Chapter 4

The Social Impact of Rapid ICT Advancement

Part 1

Section 1　Lifestyle and Work Style Transformations Caused by ICT Advancement

1. Lifestyle transformations caused by ICT advancements
Smartphones and tablets have rapidly spread through
and penetrated the Japanese market in the few years
since their introduction. According to the Communica-
tions Usage Trend Survey, the smartphone household
penetration rate crossed 60 percent at the end of 2013,
by which time tablets had reached a 20 percent house-
hold penetration rate.
Expectations are that smartphones and tablets will
continue to proliferate in Japan and elsewhere in the
world. The use of SNS and similar services is anticipated
to escalate in step with smartphone and tablet growth.
As a result, our lifestyles are likely transform as well.
This section analyzes what sort of transformations
will occur in tandem with the widening growth of smart-
phones and other devices. Our analysis is based on the
results of an international Web survey conducted in six
countries (Japan, the United States, the United King-
dom, France, South Korea, and Singapore).
(1) Changes in ICT usage environments
a. Proliferation of smartphones and other mobile devices
The survey respondents were first asked about per-
sonal ownership of popular ICT devices. The penetration
rate of PCs was high, at around the 90 percent level, in
all six countries. The ownership rate of smartphones in
Japan, as mentioned above, was over 50 percent, but the
smartphone penetration rate was higher in the other five
countries, ranging from 70 to 90 percent. Around 70 per-
cent of American and French respondents own smart-
phones, while smartphone ownership was around 90
percent in South Korea and Singapore.
Feature phone ownership in Japan was distinctly dif-
ferent from that in the other countries, with just under
30 percent of respondents either owning just a feature
phone or a feature phone in addition to a smartphone
(Figure 4-1-1-1).
b. Changes in mobile and other data communication networks
The shift to smartphones has made it easier to view
rich content, such as pictures and videos, and the condi-
tions around mobile data networks, in particular, have
been transformed. In Japan, the migration from feature
phones to smartphones coincided with the move from
3G to LTE, and now LTE user numbers are mushroom-
ing (see Chapter 5). The results of the international Web
survey reveal that mobile networks are progressing to-
ward higher speeds in all countries, with LTE users al-
ready surpassing 3G users in Japan, where about 40
percent of smartphone users use LTE networks, and in
South Korea, which has the highest LTE penetration
rate, over 60 percent, and with LTE rates climbing to the
30 percent level in Singapore and the United States (Fig-
ure 4-1-1-2).
Smartphone users were also asked which device they
most frequently use. The combined percentage of
smartphone and tablet users was over 30 percent in ev-
ery country. More than half of smartphone users are
smartphone-first users in Japan, South Korea, and Sin-
gapore, which are countries where LTE growth is par-
ticularly advanced. These results demonstrate that
smartphones are becoming the primary ICT device, par-
ticularly in these countries.

Figure 4-1-1-1  Smartphone ownership rates

(n)

Japan 50.3 3.2 25.5 21.0 1,000

U.S. 66.7 2.9 11.6 18.8 1,000

U.K. 75.9 4.1 6.7 13.3 1,000

France 69.3 2.3 7.1 21.3 1,000

South Korea 80.0 8.7 8.4 2.9 1,000

Singapore 86.4 6.7 1.6 5.3 1,000

0 20 40 60 80 100(%)
Smartphone only Smartphone and feature phone Feature phone only None

(Source) “Study Report on the Social Impacts of ICT Advancement,” MIC (2014)

