A comparative study of media cultures among Taiwanese and Japanese youth

This study used nation-wide surveys to explore how different media usage patterns were shaped in Taiwan and Japan. Taiwanese youth use the Internet to a much greater extent than Japanese youth, even though broadband services are cheaper and faster in Japan. Japanese youth use text-messaging services featured on mobile phones more than their Taiwanese counterparts. Since the 1980s, Taiwan has witnessed the development of a unique BBS (bulletin board system) culture, and this culture has led the Taiwanese to have a comparatively stronger degree of trust in the Internet than the Japanese. The Internet culture in Japan is more individualized. Japanese adolescents and young adults tend to avoid direct communication, resulting in the promotion of a unique mobile media culture among the Japanese youth. The findings discussed here suggest that, despite the worldwide standardization of communication technologies, the culturally different personal relationship patterns in the two countries studied have created different media trends for their youth.     

Inventive payoff from R&D in Japanese industry: convergencewith the West

An attempt is made to determine if investment in R&D and the hiring of college-educated employees result in a higher rate of inventions. The relationship between the input of R&D and inventive output is studied in two samples of Japanese factories, 34 in 1982 and 44 in 1970. These results are compared with findings in a parallel American study. The correlations between R&D and inventive output are similar in Japan and America in the 1980s, despite some differences in the management of innovation in the two nations. Moreover, the most Westernized subsample of Japanese firms in the 1970s had correlations between R&D and invention similar to those observed in the American study. Thus, it is concluded that some degree of convergence may be taking place in R&D management strategies in the two nations     

Millimeter-wave research activities in Japan

Millimeter-wave research activities in Japan are reviewed from various points of view. It is shown that a quarter of the papers presented at microwave sessions in the two major annual conferences of the Institute of Electronics. Information and Communications Engineers (IEICE), Japan, are millimeter-wave research papers. Monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) devices such as high-power amplifiers (HPAs), low-noise amplifiers (LNAs), and mixers developed by several companies are compared in terms of state-of-the-art performances. Unique cost-reduction techniques are also discussed. Two types of car collision-avoidance radar systems have been constructed using nonradiative dielectric waveguide (NRD-guide) technology peculiar to Japan. Topics presented at Microwave Photonics '96, Japan, are reviewed, with emphasis on the Japanese contributions to this field     

Who's ahead in hi-tech?

Responses of 150 IEEE members to a telephone survey sponsored by Nihon Keizai Shimbun, a Japanese counterpart to The Wall Street Journal, are reported. The interviews were conducted by the Gallup Organization Incorporated. The respondents-50 each from government, industrial, and academic facilities-answered more than two dozen questions, some of which were suggested by the IEEE, regarding the relative position of the US and Japan. The survey showed, among other findings, that US engineers believe the US holds a technological edge over Japan in many areas. The majority also believe that the US lead will continue into the next century and that the Japanese should not be credited with being technological innovators since they have been using basic technology developed in other countries     

American occupation control over broadcasting in Japan, 1945–1952

Through the analysis of historical documents, we examine the extent to which U.S. authorities shaped and directed broadcasting in Japan. We note that controls placed on Japanese broadcasters were often rigorous and uncompromising, despite the fact that Washington initially instructed occupation officials to give guidance to the Japanese without overt control. We suggest that, perhaps, this domination created an environment conducive to the development of broadcasting systems in Japan that are vulnerable to governmental authority.     

Collaborating with suppliers in product development: a US and Japancomparative study

Despite its risks, an increasing number of buyers share design work with their suppliers. However, the outsourcing of design work has been relatively neglected in the literature. Based on mail survey data from 174 US and 122 Japanese automotive component suppliers with product design capability, this study investigates the degree of supplier involvement in design and the factors leading to supplier involvement. The two strongest predictors of the degree of early supplier involvement in design in both Japan and the United States are the degree of technological uncertainty and supplier technical capabilities. Automotive companies are more likely to outsource designs of high uncertainty and select suppliers of high technical capability for design outsourcing. Technological uncertainty also has interaction effects-in the United States, high uncertainty makes customers want to give greater design responsibility to highly technically capable suppliers and those who are most dependent on them as a percent of supplier sales. Overall, the study supports notions of convergence between the US and Japanese supplier management practices in joint product development     

