NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #31

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Path: sparky!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!ames!ncar!noao!arizona!rick From: rick@cs.arizona.edu (Rick Schlichting) Newsgroups: comp.research.japan Subject: Kahaner Report: More assorted computer/hi-tech odds and ends Message-ID: <28908@optima.cs.arizona.edu> Date: 28 Dec 92 17:14:09 GMT Sender: rick@cs.arizona.edu Lines: 479 Approved: rick@cs.arizona.edu [Dr. David Kahaner is a numerical analyst on sabbatical to the Office of Naval Research-Asia (ONR Asia) in Tokyo from NIST. The following is the professional opinion of David Kahaner and in no way has the blessing of the US Government or any agency of it. All information is dated and of limited life time. This disclaimer should be noted on ANY attribution.] [Copies of previous reports written by Kahaner can be obtained using anonymous FTP from host cs.arizona.edu, directory japan/kahaner.reports.] To: Distribution From: David K. Kahaner US Office of Naval Research Asia (From outside US): 23-17, 7-chome, Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106 Japan (From within US): Unit 45002, APO AP 96337-0007 Tel: +81 3 3401-8924, Fax: +81 3 3403-9670 Email: kahaner@cs.titech.ac.jp Re: More assorted computer/hi-tech odds and ends. 25 Dec 1992 This file is named "misc12a.92" ABSTRACT. Miscellaneous computer and policy items. These summaries are a continuation of the collection I distributed last week, ("misc12.92", 15 Dec 1992), and are being distributed with only minor editing in an effort to get them read. (Some of these are updates of items I have reported on before as well, and are translations from Japanese news sources.) Many thanks to the US Embassy Science Councellor for parts of this information which I have further edited for electronic distribution. 1. JAPAN'S EXPENDITURES ON S&T RESEARCH AND TRADE IN FISCAL 1990. 2. AIST TO STRENGTHEN REGIONAL TECHNOLOGY CENTERS IN FISCAL YEAR 1993. 3. JAPANESE CHIP MAKERS TO CHALLENGE US FIRMS IN ASICS. 4. MATSUSHITA,SONY, PHILIPS TO SWAP RIGHTS ON DISC PATENTS. 5. JAPANESE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY DISCOVERS SATELLITES. 6. JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA TO DEVELOP HI-SPEED ISDN. 7. JAPAN JOINS COMPUTER DOWNSIZING TREND. 8. MORE MICROMACHINE ITEMS. 9. SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IS GROWING OUTSIDE TOKYO. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. JAPAN'S EXPENDITURES ON S&T RESEARCH AND TRADE IN FISCAL 1990. [This report concerns activities more than one year ago, but it will be very interesting to see how it compares to 1991 figures, a year when Japan's economic situation has not nearly been as healthy.] Summary. According to a report released by Japan's Management and Coordination Agency, Japan spent over $100B US on research and development in Japan's 1990 fiscal year (13T Yen), 10.7% above the previous year. Japan's R&D expenditures accounted for 3% of its GNP, a new record. The private sector accounted for about $90B US, 82% of overall R&D expenditures. Reflecting the growing awareness of the importance of environmental protection worldwide, expenditures for environmental protection surged 20.3% over the previous year to 237.8B Yen. Japan's exports of technology (receipts from patents and royalties) increased 3% over the previous year to 339.4B Yen. Imports of technologies increased to 372B Yen, 12.7% over the previous year. Japan's imports of technology from the US were 2.5 times its exports to the US. In December 1991, Japan's Management and Coordination Agency released a report on the country's S&T research during fiscal year 1990. According to the report, total expenditures on science and technology research in amounted to 13.1T Yen, a 10.7% increase from the previous year. Expenditures in 1990 were 2.5 times higher than in 1980. Expenditures on natural science research increased to 12.1T Yen, 92.4% of the total. (Note. Expenditures for all studies done by professors in scientific faculties of universities and by researchers in scientific research organizations were classified as "expenditures on natural science research".) The ratio of S&T research expenditures to GNP in 1990 was 3%, a record high for Japan. Private companies spent 9.3T Yen (70.9% of total S&T research expenditures); public and private universities spent 2.3T Yen (17.6%); and public and private research institutes spent 1.5T Yen (11.6%). Expenditures of the private sector amounted to 10.7T Yen (82% of total S&T research expenditures), and those of local and national government, 2.3T Yen (17.9%). Expenditures of the private sector have increased more than 10% per year for the past three years. Of natural science research expenditures in 1990 (12.1T Yen), expenditures which were spent on only natural science research were 12.0T Yen. Of these, expenditures on R&D amounted to 7.5T Yen (63.2%). Expenditures on applied research and basic research were 2.9T Yen (24.2%) and 1.5T Yen (12.6%) respectively. Over the previous year, expenditures on R&D, applied research, and basic research increased 10.6%, 12.3%, and 8.6%. The subject on which was spent the greatest amount in fiscal year 1990 was information processing, 1.1T Yen [!!!]