the diffusion of ADSL in Korea, where the momentum
accelerated.
In order to understand such a phenomenon of intense
change as the shift towards broadband, I have used an
index called the “annual velocity of diffusion.” This
index indicates for a given month the proportion of
people in a country to which a new technology has
spread in the previous one year. The diffusion of a new
technology is governed by complex factors. These
include not only the extent to which the technology has
been perfected, but also the speed of organizing the
required systems if system reforms are necessary, the
level of engineering capabilities if the deployment of
the technology is difficult, and the sophistication of
marketing capabilities to mount simultaneous sales
activities nationwide. Thus, the annual velocity of diffusion not only indicates the diffusion speed of a technology, but also serves as an indicator of the flexibility
and mobility of a given social system.
Table 1 compares the annual velocity of diffusion for
broadband technology in Korea, the United States and
Japan, as of June 2001. It shows the number of subscribers to both ADSL and CATV (cable TV) Internet
access. Korea had already achieved a diffusion rate
exceeding 10 percent of the population, and the annual
velocity of diffusion was 4.22 million subscribers. The
annual velocity of diffusion for the US was about the
same as for Korea, 4.64 million subscribers, most of
whom were served by CATV Internet access. The laggard was Japan, where the broadband diffusion rate had
not yet reached even 1 percent and the annual velocity
of diffusion was under 1 million subscribers.
The subsequent progress in Japan’s shift towards
broadband triggered by the entry of Yahoo! BB merits
attention. Table 2 compares the annual velocity of diffusion in the same three countries at the end of 2002.
While Korea’s broadband diffusion rate increased to
nearly 20 percent of the population, as might naturally
be expected its annual velocity of diffusion had fallen
by about half to 2.19 million subscribers. In comparison, Japan’s annual velocity of diffusion soared past
Korea’s to 4.78 million subscribers, and its diffusion
ratio also increased to some 6 percent of the population. As the US is slow in collecting statistics in the
broadband field, only the figures for June 2002 were
available for comparison purposes. However, it is assumed that Japan will surpass the diffusion level of the
US in not distant future.
In other words, there is no doubt that the shift towards broadband is progressing at an intense speed in
Japan, although we do not know the extent to which the
e-Japan Strategy is contributing to this. Nevertheless,
Table 1. Annual Velocity of Broadband Diffusion for Korea, USA and Japan, June 2001
(Unit: Million Persons)
Korea
USA
Japan
Annual Velocity
Diffusion Ratio
of Diffusion
Broadband
June 2001
June 2000
ADSL
CATV
Total
3.51
1.95
5.46
0.68
0.56
1.24
4.22
11.5%
ADSL
CATV
Total
2.69
5.18
7.87
0.95
2.28
3.23
4.64
2.7%
ADSL
CATV
Total
0.29
0.97
1.26
0.001
0.33
0.33
0.93
0.9%
Notes: (1) Population data for 2000 were used in calculating diffusion ratio; (2) ADSL = asymmetric digital subscriber line, CATV = cable TV internet.
Source: Prepared from data for each country.
Table 2. Annual Velocity of Broadband Diffusion for Korea, USA and Japan, December 2002
(Unit: Million Persons)
Broadband
Korea
USA
Japan
December
2002
December
2001
Annual Velocity
Diffusion Ratio
of Diffusion
ADSL
CATV
Total
5.66
3.55
9.21
4.39
2.63
7.02
2.19
19.5%
ADSL
CATV
Total
5.10
9.20
14.30
2.69
5.18
7.87
6.43
5.1%
ADSL
CATV
Total
5.65
1.95
7.60
1.52
1.30
2.82
4.78
6.0%
Notes: (1) Figures for the US are for June 2002 and June 2001; (2) population data for 2000 were used in calculating diffusion ratio.
Source: Prepared from data for each country.
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try lags behind in order to realize a merely passable IT
utilization level.
the present situation is still far below the objective set
forth in the e-Japan Strategy to have 30 million Japanese households with high-speed Internet access.
At the same time, the shift towards broadband is not
necessarily making satisfactory progress in other countries. In the US, for example, the industrial circle is
becoming increasingly frustrated with the speed of the
shift towards broadband, and criticism of the national
IT strategies has become more vocal. While measures
have been started in Europe and especially in Germany,
progress has been slow in many countries partly due to
the impact of the soaring license fees for the third-generation mobile telephone systems. In Asia as well,
except for Korea, the few small, city-states and, of
course, Japan, most countries including China have yet
to start the shift towards broadband.
As far as ADSL and CATV Internet access are concerned, or more specifically as far as the shift towards
wired broadband systems is concerned, Japan is, at present, hurrying forward at a speed far outpacing any
other nation in the world. No other country is making
equivalent efforts towards the full-scale spread of household optical fiber access service.
These moves are not appropriately recognized at
home or abroad, however. For example, the Global
Information Technology Report (2002–2003)2 issued
by the World Economic Forum at the beginning of this
year rated Japan 65th in terms of the availability of
broadband access. This evaluation is so far from the
actual situation that it is hard to believe one’s eyes to
see it in print. But such assessments seem to be widely
accepted overseas, and the accumulation of such appraisals forms the world’s evaluation of Japan.
A country’s national IT strategies indicate how IT
plans should be strategically organized to provide the
means of improving the nation’s international competitive strength and the efficiency of its social systems. If
a country’s strategies are insufficient, its people will be
dissatisfied and corporations that can move across borders may migrate overseas. On the other hand, if its
strategies are superior, the country’s productivity will
improve, its people will become more creative, and
many corporations from around the world will want to
set up operations there.
National IT strategies can focus either on measures
to enable a country to catch up with others by strengthening those areas in which it lags behind or to concentrate resources to make existing areas of strength even
stronger. In view of Japan’s present economic situation
and the state of its IT industry, in revising its national
IT strategies, Japan should adopt an approach that is
designed to vitalize usage and utilization and that also
strengthens the entire industrial sector. Specifically, this
means focusing on creating an internationally superior
environment in which Japan can become even more
powerful in areas in which it already excels, rather than
committing resources to those areas in which the coun-
2 Basic Directions for Revising the e-Japan
Strategy
Based upon the above arguments, the following three
basic directions are important in revising the e-Japan
Strategy.
(1) Shifting from “catch-up” to “take-the-lead” IT
strategies
First, the main focus should be “take-the-lead IT strategies” instead of “catch-up IT strategies.” Up to now,
Japan’s IT strategies have always followed IT paradigms pioneered by other countries, such as the Silicon
Valley model seen in the US in the 1990s and Korea’s
shift towards broadband in the 21st century. Japan has
simply needed to speed up the rate of diffusion along
the same path as that taken by other countries. In contrast, in the current review of its IT strategies, Japan
should aim at developing strategic superiority in terms
of “being different” rather than “being fast.” The underlying approach should be to make Japan’s own IT paradigm different from that of any other country and it
should focus on IT strategies that can surpass and set
the lead for other countries as the result.
(2) An IT paradigm that utilizes the strength of
Japan’s IT environment
Japan’s new IT paradigm should utilize the strength of
the country’s IT environment. In addition to wired
broadband systems such as ADSL and CATV Internet
access, Japan already has over 60 million mobile Internet
subscribers. It has also quickly moved forward in thirdgeneration mobile telephones and has even developed a
low-priced household optical fiber access service that
now serves about 300,000 subscribers. In addition,
Japan is actively dealing with wireless LAN (local area
network) and hot spot applications, as well as automobile Internet access supported by the domestic market
for car navigation systems that exceeds 2 million units
annually. It has also started Internet connections for
game machines.
Except for these notable achievements in mobile
Internet access, however, Japan has not established an
IT infrastructure that has attained international recognition. Yet, looking beyond fixed-system wired networks
Japan has amassed a wide range of accomplishments. It
is this characteristic of Japan’s present IT environment
that should be fully exploited.
(3) IT strategies that will regenerate a wide range of
industries
Japan’s new IT strategies should be ones that raise the
country’s international competitiveness as well as contribute to the broader regeneration of the economy. If
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broadband network anywhere, at any time, and via anything.
Let us consider the results that such an IT environment would bring about from the perspective of consumers, corporations, and the public. Although this may
entail some overlap with the descriptions related to various policy measures in the later chapters, the following
section specifically outlines the anticipated results.
anything, the IT strategies that Japan has pursued so far
have affected the IT industry only. While these measures are contributing to the steady diffusion of broadband in Japan, the real question is whether they will
enable the country to become the “world’s leading IT
nation by 2005.” In short, progress in shifting towards
broadband may firmly establish Japan as the leading
broadband nation, but this will not necessarily make it
the leading IT nation.
New strategies must embrace not only measures that
will induce network infrastructure innovation but also
steps that will lead to comprehensive innovation throughout the entire IT paradigm, including the related elements of information equipment, platforms, content,
and solutions. They should be large enough in scale to
trigger the regeneration of Japan’s economy through
their resultant impact on a wide range of industrial
fields.
