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Chapter 1 Overview of Information and Communication Technology

Chapter 1 Overview of Information and Communication


Technology

1-1 Current State of IT and its Importance

The rapid development and spread of information and communication


technology in the 1990s contributed to advancing industries and improving
economic productivity of the countries and regions that embraced it. As
computers became connected across national borders through networks such as
the Internet, economic activity became globalized, costs dropped, and the time
required for distribution of information was shortened (e.g. promotion of the IT
industry, digitization of industries, supply chain management, e-commerce, and
international division of work).
Information and
Information and communication technology is also contributing to
communication improved public service and efficiency through the digitization of office work,
technology is an creation of own websites by ministries and agencies, and the availability of
important tool that can
improve each of the
applications and notifications online as IT is introduced into governments and
economic, the public sector. IT is also contributing to improving people’s lives as it is also
administrative, and increasingly being introduced into social sectors, such as through the diffusion
social sectors. The
task at hand is to
of e-learning (distance education and learning) in the education sector. From the
create an environment perspective of Women in Development (WID), many women are employed to
in which anyone perform work on a computer and IT is thus also contributing to promoting
anywhere can utilize
IT at an affordable
employment for women. In these ways, information and communication
cost. technology is a very important tool that can be used to achieve improvement
in each of the economic, administrative, and social sectors.
Information and communication technology is said to bring about
major historical changes in society that surpass those of the industrial
revolution that started in England in the 18th century. The “e-Japan 2002
Priority Policy Program” states that just as the industrial revolution transformed
the world from an agricultural society to an industrial society, the use of
information and communication technology will dramatically reduce the time
and cost of information distribution, will facilitate the exchange of highly dense
information, and will bring about rapid and significant changes in socio-
economic structures on a global scale. As a result, the world will move from an
industrial society to an “Advanced Information and Telecommunications
Network Society,” in other words, we are rapidly moving into a society in which
information and knowledge generate added value.
In January 2003, at the Asia-Pacific Regional Conference for the World
Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), the concept of an information

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society was defined as something which would accelerate and improve regional
economy, social, cultural, and technical development. It was emphasized that IT
should be fully utilized at every level of society and that all people should share
the benefits of using information networks while continuing to value diversity
and cultural heritage.
Meanwhile, people (or countries and regions), mainly those in
developing countries, do not have enough opportunities to use or acquire IT
and therefore are not able to reap the benefits offered by these technologies.
Thus the gap between these and people (or countries and regions) who have
access to use and acquire IT, what is called “digital divide,” has become an
important issue. The digital divide generates an economic divide, and, if the
divide becomes too wide by leaving it alone, it may lead to social unrest.
Among various types of information and communication technologies
progress and spread of Internet have especially significant impacts. According to
NUA 1, approximately 600 million people were using the Internet as of
September 2002, with 370 million or 62% of those in just the United States,
Canada, and Europe and with 160 million or 26% in Japan, China, Korea,
Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore, and New Zealand. The remainder
comprising mainly developing countries in the rest of Asia-Pacific, Africa, the
Middle East, and Latin America is only 74 million or only 12% of the total. The
number of users in developing countries is on the rise, but the gap between those
countries and industrialized nations remains great.
Information and communication technology should be viewed as an
important means for achieving economic growth and for improving the public
and social sectors. The task at hand, therefore, is to create an environment in
which anyone anywhere can use information and communication technology
as needed at an affordable cost.

1-2 Definition

The World Bank and other international organizations generally


abbreviate “Information and Communication Technology” as “ICT,” but since
the abbreviation “IT” is commonly used in Japan, this report will use “IT.”
IT includes both information technology and communication
IT includes both
information technology. It is technology for input, storage, processing, transmission, and
technology and output (display and printing) of information and is divided into hardware (such
communication
as computers and peripheral devices) and software (such as information
technology.
processing systems).
The digitization of information such as text, voice, and images has
reduced errors during transmission and enabled transmission at higher speeds.

