Video #6 - Role of the High Tech Industry in Japan's Economic Recovery

Monday, January 09, 2006

sources | lesson plan

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Opinions on the future of the Japanese economy are certainly divided these days. But one area of the economy continues to thrive -- high-tech.

Japan accounted for nearly 70 percent of e-commerce in the Asian Pacific region in 2000, according to a study released by research firm eMarketer. Although business-to-business (B2B) spending in Japan accounted for most of the country's $27.3 billion slice of the e-commerce pie, business-to-consumer (B2C) spending in the region is expected to gain ground over the next few years. While B2C revenues will grow by 1,018 percent, going from $2.2 billion in 2000 to $24.6 billion in 2004, B2B revenues will grow by 615 percent, from $25.2 billion to $180.2 billion. ȁJapanese Internet users generally display enthusiasm about the prospect of e-commerce and display a willingness to try it,” eMarketer said.

After securing 19 million i-mode subscribers in just two years, Japanese mobile telephone giant NTT DoCoMo Inc. is taking its Internet-on-the-move bandwagon to Europe. The failure of Internet-capable Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) to seize the imagination of European cellphone users leaves a tempting opening for the i-mode technology. DoCoMo plans to introduce i-mode by the end of this year in Holland, Germany and Belgium, according to company spokeswoman Yuki Isono. The Japanese industry leader has paved the way for exporting i-mode by taking stakes in several foreign carriers, including U.S. giant A-T& T Wireless. Additionally, the company said last month that it had agreed to jointly develop a pan-European mobile Internet business, targeting more than 30 million mobile subscribers in Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.

Furthermore, NTT DoCoMo plans to introduce 3G (third-generation) as a world-first in Japan in May. This will offer users much faster access and data services. It plans to infiltrate the European market with these services as well.

DoCoMo had 18.79 million Japanese subscribers to i-mode as of February 6 (including 1.4 million who signed up just in January), which means that three-quarters of the world's Internet cellphone users are in Japan. ȁThere is an enormous number of uniquely Japanese factors behind i-mode's success,” he said, citing the Japanese love of gadgets and miniature devices. There are also social factors underpinning i-mode's success: Japanese spend far longer than their Western brethren in commuting to work on public transport (an average of three hours a day), giving them plenty of time to kill. Furthermore, local telephone calls in Japan are more expensive than in Europe, heightening the appeal of surfing the Web on i-mode, which charges by the amount of data received rather than the length of time online. DoCoMo's dominance on the Japanese cellphone market furthermore gives it a crucial competitive edge: it can make demands on cellphone manufacturers to meet its requirements.

The Japanese reputation for excellence in high tech will undoubtedly grow since DaimlerChrysler AG and Mazda Motor Corporation have said they are almost ready to start trial runs of their fuel-cell-powered cars on Japanese public roads, saying the technology has entered its final stage before commercialization. Major automakers including Honda Motor Corporation, General Motors Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation plan to put fuel-cell-powered automobiles on the market within three years after test runs.

Economic woes in Japan are far from over, but electronics, miniaturization and hyper efficiency continue to be lucrative and successful weapons for recovery.

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SOURCES:

“Briefing Asia Automotive Feb 14, 2001 Yahoo! Asia News. http://asia.dailynews.yahoo.com

“Japan's DoCoMo takes i-mode craze to Europe, Yahoo! Asia News, February 11, 2001. http://asia.dailynews.yahoo.com

Enos, Lori, “Study: Japan Boasts 70 Percent of Asian E-Commerce. Yahoo! News, February 8, 2001. www.EcommerceTimes.com

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LESSON PLAN

GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT: 10-12/Economics, International Relations, World History,

International Bachelaurate Programs (IB), Current Events.

PURPOSE: To present activities to be used at a variety of classroom situations in order to enhance student understanding of the Japanese economy and its significance globally.

OBJECTIVES:

Students will be able to:

1. Describe the history of the technological industry in Japan.
2. Compare and contrast Japan's technological success with that of the U.S..
3. Forecast the future of Japanese technology.
4. Analyze the role of technology in Japanese economy.

MATERIALS:

1. Background information provided.
2. Resources on Japan available at your school's Media Center and the Public Library System in your area.
3. Background information available through Internet “search engines”.

ACTIVITIES: May be assigned as group activities or as individual tasks. They may also be designed as preparation for related presentations either by individuals or groups.

1. Create a time line showing important dates in the development of the technology industry in Japan.
2. Draw a graph comparing the profits from high tech industries in the U.S. with those of Japanese companies.
3. Use the information gathered from the above sources to draw conclusions about correlations between the industries of both countries.
4. Write a scenario depicting the future of the Japanese high tech industry based on past and present data.
5. Use charts and graphs to quantify the role the high-tech industry has played in the Japanese economy. (Students may work in groups to profile different aspects of the industry--Internet products, e-commerce, electronic components, cellphones, automobiles--and present their findings to the class)

EVALUATION:

Individual assignments should be graded by the teacher using established criteria.

Group activities, presentations and projects may be evaluated by teachers and students using the following criteria and scale:

Content Creativity Clarity

1= Superior (A) 2=Excellent (B) 3=Good (C) 4=Fair (D) 5=Poor (F)

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