31

CW6_AX102_11_D14_C.indd 31 2014/11/05 14:38:38

 Figure 4-1-1-2  Percentage of users by type of mobile data network
(%)
100
80
Part 1 60
41.2
42.4
43.0
40
28.1
20
13.5
6.3 8.3
0
Japan U.S.
n=728 n=896
Mobile phone
network (2G)
Note: Results for High-speed wireless communications (BWA, WiMAX, etc.), other,
and none of the above are not shown.
c. Changes in device usage times
Examining the average daily time spent on mobile
phones, PCs, tablets, TVs, and other devices shows that
TVs and PCs have the longest usage times, in the vicini-
ty of two to three hours per day, in all six countries. The
usage times for TVs and PCs are longest in the United
States, at close to three hours each, and a similar ten-
dency is seen in the United Kingdom. On the other
hand, no major differences were seen among the six
countries in “time reading paper newspapers and maga-
zines” and “time reading paper books,” which did not
reach 50 minutes on average.
A distinct difference was seen, however, in Japan in
the usage times of mobile phones between smartphone
owners and non-smartphone owners. The former use
mobile phones on average 78 minutes a day―which is
on a par with the United States, South Korea, and Singa-
pore―while the latter only 12 minutes, a difference of
over one hour. A gap was also seen in PC usage times at
home; smartphone owners use PCs on average 115 min-
utes a day, about 50 minutes less than the 166 minutes of
non-owners. This finding indicates that smartphones are
gradually replacing PCs as the device of choice.
(2) Changes in content and service usage
a. Smartphones and other devices fuel greater use of services
When we examined the use of various content and
services on mobile phones and tablets in the six coun-
tries, we discovered smartphone owners in Japan had
markedly higher usage rates than feature phone owners
for all content and service types. This was particularly
true for usage rates of “SNS,” “Internet shopping / auc-
tions,” “chat,” “social games,” and “watching videos,”
which were used by less than 20 percent of feature
phone owners but were used by between 40 and 60 per-
cent of smartphone owners. This implies that the use of
these services, which are seldom used on feature
phones, has become commonplace in the mobile mar-
ketplace because of smartphones.
Content and service usage on tablets is similar to that
on smartphones in all the countries apart from Singa-
pore. The one significant difference is the higher e-book
32
CW6_AX102_11_D14_C.indd 32
75.4
72.1
61.1 65.0
38.1
34.6
17.4
5.4 8.2 7.6
4.1
UK France South Korea Singapore
n=899 n=834 n=972 n=974
Mobile phone Mobile phone
network (3G) network (LTE)
(Source) “Study Report on the Social Impacts of ICT Advancement,” MIC (2014)
usage rate on tablets than on smartphones in all six
countries (Figure 4-1-1-3).
Figure 4-1-1-4 further illustrates the differences in
content and service usage between smartphone users
and feature phone users in Japan, focusing on SNS,
watching videos, and e-commerce (Internet shopping
and auctions).
As these results show, smartphone users are more
likely to make use of various content and service types.
However, when given five options for the “main purpose
of using the Internet”―“communication,” “gather infor-
mation / use content,” “online gaming,” “shopping,” and
“other”―21.1 percent of Japanese smartphone users
answered “communication,” versus just 6 percent of
non-owners, making this the top purpose, followed by
“gather information / use content.” This demonstrates
that smartphone users put a priority on communication
as a purpose of using the Internet.
b. Changes in service usage frequency
We examined how often users in each country cur-
rently use voice calls, email, and SMS communication
services on their mobile phone (smartphone or feature
phone). One finding in Japan that stood out was that
over 90 percent of users use their mobile carrier’s email
service, which was far and away the highest percentage
among the six countries.
(i) Changes in the usage frequency of voice calls and SMS services
We focused our attention on possible service migra-
tion from SMS and email to chat apps (such as Line),
from voice calls to free app calls, and from mobile carri-
ers’ email services to Gmail and similar email services.
Among free app calls and chat apps, Line leads the mar-
ket in Japan and has grown its user base, mostly among
young people, achieving over 50 million users in April
2014. In most of the other countries as well, one domi-
nant chat app has taken a majority share of the market.
To trace service migration in the area of voice calls,
we compared changes in the usage frequency of free app
calls versus that of voice calls after a smartphone pur-
chase. In Japan, the percentages of “increased” and “de-
2014/11/05 14:38:39
 Figure 4-1-1-3  Use of services on smartphones and tablets
(%) [Japan] (%) (%) [U.S.] [UK]
100 100 100
87.7 81.9 80.9 85.1 80.5
76.1 75.0 77.1 76.5 78.4
80 66.0 80 70.4 80 72.3
63.4 79.2 64.8 78.2 59.8 64.5
76.6 82.1 77.1 69.8 63.9 59.3 58.1
60 48.6 73.4 60 71.0 74.7 73.1 68.3
44.7 58.1 60 66.3 54.1 57.9
43.4 62.4
38.8 61.8 38.937.6 42.2 63.1 44.8 56.5 51.1 50.5 63.8
40 40 43.7 42.0 40 50.3
41.0 36.4 23.2 44.6
38.9
20 16.9 33.5 36.9 17.6 36.4 32.4 20 20

Part 1
5.9 4.7
2.7 1.6
0 13.3 7.1 0 0
Social media

Internet shopping /
Chat
Information searches
News

Social games
Watch videos
(including Net radio)
Listen to Net music
Navigation

E-books

Social media

Internet shopping /
Chat
Information searches
News

Social games
Watch videos
(including Net radio)
Listen to Net music
Navigation

E-books

Social media

Internet shopping /
Chat
Information searches
News

Social games
Watch videos
(including Net radio)
Listen to Net music
Navigation

E-books
auctions

auctions

auctions
Smartphones (n=535) Tablets (n=173) Smartphones (n=696) Tablets (n=458) Smartphones (n=800) Tablets (n=523)
Feature phones (n=255)

(%) [France] (%) [South Korea] (%) [Singapore]

100 100 92.4 96.6 92.3 85.3 100 91.6
82.7 84.2 90.5
76.4 76.6 76.7 72.9 87.2 81.1 71.2
80 67.4 66.2 80 90.2 86.4 63.2 81.1 80 79.2 65.7
77.7 76.1 60.2
71.1 55.5 55.5
60 67.0 53.2 70.3 54.8 52.7 60 70.9 72.1 62.6 60 61.0 73.4
60.2 39.0 60.8 67.9 43.4 61.8 42.2
42.3 50.0 50.8 49.1
40 40 40
43.7 40.4 44.6 41.0 33.5 36.4 40.0
36.4 32.4
20 27.5 20 20
0 0 0
Social media

Internet shopping /
Chat
Information searches
News

Social games
Watch videos
(including Net radio)
Listen to Net music
Navigation

E-books

Social media

Internet shopping /
Chat
Information searches
News

Social games
Watch videos
(including Net radio)
Listen to Net music
Navigation

E-books

Social media

Internet shopping /
Chat
Information searches
News

Social games
Watch videos
(including Net radio)
Listen to Net music
Navigation

E-books
auctions

auctions

auctions
Smartphones (n=716) Tablets (n=423) Smartphones (n=887) Tablets (n=265) Smartphones (n=931) Tablets (n=173)

(Source) “Study Report on the Social Impacts of ICT Advancement,” MIC (2014)

Figure 4-1-1-4  Differences in the use of SNS, video-watching, and e-commerce (Japan)
Smartphone owners (Japan) Feature-phone-only owners (Japan)

Use none Use none

Use all Use all

E-commerce Watch videos E-commerce Watch videos

Note: Smartphone owners include people who own both a smartphone and a feature phone. Usage rates reflect users who used the corresponding
　service at least once a month. (Size of circles does not reflect the actual figures.)

