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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 May 2025
Japanese PM Abe Shinzo's win in the July 21 Upper House elections may have given him and his LDP party three full years to reform the Japanese economy. But as some analysts warn, there is still no key theme in Abe's plans for reform and he has already started talking about constitutional revision. All governments have limited capacity to make significant change, so - as in business and indeed life in general - it is essential to choose and focus. This short article argues that Abe would be well advised to follow the advice of a succession of recent white papers and reports from within his own party and government, and focus on the enabling role of information and computer technology (ICT) in energy, health and a range of other services and markets. Much of the Japanese elite want to transform the country into a national version of “industrial internet” General Electric, and are moving to implement those aims. But Abe could derail these efforts with his divisive and dangerous constitutional and historical obsessions.
1 See, for example, the post-election political risk analysis that warns Abe “may well conclude that he has a free hand to focus on constitutional reform,” in “Abe Reloaded: Now The Hard Work Begins,” Business Monitor Online, July 22, 2013
2 The portents are not good. As the July 27 Japan Times reported, Abe “avoided the topic of constitutional revision and other right-leaning policies during the Upper House election campaign. Now that the election is over, Abe appears eager to put the topic back on the table.” See “Abe tells Philippine leader of tilt towards more robust military,” Japan Times, July 27, 2013. 2013: here
3 See Markus Loffer and Andreas Tschiesner, “The Internet of Things and the future of manufacturing,” McKinsey Insights, June 2013: here
4 The core enabling aspect of ICT seems likely to determine whether we can crunch material consumption and diffuse renewable energy faster than ravages via population increases, “extreme weather,” and a water-food-energy nexus that undermines our collective capacity to endure let alone thrive. It is, for example, key to the “green growth agenda” described by Heinrich Boll Foundation executive board member Ralf Fūcks in the summary of his new book (Intelligentwachsen: Die Grune Revolution) “Europe can do better - a green growth agenda,” May 31, 2013: here
5 The occasion was the unveiling of “the first big data and analytics platform robust enough to manage the data produced by large-scale, industrial machines in the cloud.” See “GE Moves Machines to the Cloud,” Wall Street Journal, June 18, 2013: here
6 See Quentin Hardy, “G.E. Makes the Machine, and Then Listens to It,” June 20, 2013. The online version carries the same title and byline, but is dated June 19: here
7 See “New Industrial Internet Report From GE Finds That Combination of Networks Could Add $10 to $15 Trillion to Global GDP,” GE Reports, November 26, 2012: here
8 GE used Germany's Miniatur Wunderland, the world's largest “miniature town,” to depict big data solutions in daily life but in a rather unorthodox way. The results are impressive: here
9 See Art Wittman, “Here Comes the Internet of Things,” Information Week, July 22, 2013: here The article is a critical reaction to estimates that it regards as hype. Its most powerful claim is that sensor installation costs are a barrier, but in fact fails to note that GE already puts no fewer than 20,000 sensors on its “Brilliant” series of wind turbines.
10 This excellent chapter is to appear in Dan Breznits and John Zysman, eds, Can Wealthy Nations Stay Rich? (Oxford, Oxford University Press, forthcoming), and is available online: here
11 The MIC White Paper was released (in Japanese) on July 16, 2013 and emphasizes that “smart ICT” is core to revitalizing the Japanese economy: here
12 The Cabinet Office's Annual Report on the Economy and Finances is available (in Japanese) at: here
13 The Committee's May 23 report is available (in Japanese) here: here
14 See page 16 (in Japanese) of the Commission's May 21, 2013 report “Digital Japan 2013: Taking Back Japan Through ICT”: here
15 The chart is from the tentative English version (a revision is expected in September) of the MIC White Paper on ICT: here
16 The figures are from page 425 of the report: here
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