1
NUA, “NUA Internet Surveys” (http://www.nua.ie/surveys/how_many_online/ )

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Chapter 1 Overview of Information and Communication Technology

The development of the World Wide Web (WWW) system that serves as a basis
for web pages has made it possible to obtain all of these types of information at
the same time as they exist on the Internet.
With respect to broadcasting and postal mail services, these are issues that
the World Bank includes in their definition of information and communication
technology and that Japan’s Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs,
Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT) of Japan also mentions in its White
Paper on Information and Communications in Japan. However, at JICA,
broadcasting and postal mail services are considered to be essential
underpinnings of society and are treated as separate development issues. They
are therefore not included in this report.
In this report cooperation in the field of IT refers to projects that have
measures to promote the use of IT or measures to learn IT as a goal and
projects that include such measures as part of their output/outcome or as a
part of their activities, whether they are included as goals or not. In terms of
how to define what “part of ” actually means, this can be determined while
looking at the goals of a project when it comes time to create statistics or
examples, and the conditions for selecting a project or not should be clarified on
a case-by-case basis.

1-3 International Trends

1-3-1 Kyushu-Okinawa Summit


At the July 2000 Kyushu-Okinawa Summit, “The Okinawa Charter on
Global Information Society” was adopted. At the same time, a working group
called the Digital Opportunity Taskforce (“DOT Force”) was established for
making the best use of opportunities provided by IT (digital opportunity) and
eliminating the digital divide. DOT Force membership includes stakeholders
from the G8 governments as well as the governments of nine countries outside
of the G8, companies, business organizations, NPOs, and international
organizations, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),
the World Bank, the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations
(ECOSOC), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

1-3-2 UN Millennium Summit


At the UN Millennium Summit that was convened in New York in
September 2002, the Millennium Declaration was adopted and the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) were summarized as common objectives.

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The MDGs raised eight goals and 18 targets for achievement by the year
2015. With respect to the field of IT, one of the goals is to “Develop a global
partnership for development” and a target under it is “In cooperation with the
private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies – especially
information and communications technologies.”

1-3-3 Genoa Plan of Action


In July 2001, the Genoa Plan of Action was presented by the DOT Force
at the Genoa Summit. At the same time Implementation Teams were organized
for each action point in the plan, and in June of 2002 a report on the state of
implementation of the Genoa Plan of Action was presented at the Kananaskis
Summit. The following are the action points on the Genoa Action Plan:
1) Support development of national e-strategies
2) Improve connectivity, increase access, and lower costs
3) Enhance human capacity development, knowledge creation and sharing
4) Foster enterprise, jobs and entrepreneurship
5) Strengthen universal participation in global ICT governance
6) Establish a dedicated LDC initiatives for ICT-inclusion
7) ICT for healthcare and support against disease
8) Support local content and application creation
9) Prioritize the contribution of ICTs in development assistance programs
These main action points are included in the development objectives
raised in this report.

Box 1-1 Differences in Donors’ Perspectives on IT


As interest in and expectations toward IT are growing through summits
and other meetings, differences in the views and perspectives of various donors
toward IT are emerging. The main differences are as follows:
World Bank, IMF, World Development
Organization UNDP, ECOSOC, FAO, most NGOs
Forum, private sector in general

Sees globalization as a complex economic,


Sees globalization primarily in political, and social phenomenon.
Views on
economic terms as beneficial. Same Emphasizes the different impact of
globalization
applies to ITs. globalization. There are winners and losers,
not just winners. Same applies to ITs.
Digital Opportunity Digital Divide

Emphasis on “divide,” gaps in access and


Emphasis on “opportunities” provided
Focus for IT capacity due to lopsided diffusion of IT and its
by utilization of IT. Access is
cause in delays. The divide will continue to
increasing rapidly, the divide is
increase unless pro-poor IT strategies are
narrowing.
developed and implemented.

Emphasis on the adoption of


Emphasis on the responsibility of a broad
Important appropriate policies in developing
range of “partners” (donors and others) in
points for countries enabling them to take
ensuring that poorer countries and regions
assistance advantage of opportunities. Actual
are not left behind.
activities carried out by private sector.
IT that is Emphasizes new ITs, and in particular Broader definition of ITs including old ITs
emphasized the Internet. such as radio and television.

Source: Barbara Fillip (2001) Digital Divide, JICA-USA

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Chapter 1 Overview of Information and Communication Technology

1-3-4 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)


The Asian Regional Conference for the World Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS) was held in January of 2003 and it adopted the “WSIS Tokyo
Declaration” that has as its goal the development of an “Information Society”
reflecting the diverse languages and cultures of Asia. “WSIS Tokyo Declaration”
was presented as the view of the Asian region at the WSIS in Geneva (Phase 1)
in December 2003. Phase 2 is planned to be held in Tunis in 2005.

