After WW II, the Japanese industry was eager to introduce and master American and European technology. In the next phase, MITI lead a number of cooperative projects, in which the government, academic circle and industry cooperated, to develop original technologies. As a result of this policy, leading Japanese businesses have reached a level comparable to American counterparts in many areas of advanced technology. During the so-called trade friction, MITI had to practically abandon this type of policy under Washington's pressure against the "targeted policy". Then the United States succeeded in restoring its technological superiority to Japan by promoting technology transfer from the military to the civil sector, and providing the semiconductor and communication industries with strategic support, deftly modeled on the Japanese technology policy, to development of next-generation technologies. These experiences motivated establishment of the National Technology Strategy, which specifies principal development goals in each industry, in April 2000. The number and quality of Japanese researchers and engineers are at fairly satisfactory level. However, the country is much in need of technical managers capable of implementing plans, organizing people, and managing effectively the whole process from R&D to new industries. Such talents can be fostered only through research and education in MOT, as our society has been advocating for fifteen years. It should be emphasized again that organizations for research and education of MOT is a prerequisite for revival of the Japanese industry based on the National Technology Strategy.

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The author presents his ideas on prerequisites for successful international standardization based on his experiences as a forme chairman of a working group for image coding (JPEG, MPEG). An important factor that led to success in the standaridization of the JPEG format is open competition for determination of technical specifications, which prompted entry of candidates regardless of historical biases. Another was insistence in standardization as the supreme principle, these provided a model for subsequent standardization activities. Key factors in the fruitful MPEG standardization were : (1) winning support of world's leading manufacturers for MPEG, (2) quest for the best standards ever based on study of historical experiences, and (3) activities accelerated to establish the standards in time for the generalization of the Internet. In the process of discussion, Japanese participants were not effective enough in communication with others due to their discourse with some peculiarities. This led us to concentrate on presenting empirical facts. Competent persons are essential in standardization : it requires individuals who are knowledgeable about technical aspects of standardization, confident of its importance, and influential in their affiliations.

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Discussions in the Telecommunication Standardization Sector of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T) on standardization of optical transmission systems and devices are described as exemplifying relationships between strategies on international standardization and intellectual properties, diplomatic aspects of international standardization, and corporate R&D strategy as related to standardization. Standardization activities involve coordination processes to attain common understanding among parties with different histories, value systems and cultures. The 500-year history of standardization in Europe provides a plenty of lessons for the Japanese, who have limited experience in this field, to learn. Since the practice and skill of arriving at agreement between different opinions through dialog are a prerequisite of internationalization both at personal and national levels, international standardization activities should provide us valuable information as well as an opportunity of learning.

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The new traceability program is an important element in the standard certification system. The program has prompted a number of new moves for international equivalence in support of the Convention of Meter. Declarations of equivalence of national standard authorities will reveal international relationships among metric standards (international traceability) and lead to more rational policies at the national level. The new traceability program defines clearly the responsibility for calibration and certifies organizations capable of calibration under defined conditions. The new traceability program started in Europe as a part of technology policy. This aspect should be learned by the Japanese in relation to quality control. The program can contribute to assurance of reliability of scientific and technological data: using instruments calibrated by internationally certified organizations will guarantee the reliability of data obtained. Establishment of the traceability program and mutual recognition of national metric standards will be the largest events in the history of the 125-year old Convention of Meter. Japan should also contribute to this process as a member country.

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End of Cold War, establishment of WTO, European unification and rapid growth of Asian economy are among principal factors in the recent drastic change in economic framework of the world. Japan's involvement in the global economy and megacompetition has prompted widespread discussions on the "global Standard". These circumstances have changed also the conditions in which industrial standards are situated. However, Japan's activities concerning international standardization have not been very positive, though with different achievements by different areas, to cope with the changes, needing a fundamental reform before it is too late. The Ministry of International Trade and Industry has been implementing various policies since it received in November 1997 a proposal on international standardization policy by Japan Industrial Standards Committee. However, the author believes that a clearer target and a clearer plan is necessary for enhancement of internationalization of Japanese standards still lagging European counterparts, and proposes an International Standardization Promotion Plan, including doubling Japan's occupation of the posts of Secretary Country in ISO/IEC (from 42 to about 80) and doubling of proposals for international standards from Japan (30 to about 60).

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製品開発は,企業にとって最も重要なイノベーションである。そのため,各産業の製品開発にどのような特徴があるのかを理解することは,経営戦略上きわめて重要である。本研究は,IT産業において,他の産業とは異なり,新しいイノベーションパターンが起きていることを明らかにするものである。既存研究において,ハイテク産業の製品開発の特徴として,「不確実性」と「複雑性」が指摘されていたが,定量的分析によってこれらを実証した研究はほとんどない。不確実性は,マーケットシェアの変化とイノベーションサイクルの組み合わせによって決定づけられ,複雑性は,水平分業と垂直統合のような問題解決力のタイプの混合の度合いによって決定づけられると考えられる。そこで,本研究では,これらの要因を定量分析することによって,自動車産業に比べて,IT産業の製品開発の特徴として,不確実性及び複雑性が高いことを実証した。これらの発見は,IT関連産業におけるマネジメント手法に,新しい知見を提示するものである。

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医療技術の高度化,国民の高年齢化などに伴い,先進諸国の国民総医療費は増加し続けている。そこで,ヘルスケア産業に可能な限り市場原理を導入し,効率的な医療供給システムを再建することが急務になってきた。本稿では,我が国のヘルスケア産業と海外(特に米国)のヘルスケア産業双方の動静を比較研究し,1)ヘルスケア産業の現状分析と新しいヘルスケアデリバリーシステムへの転換,2)重要な医療資源である医薬品を例に,ビジネス形態の変化とビジネスのグローバリゼイションの検証,3)シームレスなケアの効率的な提供という観点から在宅ケアの効果と問題点を検討した。

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近年,遺伝子組換えや地球環境問題など,科学技術と社会に関する問題の複雑化に伴い,科学者,技術者,行政だけで容易に解決できないことが多くなってきた。そして一般の人々が科学技術に関する意思決定に参加することが求められていると言われる。このような中で,コンセンサス会議という新しい意思決定方式が注目を集めている。本論文では,第一にこのコンセンサス会議の概要を述べ,コンセンサス会議の仕組みはテクノロジーアセスメントの発展したものであり,また,パターナリスティックな政策決定を克服するために出現したことを論じる。その目的は,理想的なコンセンサスを得ることと考えられた。第二にしかしながら,このようなコンセンサス会議への期待は,理論的な吟味の不十分さによるものであることを指摘し,実際にはその意義はコンセンサス作りというより,問題の民主的な可視化という意味が強いと解釈されるべきことを主張する。この主張は,日本で実際に行われたコンセンサス会議の状況から明らかにされる。

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