(Source) “Study Report on the Social Impacts of ICT Advancement,” MIC (2014)

creased” answers were roughly even for use of “voice (ii) Changes in Internet service and content usage
calls (excluding free app calls).” Of note was that almost A. Frequency of SNS usage
36 percent of users said their use of “voice calls (Skype, According to the Communications Usage Trend Sur-
WhatsApp, Line, and other free app calls)” increased af- vey, the smartphone has become far and away the de-
ter purchasing a smartphone (Figure 4-1-1-5). vice of choice in Japan when using social media services,
When SMS and chat were compared, less than 20 per- with 77.2 percent of users using social media on a smart-
cent of users in Japan said their usage of SMS increased phone, versus 43.6 percent on a PC and 12.0 percent on
and around 30 percent gave the same answer in South a mobile phone (including PHS handsets).
Korea and Singapore. This percentage rose to around 40 Examining changes in social media usage frequency
percent in the three Western countries. Furthermore, after a smartphone purchase shows that “increased” an-
the percentage of users who said their SMS usage fell swers eclipsed “decreased” answers by a wide margin in
was noticeably higher in South Korea and Singapore, at all six countries. In Japan, for example, about 35 percent
over 30 percent, than the other four countries (Figure of users said their usage of “SNS (Facebook, Twitter,
4-1-1-6). Google+, etc.)” increased after purchasing a smartphone
(Figure 4-1-1-7).

33

CW6_AX102_11_D14_C.indd 33 2014/11/05 14:38:40

 Figure 4-1-1-5 Changes in service usage frequency after a smartphone purchase (free app voice calls versus voice calls)

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80(%)

(excluding free
Voice calls Japan 17.4 15.7

app calls)
U.S. 8.9 31.2
UK 10.0 29.3
France 8.0 29.6

Part 1 South Korea

Singapore
24.6
20.2
3.4
24.9
25.7
35.9
Japan
and other free app
WhatsApp, Line,

U.S. 6.5 27.9

Voice calls

UK 6.9 30.5
(Skype,

calls)

France 7.4 21.6

South Korea 14.4 27.8
Singapore 6.4 47.0

Decreased Increased

Note: Samples sizes were N = 535 in Japan, N = 696 in the United States, N = 800 in the United Kingdom, N = 716 in France, N = 887 in South Korea, and N = 931 in Singapore

(Source) “Study Report on the Social Impacts of ICT Advancement,” MIC (2014)

Figure 4-1-1-6  Changes in service usage frequency after a smartphone purchase (SMS versus chat)
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80(%)
Japan
(short message

14.8 17.4
U.S. 7.8 43.8
service)

UK 10.4 38.6
SMS

France 8.0 42.6

South Korea 38.4 28.3
Singapore 32.0 33.0
Japan 3.0 42.1
Kakao talk, etc)

U.S. 6.5 26.6

WhatsApp,

UK 6.3 34.5
(LINE,

8.9 20.4
Chat

France
South Korea 8.8 69.3
Singapore 3.4 68.9

Decreased Increased

Note: Samples sizes were N = 535 in Japan, N = 696 in the United States, N = 800 in the United Kingdom, N = 716 in France, N = 887 in South Korea, and N = 931 in Singapore

(Source) “Study Report on the Social Impacts of ICT Advancement,” MIC (2014)

Figure 4-1-1-7  Changes in service usage frequency after a smartphone purchase (SNS)
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80(%)
(Facebook, Twitter,

Japan 5.6 35.1

Google+, etc.)

U.S. 6.2 45.7

UK 6.6 50.4
SNS

France 6.8 39.5

South Korea 12.0 49.2
Singapore 5.2 59.4

Decreased Increased

Note: Samples sizes were N = 535 in Japan, N = 696 in the United States, N = 800 in the United Kingdom, N = 716 in France, N = 887 in South Korea, and N = 931 in Singapore

(Source) “Study Report on the Social Impacts of ICT Advancement,” MIC (2014)

B. Frequency of video-watching, Net music, and social game usage
We looked at how a smartphone purchase changed
consumption of “watching videos (YouTube, etc.),” “Net
music (including Net radio),” and “social games.” Over
30 percent of users in Japan said they watched more vid-
eos, a pattern that was repeated in the other countries,
with more than 50 percent of South Korean and Singa-
porean users saying they watched more videos. While
the trend was not as pronounced as that for videos,
many more Japanese users said their usage of Net music
and social games increased than those that said their us-
age decreased. As with videos, a high percentage of
South Korean and Singaporean users said their usage of
Net music and social games increased (Figure 4-1-1-8).
al B2C e-commerce market was worth more than 1.20
trillion dollars in 2013 and is forecast to reach 2.36 tril-
lion dollars by 2017. Growth is expected to be especially
dazzling in the Asia Pacific region, which contains the
large populations of China and India―from 383.9 billion
dollars in 2013 to 1 trillion dollars by 2017, a 2.7 times
gain―and the region’s market is expected to overtake
North America’s, which was still the world’s largest mar-
ket in 2013.
In our international Web survey, the users who said
their use of “Net shopping / auctions” increased after
the purchase of a smartphone outnumbered those who
said it decreased in all six countries. In Japan, almost 30
percent said their usage increased (Figure 4-1-1-9).

c. Trends in e-commerce (Net shopping and auctions) and O2O services (ii) Goods purchased online
(i) Trends in the e-commerce market We asked users what products they purchase on e-
According to estimates by eMarketer (U.S.), the glob- commerce sites and whether they purchase products in

34

CW6_AX102_11_D14_C.indd 34 2014/11/05 14:38:41

 Figure 4-1-1-8  Changes in service usage frequency after a smartphone purchase (videos, music, games)
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80(%)
Japan 5.6 34.8
Watching

(YouTube,
U.S. 5.2 42.2
videos

UK 6.6 43.3
etc.)