2 Better Connected Consumers
For consumers, the ubiquitous network means, first of
all, a better connected IT environment. The desire to be
“better connected” is basically what has propelled network usage needs in the Internet revolution since the
mid 1990s. For example, the killer applications that
mainly fueled the explosive growth of the Internet were
e-mail, which connected people with people, and Web
surfing, which connected people with organizations.
Indeed, it can be said that, in Japan, mobile Internet
access was something that alternatively realized a constant-access Internet connection environment. And now
this desire to be better connected is evolving into a
more advanced desire to be more “strongly connected,”
to be more “deeply moved,” and to be more “completely healed.”
In the ubiquitous network environment, users can
make use not only of existing text and sound communication, but also of real-time video image communication. In other words, they can freely watch something
equivalent to TV (which is the most familiar and powerful medium) wherever they want, and they can even
record video images on their own to make what could
be called “personal dramas” featuring themselves,
friends and family to show to anyone they want.
For example, sending videotapes of a child’s athletic
meet to grandparents living far away is still a highly
popular application of video imaging. In the ubiquitous
network era, such images can be recorded by a ubiquitous terminal and narrowcast on a TV display at the
grandparents’ home in a distant location on a real-time
basis. It is also easy to record, accumulate and edit
such data in video albums that can be viewed again and
again.
This ubiquitous terminal is something that one would
always carry, like a wallet or handbag. It would serve
as a means to obtain information on various events and
promotions in shopping areas and make it possible to
search information sources, access databases, and call
contact personnel over videophone. Moreover, it could
provide the shopper in real-time with specific information about items on display, relating such product details
as price, ease of use, country of origin, use of potentially allergic materials, and the like.
Such an environment would also be available to consumers even while they were moving in a train or a car.
During their daily commuting time, consumers could
III IT Environment Realized by
the U-Japan Strategy
1 U-Japan Strategy Aimed at Achieving the
Ubiquitous Network Environment
The IT strategies that would satisfy the three basic
directions noted above are those with the fundamental
objective of realizing, around 2005–2007, an IT environment known as the ubiquitous network, and Japan is
the country that is closest to realizing this goal. We
should strategically carry forward measures in the IT
field by promoting this process to create new added
value in a broad array of industrial sectors and restore
Japan’s economic vitality as well as the nation’s capability to create new jobs.
Ubiquitous networking is an IT environment that can
potentially create a new market called ubiquitous electronics and ubiquitous services in which diverse and
profuse digital content is exchanged through connections to broadband networks. These networks, which
provide constant access, include not only wired systems but also wireless and mobile systems, and they
use Internet protocols (IPv6 as much as possible) to
handle a constant exchange of information between
personal computers, mobile telephones, PDAs (personal digital assistants), digital TVs, home information
appliances, game machines, car navigation systems,
vending machines, Web cameras, RFID tags, and even
equipment and products that were not previously regarded as information equipment.
To differentiate these efforts from the e-Japan Strategy I use the term U-Japan Strategy to describe this
proposal to focus the core IT strategies on the early
realization of the ubiquitous network environment.
Under the IT environment envisioned by the U-Japan
Strategy, users will truly be able to connect to the
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of a color or a certain model, a sales clerk can use a
tablet terminal to immediately search for a store that
has the required item. The store with the product in
stock can find the item by RFID tag reader and quickly
send back high-resolution pictures of the product to the
originating store. From that time onward the sales clerk
with the product can appear on the store’s larger display screen to serve the customer. Apparel-dressing
software, moreover, could allow a customer to visualize how he would look in an item available at a distant
location compared with the one he tried on in person.
And the customer’s purchase can be delivered to a convenient location, such as a train station, convenience
store, or the customer’s home.
The ubiquitous network will bring about new possibilities in the digital content industry as well. For
example, while TV has been limited to presenting only
the most popular sports and theatrical events, the lower
transmission costs of the ubiquitous network environment would make a wider variety of programming feasible, such as baseball games and soccer matches featuring less popular teams and stage plays, lectures, and
other events with a limited audience.
It will also open opportunities for new artists and
venture businesses. There will be a wider variety of
choices to meet the diverse preferences of individuals.
And when electronic cash becomes available on the
network, they will be able to make payments in small
amounts such as ¥100 or ¥200 as easily as sending email. Moreover, electronic cash will also alleviate the
vague anxiety about privacy that consumers presently
have with making payments over the Internet.
enjoy TV sports or drama programs, review foreign
language or flower arrangement lessons, or prepare
homework for seminars.
3 Corporations Creating New Added Value
The ubiquitous network would provide a new IT environment replete with new possibilities to corporations.
Various business functions such as production, distribution, sales and development could always be connected
to consumers anywhere and at any time via broadband
networks.
In the 1980s the electronics and automobile industries
led Japan’s economy. The rapid growth of both industries closely paralleled the rapid progress in the diffusion of microelectronics technology throughout both
industries at the time. In response to the expectations of
Japan’s highly demanding consumers, companies produced many innovations by embedding microchips in
various home electronic appliances and automobiles,
thus creating waves of new demand.
The ubiquitous network in the 21st century will revolutionize this situation by transforming not only the
IT industry but also a host of other industries. Fields
such as electronics, automobiles, entertainment, distribution and services will develop even more advanced
operations that will create new added value. Because
such transformations will open new growth opportunities for these industries, they will be able to absorb the
surplus workforce resulting from restructuring and
BPR (business process reengineering) in other sectors.
In other words, the engine for Japan’s industrial
regeneration in the 21st century will be through establishing the world’s first, only, and best IT environment
to allow industries to connect to consumers anywhere
and at any time via broadband networks. I call this
process in which the spread of ubiquitous networks
throughout the industrial sector leads to the transformation of industries themselves the “ubiquitous electronics orientation,” a name that is derived from the microelectronics orientation of the 1980s.
The ubiquitous network will bring another source of
major innovation to corporations, namely ubiquitous
services. Under the IT environment of the ubiquitous
network, corporations can connect to consumers via
broadband networks anywhere and at any time as long
as they can establish trust. This means that corporations
will be able to capture the very moment a consumer
wants something and immediately turn it into a source
of value.
According to statistics compiled by the Collaborative
Transactions Promotion Council,3 sales opportunities
equivalent to some 26 percent of total department store
apparel sales are lost due to a lack of the desired colors,
sizes, and model numbers.
Ubiquitous networking would help all retailers minimize such missed opportunities. In case a store runs out
4 Public Services That Reach Consumer’s
Real Needs
Ubiquitous services will provide new ways to address
problems arising from aging population, increasing
numbers of working women, declining lifetime employment, and other social issues confronting Japan. For
example, ubiquitous services will ease the problems in
caring for aging parents who live at distant locations.
Under the ubiquitous network environment, it will
become possible to obtain information on a person’s
health status and monitor conditions inside a house from
anywhere and whenever necessary. Network-connected
sensors, alarms, instruments to measure glucose in the
urine or blood pressure, and other such equipment can
collect and send data to medical institutions or companies that provide services for consumers’ well-being.
The service provider can use the information to render
precise diagnoses, warnings, and advice and can communicate via the network in an easy-to-understand format incorporating not only an individual’s own video
image but also individual-specific data. In a crisis,
moreover, such a system could generate direct calls to
emergency services such as police or an ambulance.
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but also mobile telephones, PDAs, game machines, car navigation systems, digital TVs, home
information appliances, Web cameras, RFID tags
attached to various things, and other information
equipment and sensors (eventually to include
actuators as well) to this network via IP and similar protocols (IPv6 as much as possible); and
(3) it enables the utilization of content that involves
not only text, data, and still images, but also the
transmission of animated images and sound, as
well as the utilization of solutions satisfying the
pressing needs of users and the utilization of platforms that enable secure exchanges of information
and the implementation of commercial transactions.
As described above, the ubiquitous network is not
something that distinguishes individual IT areas such
as broadband and electronic commerce. Rather, it is an
IT utilization environment in itself that provides an
integrated combination of networks, information equipment, platforms, content, and solutions.
Within the IT utilization environment, the broadband
strategy focuses on making the network portion totally
broadband. On the other hand, a ubiquitous network
strategy is one to build an integrated combination of
networks, information equipment, platforms, content,
and solutions.
Under the ubiquitous network environment, such services can be meticulously customized in accordance
with the user’s health, privacy, and security needs.
Furthermore, ubiquitous services will also become
important as a new source of employment as service
models with similar levels of individualized care are
created in various other fields in addition to nursing.
IV Conceptual Formulation of
the Ubiquitous Network
1 The Ubiquitous Network as a New IT
Utilization Environment
(1) Definition of the ubiquitous network
The English word “ubiquitous” came from the Latin
and means “existing everywhere.” The term came to be
used frequently in the IT field after Mark Weiser of
Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) advocated
a concept called ubiquitous computing in 1988.4 NRI
started using this word in 1999.
While the concept was first proposed long before the
full-scale diffusion of the Internet, by the time NRI
started studies in this area in 1999 the annual velocity
of Internet diffusion was rising rapidly in Japan. By
considering that the ubiquity of network access is far
more important than the ubiquity of computing capability in the Internet environment, NRI created the concept of the ubiquitous network and has been using this
term ever since.