1-3-5 Major Donors’ Activities


The assistance policies and major examples of cooperation from major
donors in the field of IT are as listed in Table 1-1.

Table 1-1 Major Donors’ Activities in IT

Assistance Organization Characteristics of Assistance Policy Major Activities

InfoDev, WorLD, ICT for Education


Administration, education, health program, African Virtual University
World Bank
care, environment, welfare (AVU), GDLN, GDN, SBEM,
Development Gateway
United Nations Building human capacity at the Info21, Internet Initiative for Africa (IIA),
Development Programme national level Efforts mainly on Asia-Pacific Development Information
(UNDP) regional diffusion of the Internet Programme, SDNP

Village Phone (Bangladesh), Rural


Asian Development Bank Development of rural Telecommunications Project (India),
(ADB) communication infrastructure Telecommunications Project (China)

International Assistance to e-commerce,


Diffusion of telecommunications
Telecommunication Union telecommunications in health care,
technology, broadcasting technology
(ITU) virtual training centers

Revitalization of private sector IED Initiative, AfricaLink, Gemini


U.S. Agency for investment, promotion of fair Application Server, Leland Initiative
International Development competition, flexible regulatory (Africa), DOT-COM Alliance, South
(USAID) environment, assistance with Africa Regional Telecommunications
democratization Restructuring
ICTs as sector in itself (IT sector reform,
development of infrastructure), using
Canadian International
ICT in regions without telephones, ICTs as tools (education, healthcare,
Development Agency
implementation by private sector administration), using ICTs to promote
(CIDA)
knowledge sharing and networking
(InfoDev, Bellanet)
International Development ACACIA (Sub-saharan Africa), Pan
Research Centre – Closing of digital divide Americas (Latin America), Pan Asia
Canada (IDRC) (Asia), Bellanet

Swedish International Use of IT in all programs


IT assistance to universities and
Development Cooperation Consideration to bringing benefit to
research institutions, InfoDev, Bellanet
Agency (Sida) the poor

Source: World Bank “Operational Strategy”


(http://www.worldbank.org/html/fpd/telecom/operationalstrategy.html)
UNDP “INFO 21: ICT for Development” (http://www.undp.org/info21/)
ITU-D (http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/)
USAID “Information Technology”
(http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/economic_growth_and_trade/info_technology/)
CIDA “CIDA’s Strategy on Knowledge for Development through ICT”
(http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/ict)
IDRC “Program Directions: 2000-2005”
(http://www.idrc.ca/cpf/33_information.html)
Sida “ICT in Developing Countries” (http://www.sida.se/)

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1-4 Trends in Japan’s Assistance

There is a great deal of expectation placed on information and


communication technology in terms of its bringing about economic
development, expansion of employment, and improvement in people’s lives.
However, the international digital divide in the f ield of information and
communication is widening, as is clearly observed in facts such as that in
developing countries there are approximately 30 countries in which the
telephone density is less than 1 for every 100 people. Therefore, the importance
of developing information and communication networks on a global scale that
include developing countries is growing.

1-4-1 Comprehensive Cooperation Package


In July of 2000, the Japanese government announced its “Comprehensive
Cooperation Package to Address the International Digital Divide” prior to the
Kyushu-Okinawa Summit.
IT development is led by the private sector, with the role of the public
sector complimenting the private sector initiative by focusing on policy, human
resources development and other areas. Based on this fundamental position, in
an effort to eliminate the international digital divide, the Japanese government
announced the preparation of a Comprehensive Cooperation Package through
public funds (ODA and non-ODA), in the amount of approximately US$15
billion, as the target for the five year period starting in 2000.
The Comprehensive Package puts importance on the following four
fields:
1) Raising awareness and contributing intellectually to policy and
institution-building
2) Developing and training human resources
3) Building IT infrastructure and providing assistance for network
establishment
4) Promoting the use of IT in development assistance

1-4-2 Contribution to the Digital Divide Elimination


The importance of eliminating the international digital divide has been
clearly indicated in the “Comprehensive Cooperation Package to Address the
International Digital Divide” that was mentioned in 1-4-1, the “Okinawa Charter
on Global Information Society (IT Charter) ” adopted at the Kyushu-Okinawa
Summit in July 2000, and in the “Tokyo Declaration” of the APT (Asia-Pacific
Telecommunity) Asia-Pacific Summit on the Information Society held in
November of the same year. The IT Basic Law that was formulated in 2000
based on the above efforts and the “e-Japan Strategy,” the “e-Japan Priority
Policy Program,” and the “e-Japan 2002 Program,” all formulated in 2001, also

