In this episode of Asia Insight, NBR’s Doug Strub has conversations with two experts on Japan’s digital transformation (DX). First, Ulrike Schaede discusses digital transformation among Japanese industry. Following that conversation, Daisuke Kawai joins to talk about the Japanese government’s DX strategies and objectives.
Daisuke Kawai is a Research Fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) and the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS). His areas of expertise are Japan’s foreign and security policy, Indo-Pacific security, technology policy, and arms control, with an overarching research interest in emerging technologies. He is also the serving secretariat of the Council of Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) Japan.
Ulrike Schaede is Professor of Japanese Studies and Director of the Japan Forum for Innovation and Technology at UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy. She is a member of the Board of Advisors at the National Bureau of Asian Research. Dr. Schaede is an expert on Japanese business and management strategies, author of The Business Reinvention of Japan: How to Make Sense of the New Japan and Why It Matters (2020), and co-author of The Digital Transformation and Japan’s Political Economy (2022).
Doug Strub is Director of NBR’s Center for Innovation, Trade, and Strategy. He manages NBR’s work on trade, technology, and digital issues.
TIMESTAMPS
Ulrike Schaede
[1:30] How do you define “digital transformation?”
[3:50] What are the key technologies driving this transformation, and in which technologies is Japan finding the most success?
[6:40] You’ve written a lot about Japan’s “competitive repositioning.” Can you explain this idea and how Japanese industry and manufacturing have been evolving in recent decades?
[11:25] What drove these changes?
[17:15] How is Japan’s success in digital manufacturing translating to broader digital transformation across society?