Besides such technical expressions as the “ubiquitous network” and “ubiquitous computing,” Japan has
seen such expressions as the “ubiquitous information
society,” the “ubiquitous revolution,” and the “ubiquitous era” used in various places over the past two or
three years. In government circles as well, most ITrelated government agencies have committees or study
groups that use this word in their names, and the term
“ubiquitous” has come in for a wide range of diverse
usages. In the IT industry, exhibitions and seminars frequently use this word in their names, although each
company has a subtly different approach.
In order to utilize the term ubiquitous or the ubiquitous network as a new IT paradigm, it is important to
avoid vague expressions that sound like catch phrases.
This paper defines the ubiquitous network as follows.
A ubiquitous network is, from a supplier’s point of
view, an IT environment that meets the following
requirements:
(1) it provides broadband network access with the mobility to allow for always-on connections regardless of the place of usage and incorporating such
modes as fixed and mobile, wired and wireless
systems, or communications and broadcasting;
(2) it allows for connecting not only large-scale general-purpose computers and personal computers,
(2) Definition of the ubiquitous network from the
user’s viewpoint
A definition of the ubiquitous network typically might
involve three aspects: the network, the information
equipment, and the software, but such a definition only
incorporates the provider’s perspective. What is more
important is a definition that includes the user’s side, or
more specifically, that describes what the ubiquitous
network looks like from the viewpoint of the user.
First of all, the user sees the ubiquitous network as
an IT usage environment that provides access to a broadband network from literally anywhere. This means not
only when the user is sitting at a computer, but also
when he is in the kitchen or living room, calling on
clients, shopping, as well as while moving in a car or
train.
Second, for the user, the ubiquitous network would
provide constant access in the true sense of the word.
With today’s broadband services such as ADSL and
CATV Internet, which are often called constant-access
services, users must be sitting in front of their computers to connect to the network. A survey by the NHK
Broadcasting Culture Research Institute estimates that
Japanese who own computers spend an average of 2
hours and 41 minutes per day sitting in front of their
computers.5 This means that really Japanese have only
2 hours and 41 minutes of “constant access” connections through wired networks. With various types of
terminals at various lifestyle locales, the ubiquitous
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network would truly allow users to connect to the network at any time, not only when they are at their PC.
Third, on the ubiquitous network the user could handle all manner of content, and would not be limited to
re-runs of commercial movies, TV programs, cartoons,
and music. It would be possible to transmit almost anything via the network, enabling people to send and
receive anything that’s happening on an as-is basis in the
format of video images, music, and animated images.
The word “anything” does not only mean so-called digital content. At present, the technological innovations
in RFID (radio frequency identification) and wireless
IC tags are making rapid progress through improved
performance and cost reductions, and we are close to
reaching the point where “things” can be connected to
the network by attaching such tags to almost anything.
And from the user’s perspective as noted earlier, a
ubiquitous network describes an IT usage environment
in which anything can be connected to the network,
anywhere and at any time.
From this viewpoint of the user as the center, network-enabled connections appear in roughly three
types: “person to person (P2P),” “person to object
(P2O),” and “object to object (O2O).” It should be
noted that in this context P2P means person to person,
not peer to peer.
The concept of ubiquitous computing is the same as
that of the ubiquitous network with respect to the fact
that computers per se mean not only PCs but other
computers as well. However, ubiquitous computing
focuses on a world in which computers or equipment
with computer-like functions will be fully connected.
Within such a world, the physical computers are hidden
in the background, and people are not necessarily aware
of their presence or forced to confront them.8 In that
sense, ubiquitous computing foresees a pure O2O world.
Of course, such an O2O environment would surely function in accordance with the various needs of people.
(3) The concept of the ubiquitous network originated
in Japan
While the term “ubiquitous computing” originated in
the US, the concept of the “ubiquitous network” originated in Japan.6 Until recently a search at Yahoo.com
showed my 2001 paper entitled “Ubiquitous Networks:
The New IT Paradigm”7 at the top of hundreds of thousands of hits. Now, what appears at the top of the list is
a paper by my colleague, Hisao Nakajima, who studies
the ubiquitous network from the viewpoint of marketing.
In Japan, as the foreign-sounding term “ubiquitous
network” is unfamiliar to the general public, some
argue that we should convert it into Chinese characters
with meanings equivalent to the “existing-everywhere
network” or the “existing-everywhere network environment.” However, since the ubiquitous network is something that should be developed internationally by the
entire IT environment itself, we believe it is more fitting to use “the ubiquitous network” than trying to
invent an unnatural Japanese expression. Accordingly,
it is more important to use the word “ubiquitous” and
demonstrate the utilization concept to users in an easyto-understand way.
The fundamental basis of the ubiquitous network, on
the other hand, is in the idea of “better person-to-person connecting.” I believe that its IT environment with
the network externality involving the Internet would
not have been established unless consumers positively
evaluated the better connections that it provided. The
same motivations will drive the emergence of the ubiquitous network as well, as consumers purchase ubiquitous terminals and other equipment in order to connect
to such rich content as animated images and music and
to utilize more advanced applications.
The world of P2O, in which, for example, users and
air-conditioning units can be connected or consumers
can link up with multi-media information kiosks, by its
very nature will not be realized until after the emergence of the P2P world via ubiquitous terminals. P2O
is really an entirely new world for the present Internet
users, and it is reasonable to expect that users who want
to be better connected will also want to connect to objects once person-to-person links become commonplace.
The third stage of the ubiquitous network is the world
of O2O. Ubiquitous computing is trying to pursue this
world by embedding network functions everywhere.
Networked systems can automatically prepare an optimum O2O environment without people being aware of it.
Given the current situation of Japan’s economy and
IT industry, the first step toward establishing the world
of P2P is to attract voluntary participation by appealing
to the user’s desire to be better connected. The second
stage is to establish a cycle in which demand for connections creates further demand by pursuing the challenges
inherent in the world of P2O on the basis of the first
stage. And the third stage involves moving into the
world of O2O. This spiral would be repeated again and
again, gradually proceeding towards ever-greater advances.
3 From P2P to P2O and O2O
2 The Ubiquitous Network and Ubiquitous
Computing
While the ubiquitous network phenomenon was touched
off by the concept of ubiquitous computing, it is different from the idea of ubiquitous computing, which was
conceived before the full-scale diffusion of the Internet.
The ubiquitous network is something that pursues the
ubiquity of network connections, not the ubiquity of
computing capabilities. The ubiquitous network positions the user at the center of the IT environment.
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great risk from the instantaneous spread of viruses and
worms. The ubiquitous network will inevitably inherit
this threat-prone characteristic since always-on connections are an essential aspect.
In addition, the information equipment to be used on
the ubiquitous network will be extremely varied, including
not only personal computers but also PDAs, network TVs,
home information appliances, game machines, kiosk
terminals, as well as street-corner Web cameras and
RFID tags. Moreover, there are a wide assortment of
networks for data transmission, including fixed systems,
mobile systems, wired and wireless facilities, communications, and broadcasting. Accordingly, it is extremely
difficult to monitor and trace the threats that do occur.
While the ubiquitous network is by nature vulnerable
to security threats, which can multiply and spread
almost instantly and which are difficult to trace, Ubiquitous Network II will enable users to fully appreciate
the convenience of the ubiquitous network by setting
up a reasonable range of controls to close such vulnerability gaps.
In addition, Ubiquitous Network II must offer an IT
environment in which payment settlement can be handled safely and without worry regardless of the amount
involved. For this, platforms for user authentication,
charging, and settlement systems must be established.
In order to satisfy the requirements for the realization of Ubiquitous Network II, we have to overcome
many technological and administrative hurdles. In
practice, the early consumers who are attracted by the
convenience of better connections will lead to the realization of Ubiquitous Network I. In the subsequent
maturation process, there will be a gradual transition to
Ubiquitous Network II together with progress in technological developments and the establishment of systems.
The U-Japan strategy aims at strategically promoting
the realization of an IT environment called the ubiquitous network that has such characteristics. The following chapter examines specific measures in this regard.
Thus, in terms of IT strategies, a scenario that calls
for first realizing P2P and P2O and then turning to
O2O would be an effective means to utilize limited
resources to bring about a ubiquitous network environment. This includes the development of business models that would lead to investment and the creation of
incentives that would motivate changes in business
practices. The Study Group on the Future Outlook of
Ubiquitous Network Technologies, an advisory body to
the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs,
Posts and Telecommunications, has estimated the year
2005 as the start of the development period and the
year 2010 as the beginning of the maturation period.
The group’s report projects that by 2010 a collaborative
network equivalent to the O2O concept, in which all
kinds of equipment will come together and autonomously manage information, will emerge.9
This does not mean that no measures to realize O2O
are needed at the present, however. As O2O will take
time, it is necessary to start on research and development activities as early as possible. Moreover, it is
important to start working on those practical O2O
applications that offer the highest value compared to
costs. If the aim is the early realization of a world in
which O2O is spread everywhere only from the viewpoint of what is technologically feasible, there is a possibility of encountering obstacles caused by social and
institutional limitations. Accordingly, we should be
cautious about setting the timing for its achievement.
