About Industry Frontiers Program

Program Director

OHASHI Hiroshi's photo

OHASHI Hiroshi(Program Director and Faculty Fellow)

Artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and Big Data, are quickly beginning to change the landscape of our everyday lives and workplaces. The proliferation of IoT devices and the advancement of AI have made it possible to efficiently and effectively collect, store, and analyze diverse and large amounts of data. Efforts to use granular data such as location, cookies, and voice information to strengthen industrial competitiveness and improve people's lives have started to emerge. However, various concerns have been expressed regarding the circulation of data among businesses and between businesses and individuals. [1] For example, one of the challenges for competition policy is that the accumulation of data by corporations can distort market competition. In addition, there are issues caused by services that score the credit ratings of individuals using AI-powered profiling.

Japan has entered a period of decreasing birthrates and an aging population. Overcoming the growth constraints for both demand and supply requires innovations that can promote social transformation. To accomplish "Work Style Reform" during population decline, it is essential to enhance productivity in such a way that it improves the quality of work by publicly implementing digitalization technologies that use AI and Big Data. In addition, to fully utilize Big Data for economic growth, we must consider the nature of regulations that are compatible with the digital era. Such regulations must cross existing sectoral boundaries. However, as major powers compete over the high-tech domination of destructive innovations, Japan must assess its strategic position from a global perspective and understand its position as an essential entity in the world. Amidst the increasing frequency of pandemics and natural disasters, we should also discuss the policy formulation that can deal with uncertainty.

Thus, the intensification of the population decline and digitalization prompt us to reexamine the division of roles between the public and private sectors, consider the structure of the division of power between the national and local governments and rebalance the relationship between the market mechanism and industrial policy. By paying attention to the reforms demanded by Japan's economy and society while also addressing traditional industry-specific and cross-industrial policies, this program will develop projects from broad perspectives and study the nature of policies for overcoming the challenges that Japan's economy faces. This program will address a broad range of questions in a cross-cutting manner; it attempts to tackle new questions posed to society and the economy by the ongoing construction of Society 5.0 through the intensification of the digital era, as well as working with other programs as required.

[1] The circulation of data among individuals, particularly individuals who continuously and repeatedly engage in business transactions, can also cause issues.