Abstract
The International Electrotechnical Commission, an international organization dealing with international technical standard and specifications on all fields of electric and electronic engineering, has established a new commission to accelerate discussions on management issues, in response to rapid changes in technology. IEC intends to secure fairness in the process of establishing standards by forming a consensus among the member countries on every step of the work. This has resulted in a period of three or four years for final edition of a standard, and prevalence of "de facto standard" in areas in which technology changes are particularly rapid. To cope with this situation, IEC plans to offer a platform for fair competition and information. This means a major policy change as an international organization for technology standardization. Japanese technological strategy is now focusing increasingly on accumulation and utilization of its own technological assets. Tasks related to this change include acquisition of intellectual property rights for the technological assets, harmonization of technological standards with the international level, and compilation of databases. The Japanese industry has been making progress in acquiring patents. The two other tasks should be addressed jointly by the industry, academia and government. Hey for the activity included competent engineers and continuous, proper distribution of resources. A social climate in which engineers working in these fields are held in esteem is a prerequisite for recruiting qualified people.