4 Ubiquitous Network I and Ubiquitous
Network II
The world of the ubiquitous network in which users
can connect anywhere, at any time, and with anything
offers the ultimate convenience in IT utilization. Let us
call the IT environment in which such broadband access
exists everywhere, including on the top of a desk, in the
outdoors, or on cars and trains, “Ubiquitous Network I.”
Along with great convenience, Ubiquitous Network I
is at the same time highly vulnerable from the viewpoint of security. Only after overcoming this vulnerability can the ubiquitous network truly become a tool
for business as well as a tool for administrative activities involving personal information. I shall designate
this latter IT environment “Ubiquitous Network II.”
The ubiquitous network would be used not only from
intra-company LANs fortified with security measures,
but also from ISP (Internet service provider) connections at individual home-use, broadband, always-on
personal computers, from wireless LANs at train stations and shopping centers, from Internet access in
moving automobiles, and from satellite-based Internet
links. In other words, the routes for potential security
breaches are many and diverse.
Moreover, as was learned in the early stages of broadband networking, constant-access networks present a
V Policy Measures under the
U-Japan Strategy
1 Three Areas to Promote the U-Japan
Strategy
The initial e-Japan Strategy emphasized organizing the
IT infrastructure. Specifically this meant working
towards creating the most advanced broadband network
environment by 2005. On the other hand, promoting the
U-Japan Strategy requires policy measures in three
areas: (1) constructing the new ubiquitous network
infrastructure that goes beyond the existing broadband
network; (2) establishing the ubiquitous network utilization infrastructure; and (3) promoting the extensive
usage and utilization of the ubiquitous network.
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Ubiquitous terminals will become the users’ gateway
to the entire ubiquitous network and users would carry
one on their person similar to a pocketbook, wallet, or
handbag.
The second item in the utilization infrastructure is
the platform, which covers a number of highly diverse
functions including the general center system to which
terminals are connected, as well as individual authentication and payment settlement systems. Unlike developing the platform for communication among people,
working out the platform for commercial transactions
involving money and the exchange of sensitive information will require government support.
A solid platform that provides secure authentication,
charging, and settlement functions for digital content
and supports transactions involving ubiquitous electronics and ubiquitous services has three essential elements: security, a copyright management system, and
network-type electronic cash.
(1) Constructing the ubiquitous network
infrastructure
The first area involves policy measures designed to
build a brand-new network infrastructure that originates in Japan and does not yet exist anywhere else in
the world. This will be done by further accelerating the
shift towards broadband networks and by promoting
the evolution of such networks towards a higher-level
network environment, which essentially means a shift
towards the ubiquitous network. Clearly, the act of
building this new IT infrastructure would in itself lead
to the formation of a new industry.
The new IT infrastructure would support a network
environment in which constant broadband access is
available anywhere and at any time—whether the user
is sitting at a computer, standing in the kitchen, shopping at a convenience store, walking through a train
station, strolling in a public area, driving a car or commuting on a train. What actually needs to be done is to
organize the world’s forefront next-generation network
infrastructure that gives users true broadband access
anywhere and at any time. Realizing this will require
an integrated approach to promoting the construction
of a wireless and mobile network infrastructure in addition to organizing the wired broadband infrastructure
that has already been constructed.
Instead of trying to catch up with Korea or Canada in
the shift towards broadband, Japan should aim to become the “world’s leading IT nation” by realizing the
ubiquitous network environment, which it is already
closer to achieving than any other nation. Using IT as
the cutting edge, these measures also aim to raise the
international competitiveness of Japan’s infrastructure
from its current rank of 30th according to International
Institute for Management Development, or 13th according to the World Economic Forum.
(3) Promoting the usage and utilization of the
ubiquitous network
The third area of policy measures to support the U-Japan
Strategy is directed toward the usage and utilization of
the ubiquitous network. These measures focus on using
the network infrastructure and the network utilization
infrastructure to extend the utilization of IT to create
added value. They would facilitate utilization of the
ubiquitous network and of high-level digital content in
a wide range of industries including manufacturing and
the service sector and they would promote a shift towards ubiquitous electronics and ubiquitous services.
This group of measures includes three courses of action.
The first is to establish digital content creation as an
industry in its own right. Given the diversity and profusion of digital content, this industry would have a high
growth potential and the capability to absorb large
numbers of workers. Japan has an established strength
in the fields of games, animation, and CG. This digital
content industry can increase its scale of production by
expanding into international markets, particularly in
Asia. Wider distribution of original digital content will
create a demand for the originality and creativity of the
younger generation. These efforts will also increase
opportunities for our society to more widely utilize
information that is currently buried in vertically structured public administration systems.
The second course of action is to produce a panoply
of new so-called “ubiquitous electronics” equipment.
Such equipment is created mainly by connecting conventional electronics such as home information appliances, TVs, game machines, car navigation systems,
and sensors to ubiquitous terminals to add value.
The third course of action is to create a group of services that utilizes ubiquitous electronics to satisfy more
advanced consumer needs for medical care, welfare,
child rearing, education, entertainment, and the like.
(2) Establishing the ubiquitous network utilization
infrastructure
Simply organizing the network infrastructure is not sufficient to promote the active utilization of the ubiquitous network. This requires additional infrastructure
that will efficiently provide the functions common to
various types of utilization. The “network utilization
infrastructure” includes terminals and platforms.
The first item of the network utilization infrastructure is a ubiquitous terminal, which is a next-generation mobile network access terminal that would satisfy
the essential user desire to be better connected. Full
usage and utilization of the ubiquitous network will not
start unless consumers come to evaluate the IT environment as offering better person-to-person connections
and voluntarily start purchasing ubiquitous terminals.
Such terminals allow users to freely enjoy the rich content that is available and to easily utilize more advanced
applications—whether they are provided by wired,
wireless, or mobile systems.
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2 Policy Measures to Promote the U-Japan
Strategy
ation of deregulation, institutional reforms, and the
promotion of technological development. Likewise, in
improving the wireless network to realize the ubiquitous network, we should set a similar high-level objective—this time focused on realizing the world’s most
advanced wireless network utilization environment.
The place to start this effort is to promote the effective utilization of the frequency spectrum. This step is
necessary to overcome the growing sense that successive technological innovation will soon bring on a
shortage of available frequencies. As the shift towards
the ubiquitous network continues in the future, almost
everything, including people, home information appliances, automobiles, trains, machines, and products handled by the distribution industry, will be able to connect via the wireless network. This will generate new
demands for frequencies and potential shortages that
will dwarf those that loom in the present.
In fiscal 2002 the Ministry of Public Management,
Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications started
to work vigorously on the problem of effectively utilizing the frequency spectrum. These efforts need to be
accelerated under the major goal of realizing a ubiquitous network environment for users. Let us take stock
of some basic considerations in dealing with this issue.
The first is that policy development must be premised
on the appearance of technological innovations that are
unthinkable at present, as there is every sign that the
technological innovation involving wireless networks
will continue to accelerate in the future.
The second relates to the recent thinking that has
emerged in the US—centered on the FCC (Federal
Communications Commission)—to introduce the concept of “the commons” (commonly owned property) to
the utilization of radio waves. Under a concept close to
this commons approach, Japan already adopted a
license-free “common-use type” radio-wave utilization
method for wireless LAN systems. In the future, a
drastic expansion of common-use type systems should
be promoted on the basis of trends in frequency demand
and the overall reallocation plan.
The third consideration concerns frequency bandwidths other than the common-use type in which it is
desirable to allow frequency use and allocation to vary
with the characteristics of the usage. Even in the same
frequency, there are clear differences in usage characteristics. Where there is a possibility of coexistence, it
is important to make efforts to create a new radio-wave
framework by organizing usage rules. In order to fully
enjoy the advantages of the wireless network in the
face of limited radio-wave resources, further flexibility
and careful collaboration is required between users, such
as between urban and rural areas, existing and new
applications, and business and individual users.
The fourth consideration is that it is also important
for Japan to carry out active research and development
in the public and private sectors, including software
In order to promote policy measures in the three areas
necessary to realize the U-Japan Strategy, it is important to implement the following measures on an integrated and systematic basis.
(1) Steps to construct the ubiquitous network
infrastructure:
• Organize the most advanced wireless network utilization environment in the world
• Establish a public transportation system with the
most advanced network access environment in the
world
• Further develop the broadband network infrastructure
• Promote the balanced and integrated development
of a ubiquitous network environment
(2) Steps to establish the utilization infrastructure
for the ubiquitous network:
• Develop and diffuse ubiquitous terminals
• Establish a safe and secure next-generation digital
industry infrastructure
(3) Steps to promote the utilization of the ubiquitous
network:
• Establish a sustainable production and distribution
structure for diverse and profuse digital content
• Make progress in the shift towards ubiquitous electronics
• Develop and expand ubiquitous services
The next chapter describes in detail the key policy
measures to realize these goals.