. Expenditures on space development increased to 195B Yen, those on environment protection increased to 238B Yen. The 20.3% increase from the previous year in environment protection is the highest increase in the past ten years. Receipts for Japan's technology exports amounted to 339B Yen, an increase of 3% over the previous year. Payment for imports of technologies to Japan amounted to 372B Yen, an increase of 12.7%. Japan's technology imports in 1990 surpassed exports by 33B Yen. Technology exports to Asia (excluding west Asia) totaled 153B Yen (45.2% of Japan's total technology exports). Asia was followed by North America and Europe. Technology exports to these regions respectively were 108B Yen (31.9%) and 62B Yen (18.1%). Japan's technology imports from North America amounted to 260B Yen (69.3% of Japan's total technology imports). Technology imports from Europe amounted to 113B Yen (30.3%). Thus, Japan imports far more technology from North America and Europe than it exports to those areas of the world. The tables below show Japanese technology exports and imports in JFY 1990. Value of Japan's Technology Exports in JFY 1990 (Unit: billion yen) Region/country Exports (percentage of Japan's total ______________ exports of technology)______________ Asia 153.3 (45.8) - Korea 46.5 (13.7) - Thai 24.6 ( 7.2) - China 22.5 ( 6.6) - Singapore 18.5 ( 5.5) - Indonesia 19.7 ( 5.8) North America 108.1 (31.9) - US 99.5 (29.3) Europe 61.5 (18.1) - England 20.1 ( 5.9) - Germany 11.7 ( 3.4) Others 16.4 ( 4.3) Total 339.4 Value of Technology Imports in JFY 1990 (Unit: billion yen) Region/country Imports (Percentage of Japan's ______________ total imports of technology)_________ North America 257.9 (69.3) - US 255.3 (68.7) Europe 112.8 (30.3) - Germany 27.0 ( 7.3) - France 22.8 ( 6.1) - Netherlands 20.2 ( 5.4) - Switzerland 15.3 ( 4.1) Others 1.3 ( 0.3) Total 371.9 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. AIST TO STRENGTHEN REGIONAL TECHNOLOGY CENTERS IN FISCAL YEAR 1993. The Ministry of International Trade and Industry's Agency of Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), plans to develop new regional technology policies and strengthen the research functions of the seven Regional Government Industrial Research Institutes (GIRI) under AIST's umbrella in fiscal year 1993. The policies are to correct industrial overconcentration. At the same time, the upgrading of unique research and development (R&D) bases is seen as indispensable to invigorating the regions. AIST's aim is to actively develop the various regional research resources centering on the GIRIs, marshal the public testing and research institutes (KOHSETSUSHI), third-sector research centers and private companies to play a guiding role in the regional development, and link them with local universities. The importance of exchanges between GIRIs and KOHSETSUSHI centers has been stressed before but exchanges have not been conducted in a sustained fashion. AIST will support research by arranging tie-ups between KOHSETSUSHI centers, private companies, universities, and other organizations. Changing KOHSETSUSHI centers into industrial technology centers and renovating facilities and systems is moving ahead. Linking the centers to local universities, the policy will open the way for researchers at GIRIs to earn doctorates based on research achievements there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. JAPANESE CHIP MAKERS TO CHALLENGE US FIRMS IN ASICS. Japan's semiconductor makers, faced with a mounting offensive on their home market by US companies, are hustling to build up a presence in application specific integrated circuits (ASICS) in some cases by cooperating with US companies. ASIC chips have come into their own as semiconductor users move away from multipurpose chips, but they also have assumed heightened importance in light of the market penetration by US chip makers. There is a growing demand for programmable logic devices and field-programmable gate arrays from system developers looking for devices to incorporate high-speed systems that outstrip the capacity of conventional gate arrays. The programmable logic market amounted to $900M US in 1991, only around 25% of the size of the gate array market, but it is expected to expand to around $2.2B US by 1995, according to industry estimates. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. MATSUSHITA,SONY, PHILIPS TO SWAP RIGHTS ON DISC PATENTS. In a move reportedly aimed at avoiding another bitter confrontation over two competing technologies, Matsushita Electric industrial Co., Sony Corp., and Philips Electronic BV are said to have concluded basic agreements to make their patents on digital compact cassettes and mini-discs mutually accessible. The two Japanese manufacturers have led rivals in the commercialization of the technologies, small digital recording devices which generate high-quality sound. Matsushita has adopted the cassette format, while Sony is going with the disc format. Philips has committed itself to both types of equipment. Matsushita, Sony and Philips will control their patents uniformly, supplying technology to domestic and overseas enterprises interested in producing both hardware and software for digital compact cassettes and mini-discs. Mutual access to the patents on compact cassettes and mini-discs will allow the two camps to hone technology applied to their products, company officials said. Meanwhile, the agreement will pave the way for Matsushita to penetrate Sony's turf and vice versa. Matsushita has begun to market its first digital compact cassette recording, while Sony released its mini-disc recorder in November. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5. JAPANESE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY DISCOVERS SATELLITES. Japan's construction industry has joined the growing group of businesses worldwide that have turned their gaze skyward for guidance. Not to the stars, but to the satellites that make up the Global Positioning System (GPS). The GPS is a group of satellites launched by the US DoD and originally intended for boat and aircraft navigation. At present there are 18 GPS satellites orbiting 20,000km above earth. Three more are expected to be launched by the end of 1993, bringing the total to 21, or enough to provide 24-hour usage anywhere in the world. The most high-profile commercial application of GPS is in car navigation systems. But the construction industry is learning to make use of the GPS satellites for land survey work. Surveying is simple with GPS - all that is needed is a pair of receivers, antennas, and three satellite signals. The distance between the two receivers and the elevation at the site of second receiver can be measured with an accuracy of 0.0001%. The GPS system does away with the traditional equipment surveyors use to measure distance and angles. The first commercial GPS system was in 1986, which has already became the standard tool for many survey applications in the US. Europe was also quick to make use of the system in 1987. Japan was slower to adopt the GPS system for survey work. Of the roughly 40,000 GPS survey receivers that have been sold worldwide, only 250 reportedly are in operation in Japan. However, firms are now using the system, and more are likely to follow. "The domestic market for GPS survey receivers finally began to take off last year," said Hideyuki Torimoto, Executive Vice President of the US Firm Trimble Navigation Systems Ltd., the world's leading manufacturer of GPS receivers. As recently as two years ago, GPS receiver sets cost as much as around yen 15 million ($120,000 US). But Trimble now markets a model for general-precision survey work that costs only 5.9M Yen. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6. JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA TO DEVELOP HI-SPEED ISDN. Japan and South Korea agreed recently to jointly develop a large-scale communications network that would transmit data among countries at high speed, according to Govt officials. The accord came during a regular conference between the Japanese Posts and Telecommunications Ministry (MPT) and its South Korean counterpart in Seoul. The integrated service digital network (ISDN), would make it possible to transmit different communications services, including digital telephone calls, facsimile transmission and data communications, on a single network. Many countries now are studying the possible operation of the new system on a commercial basis. However, since ISDN system transmission modes vary from nation to nation, it has been impossible for some countries to exchange data and information. In an effort tostandardize ISDN, Japan and the European community are scheduled to experimentally connect their communications lines next year. This agreement will help to standardize communications modes in the Asia-Pacific basin. To promote their project, Japan and South Korea are likely to select soon the participating communications enterprises and communications equipment manufacturers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7. JAPAN JOINS COMPUTER DOWNSIZING TREND. Japanese computer makers, which have long challenged IBM's supremacy in mainframes, are now following its lead in the opposite direction. Like IBM, they are reducing their dependence on large computers in favor of system planning and maintenance services. But shifting away from big, costly computers to a network of smaller machines has been slow compared with the US, where the "downsizing" trend has been so rapid that IBM has predicted zero growth in hardware revenue and other firms have abandoned the field. It is different story in Japan. Mainframes still hold 60% of the market, down from 70% in 1989, and smaller machines are suffering from the sluggish economy. Yet many observers reportedly say it is only a matter of time before the situation changes. They say the slow pace has mainly been due to the limited availability of Japanese language software for networks of small computers and to the greater variety of computers sold in Japan, making networking more difficult. Industry estimates put the percentage of personal computers and workstations forming networks at less than 10%, whereas the number is reportedly between 30% and 40% in the U.S. According to shozo