Contrasting strategies are pursued by big three economicpowerhouses

The approach taken by each of the big three economic powerhouses, Germany, Japan, and the United States, to high-technology development is considered, focusing on the lessons that the US can learn from the other two. Government activities in the US at the state and federal levels are discussed. German research strategies are described in the context of the European Community (EC) and the major multinational research programs the EC has established. Japanese plans to increase funding for basic research are examined     

Japan's photovoltaic and related technology review

The Japan Society of Applied Physics (JSAP), established in 1946, is one the largest scientific associations in Japan with a membership of approximately 22,000 scientists and engineers involved in activities ranging from syperconductors to bioelectronics. About two-thirds of the society's members are industrial researchers, the remainder academics and employees of government research centres. The society organises two annual technical gatherings: a spring meeting near Tokyo, and another one in the fall held at locations far from the frantic pace of the metropolis. Almost all the presentations are given in Japanese, although overseas participation is welcome. This spring, there were 8,585 participants and 4,481 presentations. The ten-minute presentations often contain new and unpublished work, so the meetings are an excellent opportunity for assessing trends in Japanese R&D in this field. This is a review of presentations given on photovoltaic and related technology at the 49th Spring Meeting of the JSAP, held at Tokai University, Shonan Campus in March 2002.     

Quality and innovation [Japanese electronics industry]

The growth of product quality in Japan is described, and it is shown that it can depend on the social climate as much as on the techniques used. The present level of Japanese quality can be explained by the struggle to alleviate the hardships Japan believes it experienced during and immediately after the Second World War. Innovation is discussed, covering the role of R&D laboratories. experimenting with customers, and what is termed graceful growth. The transition to integrated circuits by US and Japanese firms is examined     

Information exchange and governance structures in US and JapaneseR&D consortia: institutional and organizational influences

We examine institutional and organizational influences upon information exchange and governance structures within R&D consortia in the United States and Japan. We hypothesized that national differences in institutional environments would lead to less active governance and information-exchange activities within Japanese R&D consortia relative to their US counterparts. At the consortium level, we expected that internal consortium diversity would increase information exchange and governance requirements, and that structures stabilizing relations between consortium members would reduce information exchange and governance requirements. We tested these hypotheses on 39 US and 54 Japanese multifirm R&D consortia, involving, respectively, 1801 US member organizations and 1647 Japanese member organizations. Controlling for organizational age, size, and strategic focus, we found that internal diversity and interorganizational relations are both associated with information-exchange and governance mechanisms. Our model has much greater explanatory power for the United States than for Japan     

Information infrastructure development: International comparison between the United States and Japan

The Clinton-Gore Administration won the presidential election by propagating “change” and “competitiveness”. The new administration is now paying serious attention to the development of the National Information Infrastructure (NII), often referred to as the “Information Highway”, which is a key component of its technology policy for regaining American manufacturing competitiveness. This article first compares the history of the NII with that of the Japanese Information Infrastructure (JII). Then, this study describes the political, economic and technical issues related to the implementation of NII and JII that need to be overcome by the United States and Japan, respectively. This study incorporates a Japanese perspective in the development of the Information Highway in the framework of a government/business relationship. This international comparison among four players (American business, American government, Japanese business, and Japanese government) serves as a conceptual basis for understanding the Information Highway plans of the two major industrial nations.     