VI Objectives of Policy
Measures for the U-Japan
Strategy
1 Steps to Construct the Ubiquitous
Network Infrastructure
(1) Organize the most advanced wireless network
utilization environment
While the e-Japan Strategy emphasizes developing the
wired broadband network including ADSL and CATV
Internet, in organizing the ubiquitous network infrastructure, development will be balanced among wired,
wireless and mobile networks. Even so, it is clear that
developing wireless networks is a core element to
implementing the measures that are necessary.
The high-level goal of the e-Japan Strategy to organize the wired broadband infrastructure is aimed at
improving what has become the world’s top broadband
infrastructure and what has strongly backed the acceler-
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sary to address this concern. One solution is the Tempest
technology that blocks or absorbs radio waves. Pacemakers incorporating such systems are being developed in the US and elsewhere, and we should take
steps to adopt this technology as well as to determine
the ideal approach to sharing the additional costs for
heart pacemaker users.
Third, Internet usage on airplanes is already moving
into the arena for service competition on international
routes. From the viewpoint of realizing the ubiquitous
network in Japan, it is desirable to establish a similar connection service for domestic flights as early as possible.
We must positively deal with the technological and institutional issues in a way that gives consideration to improving the international competitiveness of IT as well.
radio and UWB (ultra wideband) systems, by aiming at
realizing the world’s cutting-edge wireless network utilization environment.
(2) Establishing a public transportation system with
the world’s leading network access environment
Enhancing the wireless system in addition to the wired
network will move the organization of Japan’s ubiquitous
network infrastructure substantially forward. However,
it will be impossible to establish an effective ubiquitous
network environment without also providing users with
mobile network connections accessible while commuting or driving.
Japanese people spend an average of one hour every
weekday commuting. Those aged 15 or older generally
use about 33 minutes moving to other locales in addition to commuting. Moreover, this non-commuting
time in transit is tending to increase steadily.
To realize the ubiquitous network environment, it is
essential for people to be able to connect to the network when they are moving about. People in Japan
often make a pun out of the word “commuting,” which
has the same sound in Japanese as “agonizing travel,” a
sad fact of life that symbolizes Japan’s poor social
infrastructure. Enabling people to access the ubiquitous
network while they are commuting can give this daily
ordeal a totally different meaning. In this way, the
ubiquitous network is not only a medium to deepen the
connections between people, but its varied functions
can also make people more comfortable, touch their
hearts, and assist them in learning.
Japan is far ahead of other countries not only in
developing ITS (intelligent transportation systems), but
also in the diffusion of car navigation equipment. It has
a market of more than 2 million new units annually,
with some 10 million systems already being used on
the road. No other country can rival this technological
level or highly advanced content. However, even this
sphere still has a long way to go in terms of connecting
users to the network, exactly the area in which the
ubiquitous network can excel.
Improving this situation and structuring the world’s
leading IT environment in terms of mobile system network connections from the user’s perspective will be a
major trump card in adding new value to the IT environment by completing the ubiquitous network framework. Specifically, the first important step is the diffusion of automobile-based Internet access along with the
promotion of ITS. For this purpose, it is necessary to
continue to enhance measures such as technological
development and international cooperation towards
improving the accuracy of the GPS (global positioning
system) and the stable reception of GPS data.
Second, at present the use of mobile telephones on
trains is generally restricted because of interference
with heart pacemakers. In order to enable the use of the
Internet and electronic equipment on trains, it is neces-
(3) Further promoting the development of
a broadband network infrastructure
Despite the remarkable increase in Japan’s annual
velocity of broadband diffusion, we cannot let up on
our efforts to organize a superior broadband system
and undertake such developments as promoting competition policies. The total number of broadband users
remains slightly under 8 million as of the end of 2002.
At the present diffusion rate, it will not reach 25 million even by the end of 2005.
In other words, if the rate of diffusion continues at
the present pace, the broadband infrastructure in 2005
will reach only about 60 percent of the goal projected
by the IT Strategic Headquarters in 2001. A much
faster velocity of diffusion is required if the national
goal is to be realized.
In particular, the diffusion of super high-speed
Internet connections has been slow because FTTH
(fiber to the home) companies did not start service until
after ADSL had been introduced and because this system requires installing separate optical fiber lines in
each home. At present there are only around 300,000
super high-speed Internet subscribers in Japan. This
suggests that we lag behind the e-Japan Strategy’s goal
for broadband diffusion by 2005.
Various carriers, including NTT East and NTT West
are expected to substantially strengthen optical fiber
access service in the future. Nevertheless, alongside the
central role of private sector initiatives, continuing policy efforts will still be necessary in order for Japan to
attain the goal. Such government efforts include support for research and development leading to new utilization formats. It is also worth remembering that IP
telephony and the digitization of broadcasting indirectly contribute to the spread of ADSL and FTTH.
(4) Promoting the balanced and integrated organization of the ubiquitous network environment
These three measures will advance the establishment of
IP linkages that will join existing wired networks such
as ADSL and optical fiber networks into a single system.
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telephone with Internet access functions. Over 70 million mobile telephones are now in use in Japan and
they serve not only as a means of communication, but
also as information gathering and ticketing devices.
While they are capable of connecting to the Internet
anywhere and at any time, they do not yet have adequate broadband access functions.
One way of realizing ubiquitous terminals is the
upgrading of mobile telephones that currently have
Internet access and digital camera functions into thirdand fourth-generation mobile telephones. This would
involve improving their connectivity with other information equipment, thus turning them into terminals
with a high affinity for linking users with each other
and with the ubiquitous network. In this case, the important consideration is what specifications the fourth generation will adopt and the appropriate timing for the
transition from third-generation units. If the targeted
diffusion goal at the present stage is aimed at fourthgeneration systems 10 years from now, it will not be
ready in time for either Ubiquitous Network I or II.
Because of this, the question of how to make the transition between third- and fourth-generation systems and
how to conceptualize the 3.5 generation, if any, will
have an important meaning.
The second appearance of the ubiquitous terminal
will be lighter, more compact, and thinner PDAs or
tablet PC terminals. Essentially, such units will be an
evolved form of the personal computer, with improvements in keyboard operability and voice input to enable
broadband network connection to wired, wireless, and
mobile systems. In this case, a built-in IP telephony
and digital TV receiver function would be an essential
condition.
The third form of ubiquitous terminal will be units
with customized functions for specific users, such as
the elderly or children. In addition to being capable of
network connections via wired, wireless and mobile
systems, they have special interfaces or are equipped
with GPS and various health management sensors.
The development of ubiquitous terminals should be
based on unfettered technological development and
market competition within the private sector. In order
to stimulate private-sector development efforts, the government should carry forward with research and development, support efforts at standardization to ensure
interconnectivity and interoperability, and organize
inter-ministerial arrangements.
The ubiquitous terminal is an amalgam of communications, electronics, software, information systems and
other technologies, each of which is evolving at a different speed everyday. The assembly of the terminal
should be flexible enough to accommodate uneven
advances in these component technologies. The way to
accomplish this is to design modules of basic functions
so that users can upgrade simply by plugging in new
modules with the latest functions.
To this would be added the wireless network, which is
somewhat behind in the shift towards broadband, as
well as the mobile network, which has often been
addressed independently as a transportation system.
Leaving each system to develop on its own creates
the possibility that the wired system becomes exceptionally well organized while the wireless system lags
behind, or that connections with the mobile system are
neglected. Therefore, to organize the ubiquitous network
environment, it is important to consider horizontal
integrity, interconnectivity, and interoperability across
different network components. These components
include not only wired, wireless, and mobile systems,
but also information terminals, content, platforms,
applications, as well as information communications,
home information terminals, automobiles, and services.
Horizontal integrity is essential for creating new
added value by developing an IT utilization environment in which a user can actually connect to the broadband network anywhere and at any time. This requires
comprehensively coordinating the entire framework
while constantly maintaining the vision of structuring a
ubiquitous network environment, monitoring the actual
situation, and carrying out repeated detail benchmarking and periodic reviews.
The ubiquitous network depends on horizontal
integrity across different areas. Its realization requires
breakthroughs in both technologies and changes in
institutions. To achieve such breakthroughs, in addition
to promoting comprehensive research and development
efforts, it is helpful to promote utilization environment
demonstration experiments that involve users in the
entire process of planning, implementation, evaluation,
and recommendations.
In addition, the ubiquitous network is particularly
premised on support by its users. While the e-Japan
Strategy involves inter-ministerial initiatives on a large
scale, it is surprisingly unknown to the public. This
also stems from the fact that there is little information
flow between the government and the people, although
there is close cooperation between the government and
the industrial circle.
During the research and development activities and the
experiments to demonstrate the ubiquitous network, it is
important to adopt an approach that carries out demonstrations and events that target the general public, to release
the results immediately as pubic information, to listen
to the needs of the general public as users, and to utilize public feedback in subsequent development moves.
