What happened?
Japan ranks only 29th in the IMD (International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne) World Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2022, where its Asia-Pacific peers Singapore and South Korea rank 4th and 8th respectively. With its advantages lying in education and technology R&D, Japan's digital talents and digital technologies are at a disadvantage. Coupled with the pandemic impact as well as the aging population and declining birthrate, Japan is committed to promoting the development of digitalization.
- Japan tops the world rankings for the oldest society by the proportion of the elderly. Japan's over-75s account for over 15% of the population. Digital transformation becomes a must to enhance productivity. (Japan Times)
- The Japanese Government established the Digital Agency in September 2021, intending to build a digital society in the post-pandemic era, realizing the digitization of the entire industry, and establishing a digital society where "no one is left behind." (nippon.com)
Develop digital technology while solving problems
- Japan develops new technologies targeting solutions to issuessuch as the pandemic, aging society, and climate change.
- Nissan Motor has established a fully automated smart factory, allowing robots to carry out welding and inlay assembly; the core concept of AM sheet metal factory, a laser processing machine assembly factory, is "where automation works, automates" to materialize high-efficiency workflows.
- The strength of Japan's digitalization lies in the infrastructure construction of daily livelihood. In addition to telemedicine and automatic checkout, the government stipulates that enterprises must save digital electronic transactions starting from 2024 and people can receive reimbursement without paper receipts.
- Kajima Corporation traditionally focused on mechanical operation, building material handling, and assembly. After investing in automated construction machinery, the company needed digital talents in data calculation and management. To improve its brand exposure to IT talents, Kajima teamed up with AtCoder, a Japanese algorithm competition website, to organize a contest. (udn.com)
- The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry jointly promoted the Asia Digital Transformation Project (ADX, Asia Digital Transformation Project) by applying the results of digital technology research and development accumulated in Japan to emerging markets in Asia. (JETRO)
- JETRO used the J-Bridge platform to match Japanese start-ups with overseas units to develop digital transformation and green energy-saving technologies locally. Among them, the start-up Sagri combined AI image recognition technology and satellite data to digitize agricultural land information in Thailand, the Philippines, and India. Sagri also visualized the crop growth process for visual analysis. (e27)
- By expanding "social problem-solving technology" to the ASEAN market, Japan could get its foot in the door to the field of digital transformation in ASEAN and gradually restore its economic and technological dominance.
- Japan focused on the semiconductor industry in collaboration with international partners to strengthen the supply chain.
- In order to prevent the supply chain from being broken by risks such as politics, natural disasters, and wars, India, Japan, and Australia launched the "Trilateral Supply Chain Recovery Initiative" in 2022 to strengthen the use of digital technology and data circulation. (CNA)
What will happen in the future?
- Stronger digital technology, combined with Taiwan's ability to grasp local issues agilely, can help Japan tap into Southeast Asian markets more quickly and extensively.
- Japan's start-ups tend to work together as a group when exploring opportunities overseas. If they can first pursue a partner in Taiwan with connections and networks with the US side, they can forge ahead toward the US market. This kind of partnership presents good opportunities for cooperation between Taiwan and Japan.
To turn the desired "ultra-smart society" into a reality Japan has been actively developing digital technology and establishing digital processes. Amid the changes in the regional situation, as a part of the Asia-Pacific supply chain, what is Japan's master plan and ambition? The following in-depth Sunrise Medium's interview with experts has shed some light.