France 8.0 33.2

South Korea 12.7 52.9
Singapore 6.3 51.1
Japan 3.7 21.9
Part 1
Social games (including Net

U.S. 5.9 41.7

Net music

UK 6.9 34.8
radio)

France 8.5 25.8

South Korea 13.5 37.4
Singapore 6.9 39.4
Japan 5.0 26.9
U.S. 8.9 31.0
UK 8.5 28.0
France 7.8 24.7
South Korea 13.6 39.5
Singapore 7.4 38.8

Decreased Increased

Note: Samples sizes were N = 535 in Japan, N = 696 in the United States, N = 800 in the United Kingdom, N = 716 in France, N = 887 in South Korea, and N = 931 in Singapore

(Source) “Study Report on the Social Impacts of ICT Advancement,” MIC (2014)

Figure 4-1-1-9  Changes in service usage frequency after a smartphone purchase (Net shopping and auctions)
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80(%)
Japan 5.0 29.7
Net shopping,

U.S. 6.9 34.3

Auction

UK 6.6 37.5
France 8.5 21.4
South Korea 11.4 42.1
Singapore 4.6 42.1

Decreased Increased

Note: Samples sizes were N = 535 in Japan, N = 696 in the United States, N = 800 in the United Kingdom, N = 716 in France, N = 887 in South Korea, and N = 931 in Singapore

(Source) “Study Report on the Social Impacts of ICT Advancement,” MIC (2014)

a number of categories online or in real “bricks-and-mor-
tar” stores. In comparison to the other product catego-
ries, a large percentage of users said they purchase,
“books” and “CDs, DVDs, Blu-Ray discs” online in the
five countries except Singapore. It is thought that these
goods are more likely to be purchased online because
they have been sold online since the advent of e-com-
merce sites.
On the other hand, users on the whole tended to pur-
chase mobiles phones―which require contracts to be
signed, large consumer electronics products and furni-
ture, PCs, food―where freshness is important, and gen-
erally low-priced miscellaneous goods and daily necessi-
ties in real stores. The reason why in-store purchases
are favored for large consumer electronics products,
furniture, and PCs is thought to be delivery charges and
the availability of installation and setup services.
Singapore presents an interesting case, as less than 10
percent of Singaporean users make Net purchases in al-
most every product category. The low level of using the
Internet for purchasing goods in Singapore contrasts
sharply with South Korea, another Asian nation with a
high smartphone ownership rate, where online shop-
ping is very dynamic (Figure 4-1-1-10).

2. Changes in desired work styles and the participation of women

(1) Japan’s labor force issues
a. The labor force versus the non-labor force in Japan
People aged 65 and older accounted for 23.0 percent
of Japan’s total population in 2010, but this percentage is
forecast to be 39.4 percent in 2060. Japan’s continuing
low birthrate and aging population is creating challeng-
es that no country in the world has ever experienced
before. In addition, the working-age population―i.e.,
people between the ages of 15 and 64―fell to 79.01 mil-
lion in October 2013, the first time in 32 years the work-
ing-age population was less than 80 million. In Decem-
ber 2013, this population had declined to 78.83 million.
Projections call for our working-age population to plunge
to just 44.18 million people by 2060.
b. The M curve
The M-curve problem, which highlights the decline in
the labor force participation rate among women in their
20s and 30s, has also been pointed out. This phenome-
non is caused by women leaving the work force to get
married, have children, and raise children. The M curve
refers to the shape of the curve describing women’s la-
bor force participation rate versus age that has a depres-
sion for women in their 20s and 30s (Figure 4-1-2-1).
c. Participation of men and work-life balance
Along with the rise in dual-income families in Japan,
members of the baby-boom generation have entered
their 70s and are increasingly likely to need some level
of caregiving, which is expected to result in more and
more workers who are in the prime of their lives, and
shouldering a disproportionate share of work responsi-
bilities, having also to confront the prospect of giving
care to seniors. A survey found that more than 70 per-

35

CW6_AX102_11_D14_C.indd 35 2014/11/05 14:38:42

 Figure 4-1-1-10  Goods purchased online
CDs, DVDs, CDs, DVDs, 28.3
Blu-Ray discs 32.5 35.7 Blu-Ray discs 24.0
Books 44.2 29.0 Books 30.2 24.1
Small electrical
appliances 53.7 24.0 Small electrical
appliances
44.0 20.1
PC 56.9 23.4 PC 50.7 19.5
Mobile phones 56.9 23.4 Mobile phones 50.7 19.5

Part 1
Tickets 48.4 20.9 Tickets 29.4 28.7
Cosmetics 51.7 14.7 Cosmetics 53.0 11.9

