February 03, 2004
FROM THE CUTTING EDGE TO THE EDGE OF THE ABYSS:
Is Japan losing its tech edge to East Asian rivals? (Peter Morris, 2/03/04, Asia Times)
Once on the global cutting edge of virtually all things technological, Japan's high-tech industry appears to be losing its edge, showing signs of wear and tear and flagging innovation.After a failed satellite launch and a slew of cyber-security problems ranging from faulty automated teller machines (ATMs) to personal information leaks on its popular Yahoo! DSL (digital subscriber line) service, Japan is doing some soul-searching on the state of its high-tech industry and trying to galvanize the sector into once again being the world's leader. That may not be possible, at least not in the near future. [...]
Because of its restrictive immigration policies and a dearth of qualified tech professionals, Japanese IT firms and universities alike are tripping one another in pursuit of young, tech-savvy students. [...]
In addition to cooperating with foreign companies, Japan will need to start importing foreign labor if it really wants to stay competitive in the global IT industry. Whether the Japanese like it or not, opening the door to foreign workers is not a question of if, but when. Otherwise, in the near future, Japanese employees might need to start looking for high-tech jobs in China and South Korea.
Apparently they haven't gotten the memo about how they can just substitute robots for young people. Posted by Orrin Judd at February 3, 2004 09:28 AM
They're already importing the skills they need, just not a permanent residents.
One of my nephews is one of them.
Also, they don't believe in intellectual property, so they'll just steal whatever technique they think they need. As my steel adviser (who has advised Nippon Steel for decades) puts it, "The Japanese believe that if there is a better technique, it would be stupid not to use it."
Posted by: Harry Eagar at February 3, 2004 05:49 PM