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Chapter 1 Overview of Information and Communication Technology

advocate technical cooperation for developing regions as well as the promotion


of international harmonization and contribution. In these ways, Japan is
continuing in its efforts to eliminate the international digital divide.
In June of 2002, the “e-Japan Priority Policy Program 2002” was
announced following a review of the “e-Japan Priority Policy Program” and
indicates IT strategies to enhance efforts in “promoting international
harmonization and contribution” as a cross-cutting issue of the priority areas.
Table 1-2 below provides an outline of Japan’s IT strategy on the issue of
the international digital divide.
Table 1-2 Japan’s IT Strategy on the International Digital Divide
Date Details
Basic Law for Formation of an Advanced Information and Telecommunications
Network Society (IT Basic Law)
November Formulated to expeditiously and intensively promote measures for forming an
2000 advanced information and telecommunications network society. Provisions such
as proactively carrying out technical and other international cooperation to
developing regions are stipulated in Article 24.
e-Japan Strategy
The “e-Japan Strategy” was formulated by the Strategic Headquarters for the
January
Promotion of an Advanced Information and Telecommunications Network Society
2001
(IT Strategy Headquarters) established within the Japanese Cabinet with the goal
for “Japan to become the world’s most advanced IT nation in the next five years.”
e-Japan Priority Policy Program
The “e-Japan Priority Policy Program” gives shape to the “e-Japan Strategy” and
March was made to clarify all of the measures the Japanese government should take
2001 under that strategy. It places elimination of the international digital divide as an
issue for the entire Japanese government and advocates the promotion of
international harmonization and contribution.
e-Japan 2002 Program
The “e-Japan 2002 Program” was formulated as an annual program to enable
each ministry to reflect the “e-Japan Strategy” and the “e-Japan Priority Policy
June
Program” in each FY2002 policy. It states that cooperation to developing
2001
countries in Asia and elsewhere should be carried out proactively to promote
international harmonization and contribution and that efforts should be made to
close the international digital divide.
e-Japan Priority Policy Program 2002
The “e-Japan Priority Policy Program 2002” was formulated based on a revision
of the “e-Japan Priority Policy Program” that included an evaluation of Japan’s
June achievements and international comparative rankings. It states the importance of
2002 Japan working toward making the Asian region the world’s information “hub” so
that Japan and other Asian countries can enjoy the benefits of a rich IT society
and can establish new technological and socioeconomic axes around which
further development will revolve. It also outlines the measures for such efforts.

1-4-3 Government Ministries’ Activities


Based on the above-mentioned Comprehensive Cooperation Package, the
entire Japanese government, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs playing a
central role, and in cooperation with JICA, the Japan Bank for International
Cooperation (JBIC), and other organizations, has proactively been contributing
to the sustainable development in the field of IT in developing countries by
utilizing public funds (ODA and non-ODA).
Each relevant government ministry has also continued efforts toward
measures on closing the digital divide. (See Table 1-3)

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Table1-3 Major International Measures of the e-Japan Priority Policy


Program 2002
Sector Major International Measures
Realization of a balanced global IT society through the development of an
Formation of the international Internet network
world’s most • Asia Broadband Program (MPHPT and relevant government agencies)
advanced • Research on promoting the use of advanced IT in Asia (MPHPT)
information and • Making Okinawa an international information and telecommunications
telecom networks hub (Cabinet Office, MPHPT, and METI)
• Building a network to support policies and systems (MPHPT, MOFA)
Promotion of
Fostering and utilization of IT specialists and development of vocational
education and
skills in the IT sector
learning and
• Standardization of certification system (METI)
development of
• Promotion of e-Learning in Asia (METI)
human resources
Promotion of Development of an international e-commerce environment (including
e-commerce METI)
Source: Barbara Fillip (2001) Digital Divide, JICA-USA

The Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and


Telecommunications (MPHPT) in particular, has greatly shifted the focus of its
technical cooperation toward elimination of the digital divide, and is carrying
out assistance to human resources development, joint research, and broadcast
program cooperation. In December 2002, the recommendations at the
International Conference for Asia Broadband Strategy convened by the Minister
of MPHPT included changes with respect to ODA in the IT sector such as a shift
from request-based aid approach to more proactive project formulation, which
indicates the prospect of future activities by MPHPT.

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