France
Japan

Small furniture 56.7 13.6 Small furniture 60.0 7.9

Clothing 60.0 12.4 Clothing 45.3 15.7
Large electrical
appliances 70.6 10.1 Large electrical
appliances
51.0 17.4
Large furniture 62.9 9.6 Large furniture 64.3 8.6
Pet goods 30.7 6.3 Pet goods 42.3 6.7
Miscellaneous goods Miscellaneous goods 64.5
and daily necessities 73.6 5.6 and daily necessities 7.0
Pharmaceuticals 80.0 3.1 Pharmaceuticals 77.7 4.9
Food 82.8 2.3 Food 74.5 6.2
90 60 30 0 30 60 90 90 60 30 0 30 60 90
(%) (%)

CDs, DVDs, 24.1 CDs, DVDs, 22.0

Blu-Ray discs 30.5 Blu-Ray discs 36.7
Books 25.4 28.2 Books 24.3 49.2
Small electrical 47.9 Small electrical 37.0
appliances 20.3 appliances 34.2
PC 47.3 24.4 PC 45.7 29.0
Mobile phones 47.3 24.4 Mobile phones 45.7 29.0
Tickets 49.2 14.7 Tickets 29.8 34.7

South Korea
Cosmetics 50.0 11.1 Cosmetics 43.3 25.8
U.S.

Small furniture 61.0 11.8 Small furniture 45.3 23.4

Clothing 49.3 14.2 Clothing 41.7 27.1
Large electrical
appliances
62.9 14.6 Large electrical
appliances
61.1 16.9
Large furniture 63.7 11.6 Large furniture 60.8 11.6
Pet goods 50.1 9.2 Pet goods 19.1 12.8
Miscellaneous goods 61.7 Miscellaneous goods 46.5
and daily necessities 9.0 and daily necessities 23.3
Pharmaceuticals 67.4 10.2 Pharmaceuticals 77.4 4.3
Food 75.1 7.7 Food 65.5 10.3
90 60 30 0 30 60 90 90 60 30 0 30 60 90
(%) (%)

CDs, DVDs, CDs, DVDs, 47.4

Blu-Ray discs 16.7 46.1 Blu-Ray discs 12.3
Books 22.0 39.2 Books 47.8 13.9
Small electrical Small electrical 71.9
appliances 35.4 29.0 appliances 7.9
PC 39.9 28.8 PC 77.3 7.4
Mobile phones 39.9 28.8 Mobile phones 77.3 7.4
Tickets 49.7 15.9 Tickets 47.4 17.8
Singapore

Cosmetics 54.7 10.9 Cosmetics 58.8 8.0

Small furniture 75.4
UK

Small furniture 45.4 17.1 5.6

Clothing 41.2 18.5 Clothing 56.2 13.5
Large electrical 38.7 Large electrical
appliances 28.9 appliances 81.7 6.0
Large furniture 47.0 19.5 Large furniture 82.1 4.2
Pet goods 35.0 11.1 Pet goods 31.6 5.2
Miscellaneous goods Miscellaneous goods
and daily necessities 61.7 11.4 and daily necessities 74.1 5.4
Pharmaceuticals 69.0 8.6 Pharmaceuticals 76.4 4.7
Food 64.4 13.8 Food 77.8 4.5
90 60 30 0 30 60 90 90 60 30 0 30 60 90
(%) (%)

More in-store purchases More Internet purchases

Note: Number of responses are N = 1,000 in all six countries.

Note: Large electrical appliances includes refrigerators, washing machines, TVs, and microwave ovens; small electrical appliances includes tablets, computer peripherals,
and hair dryers; large furniture includes desks and beds; and clothing includes shoes and accessories.

(Source) “Study Report on the Social Impacts of ICT Advancement,” MIC (2014)

cent of both employed men and women have some level a majority of corporations had installed systems for con-
of concern about caregiving. Preventing workers from nections from external PCs, mobile phones, or other
having to give up their jobs to care for family members devices, and about 30 percent of corporations had intro-
is an issue for employed men and women alike (Figure duced cloud services of some form.
4-1-2-2). On the telework side, however, the deployment rate
has hovered around 10 percent in recent years and has
(2) ICT proliferation at corporations and telework not spread nearly to the same extent as ICT systems
a. ICT proliferation at corporations (Figure 4-1-2-3).
Looking at the transitions in ICT deployment at Japa-
nese corporations finds that most corporations have es- b. Proliferation and challenges of home-based telework
tablished ICT systems. By 2007, 99 percent of Japanese When asked about the need for telework, a majority of
corporations had Internet access, and nearly all corpora- both men and women replied “already using telework,”
tions, 99.9 percent, had Internet access by the end of “actively want to use telework,” or “want to use telework
2013. Of these, 80 percent had installed either fiber-optic when necessary” (Figure 4-1-2-4). Over 75 percent of
or other high-speed Internet access means. Additionally, men and women gave as their reason “free to arrange

36

CW6_AX102_11_D14_C.indd 36 2014/11/05 14:38:43

 Figure 4-1-2-1  Changes in women’s labor force participation rates (M curve)
(%) (%)
100 100
90 90
80 80
70 70
60
50
60
50
Part 1
40 40
30 30
20 20
10 10
0 0
19

24

29

34

39

44

49

54

59

64

65

19

24

29

34

39

44

49

54

59

64

65
～

～
r

r
ve

ve
15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60
O

O
1975 1985 1995 Unmarried Married Widowed/ divorced
2012 2013

(Source) “Labor Force Survey (basic statistics),” MIC (2013)

Figure 4-1-2-2  Anxiety among the employed concerning balancing work and caregiving
3.3
Employed women 26.8 50.4 10.4 9.1
(n=1,000)

