Deregulation and privatization of the fiscal investment and loan program

After the oil crises when the Japanese economy underwent structural change from a high to a low growth rate, the flow of money and funds was also affected, and the Fiscal Investment and Loan Program also underwent a great change. But nowadays a real change might be necessary for the FILP; that is, as deregulation of the financial market proceeds and the market mechanism increasingly moves into motion, the role of the government is expected to decrease. This paper will analyze the role of financial activities of the government, and examine why the FILP faces reform, and how it should be deregulated by considering the economic foundation of the FILP as well as its relation with the transformation of the Japanese economy

The Determinants of the Global Mobile Telephone Deployment: An Empirical Analysis

This study aims to analyze the global mobile phones by examining the instruments stimulating the diffusion pattern. A rigorous demand model is estimated using global mobile telecommu-nications panel dataset comprised with 51 countries classified in order to World Bank income categories from 1990-2007. In particular, the paper examines what factors contribute the most to the deployment of global mobile telephones. To construct an econometric model, the number of subscribers to mobile phone per 100 inhabitants is taken as dependent variable, while the following groups of variables (1) GDP per capita income and charges, (2) competition policies (3) telecom infrastructure (4) technological innovations (5) others are selected as independent variables. Estimation results report the presence of substantial disparity among groups. Additionally GDP per capita income and own-price elasticity comprised with call rate, subscription charges, are reported. The analysis of impulse responses for price, competition policies, and technological innovations such as digitalization of mobile network, mobile network coverage indicates that substantial mobile telephone growth is yet to be realized especially in developing countries. A new and important empirical finding is that there are still many opportunities available for mobile phone development in the world pro-poor nations by providing better telecom infrastructure.Mobile Phone Adoption, 3G, Technological Innovations, Competition Policy, Panel Data Analysis, Digital Divide

Comparative Analysis of Regional Medical Information Systems in Japan, the US, and the UK From the View of eHealth Economics

The regional medical information network connects medical institutions in the region to share residents’ medical data such as images of x-ray and endoscopy, diagnosis, past history of medical treatment, medication, and so on. As a result, it leads to promote efficiency and reduction of medical expenditure by preventing double medical checks or medications. In the age of big data or AI, the network becomes more important. This paper is based on the field research on regional medical information networks in Japan, the US and UK and compares with them in terms of their aims, operation, information systems, and effects to medical institutions, clinics, and residents. Cases compared are Ajisai (hydrangea) Net in Nagasaki, Japan, Healthix in New York, US, and CMC in London, UK. Ajisai Net connects 282 hospitals and clinics in the regions and about 50,000 residents are registered. One of its characteristics is for clinics to access medical data of patients who are transferred to large hospitals to see their real time medical situations. The costs to clinics include initial fees which are JPY 83,000 (USD750) and monthly fees which amount to JPY4,000 (USD36). The network of Healthix connects about 500 medical institutions which share the heath records of 16 million residents which include diagnosis, medication, examinations, allergy, and so on. In addition to prevention of double medical examination, or double medication, the network contributes to promotion of efficiency of medicine, and the data accumulated in the network is used for “Population Risk Management” to predict diseases. In London, UK, the network of CMC (Coordinate My Care) also shares medical information of residents and supports care at home. As a result, the aged or patients registered in CMC tend to have fewer emergency calls or hospitalisations than non-registered residents. Based on three field surveys, the paper discusses issues and how to promote the regional medical information network in Japan by considering the roles of the networks in the US and the UK

How ICTs Raise Manufacturing Performance: Firm-level Evidence in Southeast Asia.

This paper examines the effects of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on business performance, using firm-level data obtained through a questionnaire survey in four ASEAN countries (Indonesia, The Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam). Sources of information and new technologies exchanged via ICTs by firms are also explored to investigate the mechanism behind ICT adoption. Empirical results verify that the introduction of ICT to reorganize business processes is significantly correlated with business performance, in particular the development of export markets and improvement of production management. ICTs facilitate access to information and technologies accumulated in in-house departments and joint-venture (JV) affiliates of the respondent firms. There are considerable differences between multinational companies (MNCs)/JVs and local firms. MNCs/JVs make use of information and technologies obtainable via ICTs from their own R&D departments, JVs established with local partners and foreign-owned suppliers/customers to improve factory management, mostly for product quality improvement and production cost reduction. In contrast, local firms interconnect their own R&D departments via ICTs to enhance their business performance in broader areas than MNCs/JVs, including the development of export markets.

Open Innovation Success Factors by ICT Use in Japanese Firms

The innovation by an independence principle is a limit in Japanese firm today. The expectation for the open innovation that positively uses outside resources on business has risen in Japanese firm. In open innovation, the strategy that expands sharing information and using the resource from supplier to customer for the innovation is needed. Therefore, the use of ICT is indispensable for the promotion of the open innovation. In this paper, we discussed how to utilize ICTs for open innovation activities in order to achieve more effective innovation outcomes in Japanese Medium-sized Enterprises. We conducted a mail survey for Japanese Medium-sized Enterprises in industries such as manufacturing, construction, and information and telecommunication in January 2010. Based on their replies, we applied the some logistic regression analyses. As results, the following points are clarified. Firms which achieve open innovation are enhancing the innovation by cooperating and exchanging information with the following entities: (i) affiliate companies which have the excellent technological knowhow; (ii) customers which locate inside or outside of the region; and (iii) firms in the same industry inside of the same region. The firms cultivate mutual trust for a long time and jointly develop frequently the new products and services. And they have frequently exchanged the customer needs, new release information of the rival companies and a high-tech trend with each other. They use CTI and SCM to use information and knowledge for designing and developing a new product and service. Moreover, it can be confirmed that the firm which top management is familiar with ICT and exercises the leadership for ICT use. In addition, the firm not only introduced ICT but also reformed organizational structures, systems, and company's rules at the same time. These analysis results will provide useful suggestions for SMEs to practice open innovation in the future. --Open Innovation,ICT,Japanese firms