Innovation, through which scientific and technological achievements can develop into new industries, is a source of national strength.
Cooperation among different fields is indispensable for technological innovation. It is safe to say that the government has an important role to assume in building schemes for that endeavor.
The government has established a council for the promotion of an integrated innovation strategy. Chaired by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, the council will serve as a place for relevant organizations seeking to increase their cooperation.
It is reasonable to improve a situation in which too many related organizations have been set up within the government.
In addition to the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation, headquarters tied to the fields of space, marine science, health and medicine, information technology and intellectual property have laid down their own plans. Related ministries and agencies have been competing with each other to advance similar projects.
Artificial intelligence-related policies are the most conspicuous examples. Although the measures are based on the same technology, the organizations, ministries and agencies are each striving to develop their own utilization of the technology in the fields over which they exercise control. They have been fiercely competing to corral personnel with expertise and acquire budgetary appropriations.
All of this has been too wasteful.
Based on an integrated innovation strategy laid down by the government in June, the new promotion council will select cross-disciplinary themes related to about 10 fields, such as AI, biotechnology and environmental energy. A team will be formed for each theme to tackle related issues.
Use data efficiently
If there is a lack of coordination among these individual teams, the scheme will come to nothing. It is important for them to closely cooperate with each other in establishing a foothold for technological innovation.
The council attaches importance to promoting the utilization of big data possessed by the government and other organizations. As there have been delays in the use of data across various fields, the council is seeking to facilitate a common base for such utilization.
For example, the Geospatial Information Authority possesses detailed map information, but it is difficult to use it in evacuation and relief activities in the event of a major disaster. Wide-area observation satellite data has not been sufficiently utilized for such purposes as planting agricultural products and predicting their growth.
This is because there are differences in the formats used in each field to catalog and use data. This can only be described as a waste of data.
In the United States, Google and other giant IT corporations are using the data they have collected and accumulated on their own to provide such services as shopping on the internet, automatic translation and autonomous driving.
To vie with these moves, the European Union is hurriedly working to create a common base for the use of data within its region. China is also seeking to develop huge IT companies through increased efforts to corral its own data.
Effectively utilizing data in areas ranging from industrial circles to people's daily lives is a decisive factor for innovation.
Strategic efforts are essential in this respect. Japan should also make up for its delays while paying attention to how to handle personal information.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 19, 2018)
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