2.8
Employed men 20.9 51.2 12.4 12.7
(n=1,000)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100(%)

Very concerned Concerned Not concerned

Not concerned at all Don’t know

(Source) “Survey of the Employed on Balancing Work and Caregiving,” a survey commissioned by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (2013)

Figure 4-1-2-3  Transitions in ICT deployment at Japanese corporations

(%)
99.9 99.7 99.3 99.9 99.9
100 99.3 99.3

90
82.0 83.2
80.0
80 76.5
73.6
69.6
70 66.3

60

50

40
33.1
30 28.2
19.2 21.6
20 16.0
10.9 14.1 11.5
9.7 9.3
10
12.3
0

End of 2007 End of 2008 End of 2009 End of 2010 End of 2011 End of 2012 End of 2013

Internet accessibility Internet connection (optical)

Cloud usage rate Telework adoption rate

(Source) “Communications Usage Trend Survey,” MIC

work conditions,” whereas more women than men

chose “can look after family members” (32.4 percent ver-
sus 19.3 percent). More than half of homemakers (56.2
percent) chose this reason for supporting telework (Fig-
ure 4-1-2-5).

37

CW6_AX102_11_D14_C.indd 37 2014/11/05 14:38:43

 Figure 4-1-2-4  Attitudes toward telework
(%)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Women 3.0 12.2 39.0 15.8 30.0

Part 1
Men 1.2 14.2 38.6 14.4 31.6

Already using telework Actively want to use Want to use when necessary
Do not want to use Do not really want to use

(Source) “Study Report on the Social Impacts of ICT Advancement,” MIC (2014)

Figure 4-1-2-5 Reasons for wanting to use telework (asked to respondents who answered “already using telework,” “actively
want to use telework,” or “want to use telework when necessary”)
(%)
100

90 84.4
80.9 82.9
80 75.8 76.7

70

60 52.3 50.5 56.2

49.2 49.3 48.4
50 45.2
39.7
40 36.7 35.5
32.4 31.4 29.7
26.7 27.6 24.8
30 24.6 23.4
19.3 20.3
20

10 1.6
0.4 1.41.0 0.0
0
Free to arrange Eliminates Can look after family Can concentrate Do not have to Other
work conditions commuting members (children, better at home worry about
time parents, etc.) appearance

All men All women Women (homemakers)

Women (employed) Women (employed, excluding those that work part time)

(Source) “Study Report on the Social Impacts of ICT Advancement,” MIC (2014)

Section 2　Promoting Further ICT Use and Application

1. ICT use and application by government
(1) Introduction of the My Number system
The Act on the Use of Numbers to Identify a Specific
Individual in the Administrative Procedure and related
bills were enacted and promulgated in May 2013. The
national and local governments are currently moving
ahead with preparations to notify individuals and busi-
nesses about their ID numbers in October 2015, to de-
liver personal ID number cards and start using personal
and business ID numbers in January 2016, and to start
operating the information provision network system (op-
eration by local governments is scheduled to begin in
July 2017) and the system to release records on informa-
tion provision in January 2017.
(2) Upgrades to government information systems
a. Enactment of the Government CIO Act and approval of new strategies
The Act on the Partial Revision of the Cabinet Act and
Related Legislation was established during the 183rd or-
dinary session of the Diet in 2013, which legislated the
appointment and powers of the Government CIO. And
on the issue of upgrades to government information sys-
tems, the Cabinet decided the Declaration to be the
World’s Most Advanced IT Nation on June 14, 2013, and
the IT Strategic Headquarters approved the Roadmap
for the Declaration to be the World’s Most Advanced IT
Nation on the same day.
b. Visualizing the upgrade process to government information systems
(Government Information System Upgrade Roadmap)
The Ministry CIO Liaison Committee approved the
Government Information System Upgrade Roadmap on
December 26, 2013, to promote upgrades to government
information systems based on the declaration above.
c. Moving government procedures online and promoting their use
Online government procedures are a tool to save citi-
zens and businesses time, in addition to raising efficien-
cies within government bodies. As further improve-
ments are necessary to spread and entrench the use of
these online procedures, the Ministry CIO Liaison Com-
mittee approved the Policy for Improving Convenience
of Online Procedures on April 1, 2014.

