抄録
Asia is now generally considered to be promising as the center of world economic growth in the 21st century. In fact, the area (including India and Siberia) accounts for a half of world's population and more than 1/3 of land area on the earth ; the total GDP in the area is approaching to 1/3 of the world total. However, Asia is still far more diverse and heterogeneous than Europe and North America in terms of politics, economy and culture. ASEAN and other steps for collaboration are not yet comprehensive enough. Japan has shown less enthusiasm for this goal than China or the ASEAN countries. In addition to political relationships, therefore, development of closer economic, social and cultural links in non-government level is necessary for healthy economic growth of the area. Such links should not be limited to conventional relationships for manufacturing in a narrow sense of the word, but should include collaboration at higher levels for "co-evolution". Manufacturing in the 21st century should aim at empowering the purchasers of the products through integration of hardware, software and service development. This requires competent personnel: enhancement of human resources is a critical factor for all development.