2 Specific Measures for Establishing
the Ubiquitous Network Utilization
Infrastructure
(1) Developing and diffusing ubiquitous terminals
The existing equipment that comes closest to having
the characteristics of a ubiquitous terminal is the mobile
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digital content, a certain portion of which will be exchanged on a fee basis. In addition, a new e-commerce
will emerge that includes a higher degree of reality
than today’s online business. This e-commerce should
be called ubiquitous business, as it grabs every sales
opportunity by capturing the very moment a consumer
need arises. The growth of these endeavors and their
contribution to employment will depend on how the
authentication, billing and payment settlement infrastructure, which makes network transactions work
smoothly for both providers and users, is organized.
There already exists an authentication, billing and
payment settlement system for e-commerce and it facilitates tens of trillions of yen in both B2C (business to
consumer) and B2B (business to business) online transactions. This system has gained a certain degree of support from users, although they express a vague anxiety
about the privacy of online transactions. The steady increase in the volume of electronic commerce transactions
and the expansion of target product categories reflect
steadily rising confidence of consumers in the system.
Nevertheless, drastic measures will be necessary to
maintain active commerce on the ubiquitous network
because its exceptional convenience also makes it highly
vulnerable. In particular, it is important for the provider
side to establish a reliable settlement infrastructure, and
it is important for the user side to put in place a safe
and secure authentication infrastructure, which is essential for monetary transactions, in order to eliminate any
unease about the misuse of personal information.
I would like to set three key objectives in this field
and propose a large-scale project to implement them
based on the collective wisdom of the industrial, academic, and government sectors.
I am thinking of something on the order of the US
Apollo project of the 1960s, which set a grand objective
of sending human beings to the moon in 10 years and
successfully realized this goal. This project contributed
Modules for ubiquitous terminals can be either general-purpose ones that cover the basic functions to connect to the ubiquitous network or specialized modules
that provide the functions for specific purposes and
specific types of users (Figure 1). General-purpose
modules include a communications module with IPv6
as the basic interface that handles communications; an
authentication module that utilizes authentication technology, biometrics (bio-authentication), UIM (user
identity module) technology and the like to conduct
individual authentication; a sensing module that reads
RFID tags and sensing device information; an application module that executes various applications on the
terminal side; and an OS (operating system) module
that provides the support infrastructure for all generalpurpose modules.
Specialized modules include an input system module
which might be a keyboard, touch panel, electronic pen,
or voice transmitter; a display module such as a TFTLCD or organic EL (electro luminescence) panel; an energy supply module that uses micro fuel cells and energy conservation technology; and a data storage module.
Progress in modularization would revolutionize
Japan’s electronics and IT industries and improve profitability. Unlike IT-related industries in the US, Japanese
electronics companies tend to avoid specializing. At
present around 10 companies compete intensely in the
every product market, which practically guarantees
each a low profit ratio. Developing and producing modules for ubiquitous terminals would create the opportunity to restructure the electronics industry into specialized segments so that companies could specialize in
distinct areas of expertise.
(2) Establishing a safe and secure next-generation
digital industry infrastructure
Under the ubiquitous network environment, substantial
activity will be devoted to creating diverse and profuse
Figure 1. Typical General-Purpose and Specialized Modules Configured in a Ubiquitous Terminal
Energy supply
module
<Specialized Module>
Data storage
module
<General-Purpose Module>
Communications module
(Software radio, UWB, etc.)
Application module
(Searches, settlements, etc.)
OS module
(Operating system)
Authentication module
(Bio-authentication, etc.)
Sensing module
Input system
module
Display module
Source: Nomura Research Institute.
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eBANK’s Merumane (mail money) service, which
works through the email function. Each of these formats
has its good and bad points—and all are struggling to
grow.
Under such an environment, Japan should implement
a large-scale project with a multiple-year target aimed
at promoting the use of network-type electronic money
that itself has value on the network. Such money could
be sent via e-mail, stored in a multi-function IC card,
and its use would be almost completely anonymous,
similar to cash.
While the challenge by Japan to try to distribute
online electronic money that is similar to cash would be
to establish itself as the world’s first, unique, and leading electronic commerce environment, starting to approach such a challenge will substantially affect the
perception of the international community vis-à-vis the
Japanese economy. In order to work towards these objectives, comprehensive research and development and
demonstration efforts involving active collaboration
among industry, academia and the government should
be initiated to develop a safe and secure online payment
and settlement system with the following characteristics.
• Circulates freely and easily on the network
(Fully interoperable based on software only, without the need for tamper-resistant equipment and
using security software that is hard to decrypt.)
• Not dependent on the type of information equipment used
(So that businesses can creatively and flexibly
assemble convenient services to offer on the ubiquitous network using various equipment including
multi-function IC cards.)
• Fully secured user anonymity
(Impossible to link multiple payments by the same
user.)
• Circulation and settlement operations conducted by
financial institutions
(This means fewer problems in terms of reserve
regulations and seigniorage.)
substantially to the subsequent formation of a world
system that is advantageous to the US and its technological challenges became the source of numerous
breakthroughs. In the United States the development of
military technology serves as a mechanism for concentrating research and development resources on such
technological challenges. Indeed, it is widely known
that the Internet originated as a military project.
The large-scale projects proposed here would be
similar to the government-led military technology
development projects in the US. The Japanese government would take the lead, with the participation of
industry and academia, in committing resources to
achieving technology breakthroughs that would propel
the nation forward economically rather than militarily.
<Network-type electronic cash project>
In view of the present level of technology, developing
network-type electronic cash would require considerable technological breakthroughs. This project utilizes
component technologies from extremely diverse areas,
such as encryption technology, authentication technology, security technology, and network management
technology. It also requires contributions from such
social sciences as information systems, economic and
monetary policies, and practical business operations.
This kind of comprehensive technological development
required for the network cash project is very different
from the development of manufacturing technology at
which Japan has excelled. So Japan should create a
large-scale project in order to take on the challenge of
meeting this extremely difficult objective.
Other countries have already taken some steps toward
developing electronic cash and online settlement systems. For example, Korea’s central bank, the Bank of
Korea, has put into circulation K-Cash, an IC-card-type
instrument. Europe has close to 20 types of IC-cards in
wide use for electronic money, including Germany’s
Gelt Karte, which has some 50 million card holders,
and France’s Moneo system. It is reported that moves
to standardize these various electronic money systems
have begun since the euro became the common currency within the EU.
The online settlement system PayPal has already
reached a scale of some 16 million users in the US.
While PayPal has become somewhat less conspicuous
since it was bought by eBay, it continues to add new
members rapidly as a settlement system for auctions.
In Japan, the government has not taken any specific
measures to promote electronic money, although the use
of electronic money is expanding in the private sector
by means of IC cards and IC chips built into mobile
telephones. These developments are mainly aimed at
increasing the convenience of physical settlements; they
are not yet a real form of network-type electronic money.
Japanese consumers can use most online settlement formats (e.g., credit, debit, and prepaid cards) as well as
<R&D project on network security and privacy>
As the ubiquitous network will be an IT environment
that will open up more security issues than before, it is
important to deal with the security and privacy issues
in the early stage in order to erase the concerns felt by
users. In that sense, it is desirable for the government
to also conduct active research and development in the
field of security, especially with respect to security in
the individual and household sectors.
One theme that becomes important accompanying
the realization of the ubiquitous network is the development of privacy technology. As more and more video
images and animated images will be used, a considerably large portion of an individual’s privacy would be
exposed, in comparison to existing emails that typically
contain a few dozen lines. This will expand user fears
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NRI Papers No. 66
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OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development).
that the information exposed on the network may be
easily associated with personal information.
At present, however, the mainstream of research on
individual identities on the network seems—if anything—to emphasize the aspect of how to associate an
ID with an ID. Not much research has been done in the
direction of separating network-based IDs and real personal information. This latter issue is a subject that would
not get much play if left to company-side initiatives.
This is also an important topic for governmental
organizations, which are among the social systems that
most frequently use personal information. Accordingly,
this project suggests that the government should take
on this issue as its own and positively promote research
and development in this highly difficult area that has
few precedents.
The technology to protect user privacy also has the
potential of encouraging the expansion of the more
shadowy aspects of anonymity for those trying to abuse
it through such activities as stalking, slander and defamation, money laundering, as well as cyber terrorism.
While therefore focusing on communications secrecy
as the principal goal in research and development dealing with network privacy technology, it is also important at the same time to target privacy-related crime
investigation technology, including that for real world
applications.
3 Promote Extensive Utilization of the
Ubiquitous Network
(1) Establishing a sustainable production and
distribution structure for diverse and profuse10
digital content
At a little over ¥10 trillion in annual sales, the scale of
the content industry, which consists of broadcasting,
newspapers, publications, movies, music and games, is
equivalent to that of the information systems industry. In
contrast to the information systems industry, which has
benefited from waves of Internet growth and IT innovation, however, the content industry, has not grown much
at all in the past few years. Although both industries
are subject to the influence of IT innovation, it can be
said that the content industry has largely failed to take
advantage of this impact.