38

CW6_AX102_11_D14_C.indd 38 2014/11/05 14:38:44

 d. Pushing IT adoption in internal government processes (electronic
approvals)
Currently, there are some ministries and agencies
that have been slow to adopt electronic approvals. Be-
cause of this situation, the Ministry CIO Liaison Com-
mittee approved the Action Plan to Promote Electronic
Approvals on April 25, 2014. The Action Plan revises
provisions pertaining to approvals, approval processes,
and approval rules as well as stipulates focused mea-
sures for tardy departments and bureaus.
e. Other initiatives
There are many other initiatives underway to promote
e-government. MIC, for its part, organized policies to
realize the mission to “become the world’s most ad-
vanced ICT nation” in a document entitled Government
ICT Adoption: Becoming the World’s Most Advanced
ICT Nation at the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy
on May 27, 2014.
(3) Promoting e-local government
a. Accelerating initiatives to deploy cloud-based local government
services
The Basic Policies for Economic and Fiscal Manage-
ment and Reform: Ending Deflation and Revitalizing the
Economy, decided by the Cabinet on June 14, 2013,
called for the acceleration of initiatives pertaining to
cloud-based local government services. The Declaration
to be the World’s Most Advanced IT Nation, decided on
the same day by the Cabinet, also pushed for accelerat-
ed local government initiatives concerning cloud-based
local government services as part of “upgrading govern-
ment information systems on the national and local lev-
els.” Furthermore, the Basic Guidelines for Reconstruc-
tion in Response to the Great East Japan Earthquake
(approved by the Reconstruction Headquarters in July
2011), which incorporates “promoting the introduction
of cloud services in a wide range of areas including local
governments,” made it a priority to construct e-local
governments that are resilient against accidents and di-
sasters.
b. E stablishment of Ten Guidelines to Accelerate E-Local Government
Initiatives
MIC announced the Ten Guidelines to Accelerate E-
Local Government Initiatives, which was based on the
Declaration to be the World’s Most Advanced IT Nation,
in March 2014. The Guidelines called for: (1) taking the
opportunity presented by the number system’s introduc-
tion to make information systems more efficient, start-
ing with deploying cloud-based local government ser-
vices; (2) working to improve the convenience for
2. ICT use and application in town development
(1) Initiatives to promote ICT town development
a. Survey of local governments on inclinations to use and apply ICT in all
aspects of town development
We conducted a survey of local governments (prefec-
tural and municipal governments) to get a picture of the
CW6_AX102_11_D14_C.indd 39
residents through the use and application of open data
and other new ICT; and (3) establishing systems to pro-
mote e-local government, such as ensuring the security
of systems and constructing PDCA cycles. The Guide-
lines placed deploying cloud-based local government
services in tandem with the number system’s introduc-
tion as a top priority, particularly emphasizing initiatives Part 1
related to (1) above.
c. Promoting the widespread provision of regional information platforms
In partnership with the Association for Promotion of
Public Local Information and Communication (AP-
PLIC), MIC is taking the opportunity afforded by the
introduction of the My Number system and the migra-
tion to cloud-based local government services to assist
the provision of information and other tools so as to ad-
vance regional information platforms―infrastructure
that connects and coordinates various information from
different sources―by local governments across the
country. As of January 2014, approximately 1,600 local
governments were working on deploying systems that
make use of regional information platforms. APPLIC is
currently drawing up a Standard Specification for Re-
gional Information Platforms targeting 26 internal oper-
ational systems that local governments use. APPLIC
plans to add rules needed for standards between the
systems of multiple local governments in order to sup-
port the My Number system.
(4) Local government awareness and initiatives
The awareness of local governments concerning the
My Number system and the state of their initiatives was
examined through the results from a survey given to lo-
cal governments. The service most wanted by local gov-
ernments once the My Number system is introduced is
“general information services” (74.6 percent), which
was followed, in order, by “implement general services
that span multiple organizations and institutions to re-
duce workloads for users and administration” (73.3 per-
cent) and “centralized information and procedures for
various systems” (72.2 percent) (Figure 4-2-1-1).
As for issues with the future expansion of My Number
applications, “no clear images of specific uses or applica-
tions” (53.5 percent) overtook “tough public financial
conditions” (48.7 percent) as the No. 1 answer in this
year’s survey. This was followed, in order, by “don’t
know how to move forward with applications (systems,
etc.)” (44.6 percent), “difficult to construct systems that
can be used by all departments or throughout the re-
gion” (35.9 percent), and “tough staffing conditions”
(35.9 percent) (Figure 4-2-1-2).
state of regional ICT use and application.
When asked a multiple-answer question about partic-
ular current issues or perceptions from the standpoint of
town development, the local governments’ responses
followed the same pattern as the previous year’s survey:
39
2014/11/05 14:38:44
 Figure 4-2-1-1  Services local governments want after the My Number system is in place
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 (%)
General information services 74.6
71.2
Implement general services that span multiple organizations and 73.3
institutions to reduce workloads for users and administration 61.7
Centralized information and procedures for various systems 72.2

Part 1 Reduction in cross-checking operations, site surveys,

etc. by administration 62.8
72.0
63.7

68.5
Applications during disasters
58.5
Reuse of information on applications 58.0
50.6
Implement advanced services (related fields, adjacent 54.0
municipalities, etc.) 43.9

2014 survey (N=733) 2013 survey (N=895)

Figure 4-2-1-2  Issues with future expansion of My Number applications

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 (%)
53.5
No clear images of specific uses or applications 51.7
48.7
Tough public financial conditions 53.0
Don’t know how to move forward with applications 44.6
(systems, etc.) 39.7
Difficult to construct systems that can be used by all 35.9
departments or throughout the region 47.8
35.9
Tough staffing conditions
29.5
32.2
Benefits and merits are not clear 32.6
29.5
Significant system and legal constraints 33.9
16.0
Understanding of citizens
29.9

2014 survey (N=733) 2013 survey (N=895)

(Source) “Study Report on the State of Regional ICT Use and Application,” MIC (2014)

Figure 4-2-2-1  ICT town development Knowledge Figure 4-2-2-2  ICT town development initiatives
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 (%) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 (%)
Already moving ahead 5.9
Very knowledgeable including knowledge 3.1 5.1
with initiatives 2.3
of recent discussions 3.9 4.2
Examining specific ways to
4.2
Should know more, but not knowledgeable 38.3 move ahead with initiatives 3.4
Interested, and now 18.7
about many ideas and information 32.1 16.1
gathering information
11.1
Have heard about it, but don’
t 51.7 Interested, but not undertaking 63.2
61.0
know many details 49.5 any special initiatives 54.8
5.9
Not interested and not 9.2
Did not know about it 4.8 undertaking any initiatives 28.4
(heard about it for the first time now) 10.3 2.2
No answer
2.0
No answe
4.2 This year’s survey (n=733)
Last year’s survey (n=895)
Survey from two years ago
This year’
s survey (N=733)
(n=848)
Last year’
s survey (N=895)

