Key Technologies and Policies in Japan and China

Japan’s primary digital efforts in the 21st century focus on the popularization of the high-speed Internet and then the wide industry application of the Internet. In 2000, Japan’s 55th Prime Minister Mori Yoshirō’s cabinet established an IT Strategic Headquarters. The deliberations of the IT Strategic Headquarters led to the establishment of an e-Japan strategy in September 2000, and the implementation of the IT Basic Act in January 2001. The objectives of this act included the establishment of a super high-speed network, the promotion of electronic commercial transactions, and the computerization of government services. According to the Basic Act, Japan aimed to retaliation of 24 hour Internet connection with at least 30 million high-speed access networks and 10 million ultra high-speed access networks. Government documents from 2001~2005 reiterated the emphasis on developing fast Internet, expanding e-commerce, enhancing Internet access at schools and improving Internet literacy. 

In January 2006, the IT Strategic Headquarters released New IT Reform Strategy. Building on the previous strategy plan, the new reform, which planned out for the next Five-year plan, added efforts in digitization in government agencies, healthcare industry and improving literacy among elder citizens. The 2010 Information and Technology Roadmap followed the direction of the previous plan by emphasizing on digital applications in health and medicare as well as education. Since 2015, however, Japan’s focus has shifted to advanced IT development. In the roadmaps announced in 2015 and 2016, automated driving systems and intelligent transportation system (ITS) have emerged as the new target to maintain Japan’s competitive edge in global innovation.  

In addition to developing Internet, Japan also shows resolution in advancing its edge in robotics, Internet of Things (IoT), and other advanced technologies. In 2014, the government of Japan, in its revised Japan Revitalization Strategy document, established a goal to realize a “New Industrial Revolution Driven by Robots.” In 2016, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe listed IoT, Big Data, and artificial intelligence as key elements of “the fourth industrial revolution” that can help Japan cultivate new promising growing markets. 

Compared to Japan’s steady development in its digitalization policies. China’s technological blueprint is expanding more rapidly in the past five years. In the 10th Five-year Plan of China 2001, the government vaguely outlined its goal to strengthen the infrastructure building of high-speed Internet. In the 11th Five-year Plan for IT Industry in 2006, there was a surge in the mentioning about digital development. The government aimed to reach "big breakthroughs in the research and development of the next-generation Internet, wireless broadband Internet, smart terminal, wireless sensors". Applications of digital tools to various industries including in media, automotive, manufacturing and healthcare were brought up in the agenda. 

However, most of the high-tech initiatives took place from 2012~2017--within five years, China has listed technological ambitions that Japan developed over the past two decades. From 2012~2016, China has launched numerous initiatives to advance towards high-technology. In its 12th Five-year-Plan announced in March 2013, the government announced to start conducting experiments on the new generation of the Internet--including cloud computing, IoT technology, and Quantum Internet. In 2015, China’s Premier, Li Keqiang, announced the “Internet Plus” Action Plan to deeply integrate the Internet into manufacturing and service industries such as finance, retail, and healthcare. In the same year, China rolled out "Made in China 2025" initiative designed to transform itself from a low-cost manufacturing giant to a high-tech manufacturing power, followed by the latest Five-year plan for intelligent manufacturing in 2016. In 2017, the government subsequently announced its Three-year Action Plan for Cloud Computing and the Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan, with the ambition to create a $150 billion AI-related market by 2020. Beyond the potential economic benefits of these new advancements, he aggressive technological policies in the past five years underscore a narrative that China is trying to be recognized as a high-tech nation, just like Japan. 

With the observance of two different policy trends in Japan and China, this project endeavors to take a close examination of their real-life implications—how the governments behave to reach the technological ambitions that have been set forward. Based on the two countries’ digital-related policies in the 21st century, this project will compare and analyze the investments in the following core digital technologies for its data collection: 1. High-speed Internet; 2. Robotics; 3. Internet of Things; 4. Cloud Computing; 5. Artificial Intelligence.