Future progress in the shift towards the ubiquitous
network will provide a major opportunity for the content
industry to fully utilize the results of IT innovations. To
make it possible to capitalize on these opportunities, it
is important to vitalize the entire content industry by
recognizing digital content as a promising genre.
The e-Japan Priority Policy Program has proposed
various measures to stimulate competition by restructuring the current system in which content production
is merely a subcontractor for the oligopolistic distribution industry. These proposed measures also include
reorganizing the financing of the content-creation business by reviewing the Trust Business Law and supporting the training of content creators. Most of these efforts
are aimed at promoting the production of commercial
content that is targeted at an unspecified number of
general public.
To promote the usage and utilization of the ubiquitous network, it is important to look for ways to vitalize the creation and distribution of the highly diverse
and profuse digital content in such categories as on-site
information, individual and household information, and
governmental information.
For example, baseball games and soccer matches are
commercially broadcast as long as such activities are
popular among an unspecified group of people. Such
things as assembly meeting broadcasts are also shown
on CATV. There is an almost unlimited potential for
such on-site digital content, such as various symposiums
at hotels, etc., festivals and other events, and seasonal
phenomena like reports of cherry blossom viewing, if
coverage is expanded to include those things involving
specific groups (although probably in limited numbers).
When we make further progress in establishing an
environment in which people can easily and economically record and edit animated images after some simple
training, it will become possible for such on-site digital
<Project to organize safe and secure network legal
systems>
Japan is becoming a society in which network connections are spread throughout its economy and in every
aspect of individual lifestyles. At the same time, the
issues of security and privacy are becoming increasingly important. Yet the legal system, which is responsible
for the basic framework of a society’s civil and criminal laws, is not necessarily implementing innovations
suitable to this trend towards rapid networking.
Japan’s Internet diffusion ratio, including mobile
Internet connections, has already come close to 70 percent. It is clearly appropriate to now see the Internet as
part of the social infrastructure. Despite this, one cannot deny that there have been many cases in which the
activities of consumers and companies on the network
do not conform well to the legal system.
Such cases include the long-discussed issue of “information theft” and the balance between crime and punishment with respect to network crimes. These are
questions for which we cannot easily come up with
answers. This project calls for a nationwide effort to
study and improve the legal system with respect to the
safety and security of the network as we stand at the
threshold of a more advanced and complex ubiquitous
network society. In addition to undertaking these subjects we should also actively participate in other investigations of how society should adapt to the network,
such as the “security culture” concept promoted by the
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content that appeals only to specific groups to be freely
exchanged. The same thing can be said about personal
and household digital content that individuals create in
accordance with their own interests.
While various administrative offices are already providing a great deal of information on the Internet via
the electronic government window, the content that can
be provided will remarkably expand as the shift towards
the ubiquitous network makes progress. This content
will grow to include advanced still images and video
images such as GIS (geographical information system)
data, in addition to existing text-based information.
This is a category called administrative information
digital content.
As content such as this is always announced or played
in real space, its value is evaporating every moment. If
such content were digitized and circulated on the network, however, it would become extremely valuable to
the small number of viewers who have a strong interest
in such information. The formation of a mechanism
that would allow such digital content to freely and
smoothly circulate on the ubiquitous network would
stimulate the distribution of commercial digital content. This market could be activated through the use of
advanced and efficient search systems, content portals
and micro payment systems.
It is necessary to carry out digital content promotion
measures (something that so far has been carried out
for commercial content only) as a means of vitalizing
such development efforts. This would include the promotion of human resource development involving not
only content creators but also content producers, as
well as structuring platforms to process intellectual
property rights, taking steps to prevent illegal circulation, and adopting measures to eliminate pirated copies
in Asia.
markets and company groups. Leaving them alone may
present us with a contradiction, namely a shift toward
ubiquitous electronics, but one that is capable of only
limited interconnections. In the world of personal computers and digital AV (audio-visual) equipment, for
example, the issue of “compatibility” often plagues
such connections, leading to considerable confusion
among consumers and complicating the decision-making process on exactly what equipment to purchase.
Under the ubiquitous network IT environment, various kinds of equipment are connected to the network,
including mobile telephones, PDAs and home information electronics. While it is expected that the data format
of the networks that support each type of equipment
will eventually be consolidated into IP (IPv6), communications systems will be more and more diversified,
including Ethernet, IEEE1394 (wired data communications), IEEE802.11k (wireless LAN), Bluetooth (short
distance wireless), EchoNet (networking using wireless
and household electric wiring) and UWB.
If we are to establish an environment in which industries and companies can fully enjoy the advantages of
the network and in which consumers feel at ease in
choosing and purchasing equipment, there is little doubt
that the most important issue in ubiquitous electronics
will be to establish interconnectivity and interoperability. These are issues that cover a very wide range. In
pursuit of these objectives, the Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry’s e-Life Strategy Research Group
on Home Information Appliance Market Development
has been carrying out leadership studies and issuing
proposals.11 They have conducted studies of items that
should be standardized and made common in each area
by classifying the basic functions of home information
electronics into the three categories of content, control
and communications, plus an additional subsection
covering back-office functions. As a result, the research
group has picked out 28 items that should be standardized and made common, including equipment authentication functions, user authentication functions and Web
services.
One issue that is attracting increasing attention in the
shift towards ubiquitous electronics is how to incorporate
TVs in this process. This has become even more important recently in response to the full-scale implementation of digital broadcasting. In order to broaden the
options of users of the ubiquitous network, it is important to provide an environment that allows people who
at present do not have the need to use the Internet or
people who do not know how to use a computer to be
able to actually feel the convenience of the ubiquitous
network. As the TV diffusion ratio has already reached
almost 100 percent in Japan, it will become possible to
expand the number of users of ubiquitous electronics
and ubiquitous services by carrying out the development and diffusion of services enabling the easy usage
of digital broadcasting and the Internet.
(2) Making progress in the shift towards ubiquitous
electronics
In order to promote progress in the shift towards ubiquitous electronics, the starting point is the ability to
offer functions and effects that are attractive to consumers. Such offerings will be realized by companies
through free and active market competition. However,
this shift toward ubiquitous electronics will bring about
new links towards new functions and effects that are
created by connections between persons and objects,
and between objects and objects. This marks a departure
from the earlier experience involving equipment and
services that were developed separately from each other
in terms of both the industry and marketing involved.
In order to facilitate the smooth and economical functioning of these discrete elements, it is indispensable to
establish interconnectivity and interoperability among
such equipment and services.
At present, various specifications, systems and standards are used and proposed in different industries,
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NRI Papers No. 66
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automated” level that executes all necessary actions in
accordance with a given set of circumstances.
In view of the wide range in ubiquitous individual
services, providers should be required to clearly display pricing and quality information and to make available third-party authentication and ratings. The reason
for such requirements is due to the very freedom that
the ubiquitous network provides, thereby making it
possible that users may not be able to tell good services
from bad services at a first glance, despite the fact that
there may be major differences in the level of quality
being offered. Establishing a structure that mandates
the proper posting of pricing, authentication and ratings
will enable users to make a satisfactory choice after
agreeing with the content of the service and paying a
price that they consider appropriate.
Progress in digitized broadcasting will enable the
development of TV terminals that can be used for both
digital broadcasting and Internet access. Moreover, by
making it easy to connect such TV terminals to the
ubiquitous network, the possibility exists that TVs may
grow into a type of ubiquitous household terminal.
Although TVs have been regarded as mature products
up to now, they will gain a new life when it becomes
possible to connect them to the network. Such TV terminals would substantially broaden viewing opportunities for users of ubiquitous electronics and ubiquitous
services.
The first step in making such TV terminals widely
accepted among users essentially requires that an easyto-understand and easy-to-use interface be established—
even for users who have no technical knowledge about
the network to which the TV is connected. It is desirable to carry out basic research and development in this
area on a cooperative basis that jointly involves the
industrial, academic and public sectors, rather than
being carried out separately by individual companies.
<Ubiquitous business services>
As ubiquitous business services will basically operate
in an arena governed by the market mechanism, service
quality will be stringently evaluated and bad services
will be quickly driven out. For this reason, this sphere
should be left to the free participation of private companies. This is also true in the case of pilot projects
where government involvement should be kept to a
minimum.
(3) Developing and expanding ubiquitous services
The IT environment, which enables almost anybody to
access the broadband network anywhere and at any
time, offers a substantial degree of freedom in designing business models for ubiquitous services. It will also
be able to deal with not only the varied service needs of
individuals, but also the needs for services to resolve and
alleviate the problems that Japanese society is beginning to confront, such as a declining birthrate and a
graying population, the need for lifetime education and
global environmental issues.
Ubiquitous services can be roughly divided into four
broad categories: (1) ubiquitous individual services for
persons; (2) ubiquitous business services for companies; (3) ubiquitous public services, such as health care,
welfare and education which may be provided by the
private or public sector and (4) ubiquitous administrative services provided by the public sector. While there
are many issues to be resolved before these services
can be realized, the essential objectives of each are
noted in the following.