Shigeoka, editor-in-chief of Nikkei Computer Magazine, "department heads of many Japanese companies make decisions after discussing subjects with all bosses up the ladder. Distributed computing does not fit well with this centralized decision-making style." Because everybody wants to look at all the information. (Lower ranking western managers, in contrast, have more decision-making power.) That, combined with the substantial mainframe software assets they have accumulated, has made Japanese companies less eager to try new systems, he said. However, NEC seems the most eager to shift to smaller machines. Its workstation sales in the fiscal year through March 1991 grew 160% from the previous year, placing it behind Sun Microsystems. Inc. and Hewlett Packard, the world leaders in the field. * 9. IBM Seeks Canon Assistance to Bolster Flagging PC Division (Nikkei Weekly, 09/12) IBM has added its personal computer operations to the growing list of areas in which it has sought the help of a prominent Japanese manufacturer. IBM and Canon have reached an agreement to cooperate in the development of desktop and portable computers. This information coincided with an announcement by IBM that its personal computer development, manufacturing, distribution, and marketing operations would be consolidated in a new, autonomous unit known as IBM Personal Computer Co. A Canon spokesman said that one of the first tasks of the new alliance will be to develop a portable personal computer with a built-in printer. The partnership will help IBM tap Canon's expertise in computer peripheral equipment, especially printers. IBM already has joined forces with Toshiba Corp. and Hitachi Ltd. to develop advanced semiconductor chips and high-end printers. Canon possesses technology in color flat-panel displays and optical magnetic disks that could be of interest to IBM. 8. MORE MICROMACHINE ITEMS. [See also the reports, ("micromac.92", 22 Sept 1992) and ("micromac.92", 14 Oct 1992).] I reported that MITI had established a Micromachine Center with 27 member organizations, including private companies and universities. The center, operating on an annual budget of 25B Yen, aims to have a working micromachine ready by the year 2000. MITI plans to secure all the necessary basic technologies and fundamental technologies for micromachines by Fiscal 1995. Research groups then will apply these technologies to the inspection and repair of nuclear power plants, as well as to develop micromachines which can be used to diagnose and treat patients. Research will be entrusted to about 20 Japanese companies and three non-Japanese research institutes. National research institutes and universities also will participate. Basic engineering technologists at a microscopic level are to be developed by the National Research Institute. Hitachi Ltd. and two other manufacturers will develop the processing technology, while Olympus Optical Co. and others will be responsible for technology related to assembly. Nine companies, led by Yasukawa Electric Manufacturing Co., will oversee development of energy-source technologies. SRI international will conduct basic research on artificial muscles. Other projects not mentioned in the earlier reports include Professor Hirofumi Miura and his team at Tokyo University, developing an insect-shaped robot incorporating the conditioned reflex mechanism of insects. They already have developed experimental modes of 1.5mm wings, and of machines which can grasp objects as small as 40 microns in length. Hiroshi Nagata, an assistant professor of the Ophthalmology Department of Shiga University of Medical Science, is planning a micromachine for eye treatment. The one-millimeter-diameter machine would move about in the eye and conduct surgery with its laser arms and scalpel. Many hurdles remain before commercialization, however. Associate professor Hiroyuki Fujita at Tokyo University's Institute of Industrial Science raised three of the largest obstacles still standing in the way of a micromachine world. Firstly, scale is a problem. In the microworld, the effect of friction and heat radiations is far larger than that in the microworld. In other words, mechanisms that work in the microworld will not work to the same efficiency at scaled-down sizes. The second problem is assembly. Tiny objects easily stick to unexpected objects and are not easily separated thereafter. Third is the problem of computing. The micromachines will need control systems, and large wire harnesses would be needed to operate such sophisticated devices. [Seems like a natural for optical technology.] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9. SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IS GROWING OUTSIDE TOKYO. SUMMARY: Scientific and technological activities in regions outside Tokyo are increasing, the Science and Technology Agency (STA) said in its Annual White Paper released on September 29 1992. In contrast to the 1991 White Paper which emphasized globalization of S&T activities, the White Paper this year stressed regional S&T activities. The Paper found that research institutes, led by those in the private sector, are moving increasingly into regions outside of Tokyo and its three surrounding prefectures and set forth an agenda to promote regional S&T activities. The paper also called for harmonizing national and local S&T policies, increasing the communication between the national and local governments, and for improving the quality of regional S&T. The English version is expected to be available March 1993, although an English summary is currently available. The 1992 Science and Technology Agency White Paper, titled, "Growing Regional Scientific and Technological Activities," was approved by the Cabinet on September 29 1992. This is the first time since the Agency started publishing the White Paper in 1958 that regional scientific and technological activities in the nation were examined as a main theme. Minoru Kuniya, director of STA's Research Division, said that the Paper looks at Japan's current S&T situation and its regional implications from the perspective of the overconcentration in Tokyo. AST staff noted that the 1991 White Paper emphasized the globalization of the scientific and technological activities but this year's paper stressed regional S&T activities. Part I of the White Paper is the most significant; its three chapters deal with regional activities. Chapter one reviews the growing regional S&T activities. Noting the changes in the regional distribution of institutes by sector, the chapter concluded that research institutes, particularly private institutes, are moving increasingly into local regions. This chapter also reviewed the important national research centers which have been established in the regions. Chapter 2 discusses the role played by science and technology in regional development. It studied the recent activities of local governmental research institutes, regional S&T indicators, policies implemented by the national and local governments, and finally, set forth an agenda to promote regional S&T activities. Chapter 3 examines the key concepts of regional S&T policies with the idea that the national government and local governments should work together to implement their policies and attain their objectives. As a result, emphasis is put on the need to improve the quality of regional science and technology, and to harmonize policies and encourage communication between the national government and local governments, all of which encourage regional self-reliance, individuality, and comprehensive policy-making. Parts II and III provide updates on the relative status of S&T in Japan versus in other countries and on Japanese S&T policy. According to the paper, corporations in the private sector are accelerating regional scientific and technological activities as they shift their research centers to outside the metropolitan region composed to Tokyo and its three surrounding prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba. The White Paper noted that research institutes of private firms and public organizations have been moving into regions outside the Kanto area at a considerable place for the past several years. They tend to concentrate in a limited number of areas near major cities in each prefecture. Noting that in recent years the private sector has established very few sizable research facilities in Tokyo, the report says the Kanto area saw its share of newly opened research institutes sharply reduced to 34% for the 1989-1991 period from 52% in the previous three-year period. The white paper concluded that research institutes, particularly those of the private sector, are moving into regions outside Tokyo on the basis of its sector-by-sector analysis of the shifts in the regional distribution of such institutes. The paper addresses the role science and technology play in regional development. Local authorities are becoming more scientifically and technologically oriented, it said. Research institutes of local governments are being increasingly reorganized to conduct research in new fields. At present, some 15,000 scientists and technicians are working nationwide at nearly 600 local governmental institutes. Many of these institutes were established before the turn of the century, with the aim of enhancing technological transfer to their regions in the agricultural and industrial fields. Other research bodies founded by local governments also are on the rise with the total number of such organizations standing at 121. Touching on growing international cooperation in scientific and technological research, Kuniya said, "it is possible for local authorities to join hands with the national government" in carving out policies in some fields. He cited the difficulty of securing personnel and providing an "adequate living environment" for researchers in regions outside Tokyo. The paper noted the need to improve the quality of regional science and technology, as well as to jointly work on policies and facilitate communication between the national and local individuality, and comprehensive policy-making." "The national government cannot dishearten regional independence. Our paper suggests that local government develop advanced science and technology, adding national policies to regional potentials," Kuniya said. -----------------------------END OF REPORT---------------------------------