Engineers and engineering in the US and Japan: a critical review ofthe literature and suggestions for a new research agenda

Researchers have identified a number of interesting differences between engineers and the practice of engineering in Japan and the US (and, to a lesser extent, other countries). They have found that: Japan graduates more engineers per capita than the US; Japanese engineers seem to stay in the practice of engineering longer than their US counterparts; Japanese firms perform more of the post bachelor degree level education and training of engineers than US firms; Japanese universities seem to emphasize teamwork more and business education less than US universities; Japanese firms have less rigid job boundaries than US firms; high performing Japanese firms have more overlap between functions and have developed distinctive ways of handling new product development such as the use of heavy weight project managers. On the other hand, empirical studies so far do not seem to show that "culture" has made much difference in the practice of engineering between the US and Japan. This paper reviews these findings and the implications that have been drawn from them. It goes on to suggest that while this research has provided many useful ideas and models for US managers, in other areas it has stopped short of examining the consequences of what has been found. The result has been the loss of opportunities for policy makers, educators, managers, and social theorists     

The organization of Japanese expository passages

When document designers localize documents for readers in another country, they often assume that the organization of the material used with its original audience will be effective for readers in another country. Whether this assumption is sound depends on what organizational structure readers in other countries are accustomed to seeing. The study examines the organizational structure of 17 Japanese expository texts with the goal of determining what expository structure Japanese readers are most accustomed to reading. The results lead to implications for document designers and readers in both Japan and native English speaking countries     

从“细节”功夫看日本人的敬业习惯

日本制造业的管理水准是世界公认一流的,日本人的敬业精神也是享誉全球的。文章力图通过亲历日本见闻,从细节上见证中日的文化差异与行为差距,为读者提供借鉴。     

中日高纯CaCO3的质量评价

研究了中日两国BaTiO3系PTC热敏电阻器用高纯CaCO3的生产能力、生产方法。技术标准与质量水平等。其中着重对其化学特性（纯度或含量;杂质）、物理特性（粒子形状、粒度分布、平均粒径、密度、晶系及热特性）与工艺试验进行了评价。结果表明：国产CaCO3（山东益达;四川攀枝花）的理化指标,已拉近或达到日本石灰工业（株）的水平,仅一次粒子粒径有时尚粗。     

Land of ancient myths,super-microchips & quantum devices part II

Semiconductor companies in Japan are making major investments in quantum devices technology. The interest in quantum devices by Japanese firms is largely due to the commercial success of the HEMT, and quantum well lasers in satellite broadcasting and optical communications. The key issue all researchers face is: how to fashion these novel materials, quantum wells, wires and dots into working devices. In this two-part article I show how Japanese workers are very serious about quantum devices, warn that European and American manufacturers are in real danger of being left out by their failure to back fundamental research, and report on the research activities of the laboratories I visited.     

Land of Ancient myths,super-microchips & quantum devices part I

Semiconductor companies in Japan are making major investments in quantum devices technology. The interest in quantum devices by Japanese firms is largely due to the commercial success of the HEMT, and quantum well lasers in satellite broadcasting and optical communications. The key issue all researcher face is: how to fashion these novel materials, quantum wells, wires and dots into working devices. In this article I will show how Japanese workers are very serious about quantum devices, warn that European and American manufacturers are in real danger of being left out by their failure to back fundamental research, and report on the research activities of the laboratories I visited.     

后疫情时代日本数字化转型政策的思考

回顾了2000年后日本政府在数字化转型方面的政策和制度,包括历时20年的数字政府实施计划,指出新冠肺炎疫情中身份卡和生活补助金发放面临的问题,暴露了日本过去数字化政策的短板和不足,这构成了新冠肺炎疫情后日本新政府推进数字化转型政策的起点;阐明了日本新冠肺炎疫情后数字化转型政策的三大方向:下调移动通信资费、实施5G推进计划和设置数字办公厅;最后,在总结新冠肺炎疫情后期日本政府出台的一系列移动通信产业改革举措的基础上,进一步思考了日本数字化转型政策的必要性和意义,并对隐藏在体制背后的日本移动通信产业存在的结构问题进行了探讨。     

日本电视同步广播的发展和技术特性

为解决边缘地区收视困难，日本在电视广播中采用了载频偏置技术。但限于可用频道数仍无法满足更多的用户能收看６套电视节目需求，日本进一步研究并试用了电视同步广播方式，这是提高频道复用指数，解决问题干扰的有效方法。本文介绍了日本同步广播研究开发的概况及技术要点。