<Ubiquitous public services>
Ubiquitous public services represent an area with enormous BPR potential. In reviewing the e-Japan Strategy
as well, some pacesetting policy measures have been
proposed for structural reform by IT. These include the
shifting of medical record and payment data (detailed
statements of provider reimbursement for medical care)
towards electronic processing and handling payments
online; traceability of food product manufacturing and
distribution data (tracking management); and the acquisition of degrees and qualifications through e-learning.
With respect to the IT strategies involved, it is important that ubiquitous public services create a ripple effect
by demonstrating successful examples and experiences
so that a single breakthrough can lead to the full-scale
development in a broad range of service fields.
A shift towards electronic processing and online reimbursement of patient’s expenses, for example, would be
an extremely important innovation for medical institutions. However, it is possible that considerable time
would be required before the general public starts to
appreciate the effects of IT usage; indeed, it is possible
that the general public may remain unaware of the
results as the economic benefits may be absorbed by
the management of medical institutions. Nevertheless,
such efforts in the area of ubiquitous public services
would come to have a substantial significance when the
general public can benefit from such effects as reduced
waiting time in hospitals and clinics due to the utilization of ubiquitous terminals, and the realization of
<Ubiquitous individual services>
Ubiquitous individual services fall under a number of
extremely diverse formats, and may even involve services with the same name but totally different levels of
service. Concierge-type services, for example, can be
divided into five levels: the “communications” level
that uses the ubiquitous network simply as an information transmission route; the “information providing”
level that provides information as needed in response to
user requests; the “notification” level that automatically
notifies users of information they need when they need
it; the “proposal” level that proposes certain choices to
users in dealing with specific situations; and the “fully
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NRI Papers No. 66
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ses to examine the probable scale. An input-output
analysis conducted in 2001 projected an economic
effect totaling ¥58 trillion (netting a minus ubiquitous
effect of ¥14 trillion and a positive ubiquitous effect of
¥72 trillion). A CVM (contingent valuation method)
analysis in 2002 generated a latent market scale of ¥4.2
trillion in terms of the ubiquitous health and safety system, ¥3.6 trillion in the ubiquitous education and learning system, and ¥1.9 trillion in the automobile information network system.13 Rather than estimating the statistical impact, what is truly important in promoting the
U-Japan strategy lies in whether the shift towards ubiquitous networks can trigger a chain reaction that starts
with constructing a network infrastructure, followed by
terminals, platforms, content, ubiquitous electronics
and ubiquitous services.
Realizing the ubiquitous network environment requires organizing a broadband infrastructure not only
in wired systems but also in wireless and mobile systems, and this process itself will bring about a huge
economic effect. However, just constructing a network
infrastructure will bottle up the impact inside the communications and related industries.
For this reason, promoting a shift towards the ubiquitous network makes it essential to develop and diffuse
ubiquitous terminals. If we adopt a business format in
which each participating company specializes in a specific module for swift global business operations, instead
of the existing approach of a dozen companies doing
the same thing, the results can provide an opportunity
to drastically improve the low-profit structure of the
Japanese electronics industry. Progress in the shift
towards ubiquitous electronics will upgrade a wide
range of industries to network-connected industries,
including home electronics, electronics, automobiles and
housing. In this process as well, the modular approach
will play an important role.
The ubiquitous platform will provide new possibilities
for the information service industry, the business-oriented service industry and the finance industry. The shift
towards the ubiquitous network will give new life to the
digital content industry as well. Ubiquitous services will
exert wide-ranging impacts on not only private-sector
services, but also on administrative and public services.
It is only after the infrastructure is completely organized and eventually leads to ubiquitous services that
the true significance of the shift towards ubiquitous
networking will become fully apparent. What is most
important in this process is to carry each step forward
by always incorporating users’ perspectives, instead of
arbitrarily relying on the views of the provider side
alone. It is also important to keep a watch on the midand long-term ROI (return on investment) under a collaborative framework with users.
In evaluating any business undertaking, various output
evaluations are used to examine whether measures are
fully and appropriately carried out, as well as outcome
medical diagnostics and treatment at home by means of
high-definition video image communications.
What would govern the realization of such services in
ways that would be immediately perceived by the public is not related to the technological aspects of the ubiquitous networks, but rather the institutional aspects, and
to deregulation in particular. Whenever we try to adopt a
new improvement in the public service area, we inevitably run smack into the matter of regulations. The key
will be whether it is possible to swiftly implement deregulation and eliminate those rules that have outlasted
their purposes, as well as to re-engineer a new regulatory structure in accordance with the new environment.
<Ubiquitous administrative services>
The area of ubiquitous administrative services will
become more and more important in addressing electronic government. While the e-Japan Strategy has pursued a broadband strategy in terms of networks, policy
has mainly been centered around applications premised
on a narrowband network environment using PKI (public key infrastructure) in terms of electronic government. The main objective appears to be making administrative operations themselves electronic.
With respect to this issue of electronic government,
the Information and Communications Committee of
Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) has
also noted that it is important to link electronic orientation to operational reform. The Committee has called
for realizing a “single electronic government system”
instead of separate, unorganized approaches by various
government authorities.12 And rather than implementing such technological innovations inside administrative agencies, what the general public expects in electronic government involves operational innovations in
areas where the general public and administrative agencies come into contact. In short, what the general public really wants is “electronic administration,” not
“electronic government” in itself.
In developing electronic administration at contact
points with the general public, there is no doubt that
broadband can provide more powerful solutions than
can narrowband, and that the ubiquitous network is better than simply broadband. Taking the lead in promoting effective ubiquitous administrative services in this
area would surely become the most powerful driving
force in the shift towards the ubiquitous network, and I
hope that the government will carry out creative and
innovative moves in this regard.
VII Impact of the U-Japan
Strategy
The U-Japan Strategy outlined so far will have a significant impact on Japan’s overall economy in a number
of areas. NRI has carried out various statistical analy-
Establishing the Ubiquitous Network Environment in Japan
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NRI Papers No. 66
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(6) Ubiquitous Networks (in Japanese), Nomura Research
Institute, December 2000.
(7) Teruyasu Murakami, “Ubiquitous Networks: The New
IT Paradigm,” NRI Papers, No.30, Nomura Research
Institute, August 2001.
(8) Ubiquitous computing is described in detail in The
Ubiquitous Computer Revolution (in Japanese), Ken
Sakamura, Kadokawa Shoten, June 2002.
(9) A Japanese summary of the report by the Study Group
on the Future Outlook of Ubiquitous Network
Technologies (an advisory body to the Ministry of
Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and
Telecommunications) can be viewed at: http://www.
soumu.go.jp/s-news/2002/pdf/020611_4_1.pdf.
(10) The expression “highly diverse and profuse digital content” was coined by Professor Kazuteru Tagaya,
Department of Law and Economics, Chiba University.
(11) A Japanese summary of the report of the Ministry of
Economy, Trade and Industry’s e-Life Strategy Research
Group on Home Information Appliance Market
Development can be viewed at: http://www.meti.go.jp/
kohosys/press/0003167/0/020920kaden.pdf.
(12) “Approaching New IT Strategies,” Subcommittee on
Information Development, Information and
Telecommunications Committee, Nippon Keidanren,
March 2003.
(13) Ubiquitous Networks and Market Creation (in
Japanese), Nomura Research Institute, January 2002;
and Ubiquitous Networks and the New Social Systems
(in Japanese), Nomura Research Institute, July 2002.
evaluations that look at the extent to which such measures are realized in terms of end-user benefits. In the
process of innovation in which new technologies become the driving force, such as the shift towards the
ubiquitous network, evaluations often tend to be of the
output evaluations. In order to follow the process to the
end, however, it is essential to make persistent efforts
to forge a structure that can withstand stringent outcome evaluation.
(1) The report of the New Value Creation Subcommittee of
the Expert Study Committee on Future IT Strategies is
available in Japanese at http://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/
singi/it2/kongo/dai4/4siryou4.pdf. While the discussion
is conducted from the viewpoint of new value creation
by IT, the basic thinking parallels the views expressed in
this paper.
(2) Global Information Technology Report (2002-2003),
World Economic Forum. For details, please see the
ranking list at the following address: http://www.
weforum.org/site/homepublic.nsf/Content/Global+Com
petitiveness+Programme%5CReports%5CGlobal+Infor
mation+Technology+Report+2002-2003+-+Readiness
+for+the+Networked+World.
(3) “Projected Economic Effects Through the Introduction
of Collaborative Transactions,” research report issued
by the Collaborative Transactions Promotion Council,
August 2002.
(4) An overview of Mark Weiser’s ubiquitous computing
theory can be found at: http://www.ubiq.com/hypertext/
weiser/UbiHome.
(5) Estimated from “Lifestyle Time Survey in the IT Era,”
NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, October
2001.
Teruyasu MURAKAMI is Chief Counselor at Nomura
Research Institute. His specialties include social systems,
management strategies and IT strategies.
Establishing the Ubiquitous Network Environment in Japan
Copyright 2003 by Nomura Research Institute, Ltd.
20
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