(Source) “Study Report on the State of Regional ICT Use and Application,” MIC (2014)

“decreasing birthrate and aging population” (77.5 per-
cent), “industry and job creation” (63.6 percent), and
“building safe and secure communities (controlling
crime, strengthening disaster resilience, etc.)” (58.3 per-
cent).
When asked for the one most important issue from
the standpoint of town development, the No. 1 response
was “decreasing birthrate and aging population” (34.2
percent), followed in order by “industry and job cre-
ation” (18.0 percent) and “building safe and secure com-
munities (controlling crime, strengthening disaster re-
silience, etc.)” (17.6 percent). Local governments were
also asked about their knowledge of ICT town develop-
ment. The results, from most knowledgeable to least
knowledgeable, were: “very knowledgeable including
knowledge of recent discussions” (3.1 percent), “should
know more, but not knowledgeable about many ideas
and information” (38.3 percent), “have heard about it,
but don’t know many details” (51.7 percent), and “did
not know about it (heard about it for the first time now)”
(4.8 percent) (Figure 4-2-2-1).
Nearly 30 percent (28.8 percent) of local governments
answered positively―the combined total for “already
moving ahead with initiatives,” “examining specific ways
to move ahead with initiatives,” and “interested, and now
gathering information”―about ICT town development
initiatives (Figure 4-2-2-2).
When asked about areas they expect to benefit from

40

CW6_AX102_11_D14_C.indd 40 2014/11/05 14:38:44

 town development using ICT, local governments’ top re-
sponses in order were “safety and security areas (con-
trolling crime, strengthening disaster resilience, etc.)”
(52.3 percent), “healthcare and nursing, caregiving, so-
cial welfare, education, and other lifeline areas” (40.5
percent), “wish to implement under a consistent policy
without regard to individual areas,” (37.2 percent), and
“industry areas (agriculture, forestry, and fisheries,
tourism, local industries) and employment areas” (28.6
percent).
b. Vertical expansion of ICT town development promotion projects
The ICT Town Development Promotion Council, set
up by MIC in January 2013, is working in three areas:
expanding and accelerating ICT Smart Town projects at
key sites in order to widely deploy ICT Smart Towns by
around 2018; aiming to realize by 2015 a common plat-
form that will manage things, times, locations, and ev-
erything else with IDs for broader regional cooperation
and public-private cooperation; and studying the estab-
lishment of systems and global development policies in
order to broadly disseminate outcomes gained from pi-
lot projects. In February 2012, the ICT Town Develop-
ment Promotion Council set up a deployment working
group. This working group is studying, at a more spe-
cialized level, policies for widely deploying successful
models and specifications for a common ICT town devel-
opment platform. The Council also launched a common
ID use and application working group in December
2013.
c. Implementing local pilot projects
MIC is running pilot projects under the ICT Town De-
velopment Promotion Project to pave the way to actual-
izing ICT Smart Towns. For FY 2012, five projects were
selected in Mitaka in Tokyo, Kashiwa in Chiba Prefec-
ture, Shiojiri in Nakano Prefecture, Toyota in Aichi Pre-
fecture, and Fukuroi in Shizuoka Prefecture. Twenty-
eight local pilot projects, including these five, were
carried out in FY 2012 and FY 2013.
Under the FY 2013 ICT Town Development Promo-
tion Project, two pilot projects were run: the ICT Town
Development Platform Formation Project (led by Mita-
ka in Tokyo), which aims to broadly coordinate, share,
and deploy the outcomes of the FY 2012 ICT Town De-
velopment Promotion Project, and the Citizen Disaster
Information Distribution Model Project Using Open
Data and Ubiquitous Technology (Yokosuka in Kanaga-
wa Prefecture), which aims to prepare for large-scale
disasters in the greater Tokyo area. And as we move
from testing to implementation of new town develop-
ments using ICT, we are working to export the results
internationally.
(2) Safe and secure town development
a. Disaster-management initiatives
The results of the local government survey show that
local government initiatives using and applying ICT for
disaster response and disaster management are rela-
tively well developed. The most common disaster-man-
CW6_AX102_11_D14_C.indd 41
agement initiatives that local governments are currently
either running or participating in / cooperating with are
“disaster-information email” (71.9 percent) and “collect
disaster information with cameras, sensors, and other
devices” (47.0 percent). In contrast to current initiatives,
the top disaster-management initiatives that local gov-
ernments are planning or studying for future implemen- Part 1
tation are “sharing disaster-information maps” (26.3 per-
cent), “sharing information with people most at risk
during disasters” (23.0 percent), and “disaster informa-
tion acquisition and restoration requests” (22.9 percent).
MIC will tap into the FY 2013 supplementary budget
to undertake a program to fortify regional ICT that con-
sists of two parts: (1) projects to establish regional pub-
lic networks and associated systems; and (2) projects to
establish disaster-response information stations and re-
lated systems. The objective is to further the establishment
of public wireless LAN and the fortification of networks,
along with constructing an information-​ communication
ecosystem where residents can reliably obtain disaster and
relief information from local governments during disas-
ters.
The Basic principle for building strong and flexible
(resilient) nation, the Declaration to be the World’s Most
Advanced IT Nation, and other government policies put
a very high priority on the construction of means to col-
lect and communicate information during disasters.
MIC, for its part, has promoted the nationwide expan-
sion of practical public information commons since
2011. The Ministry also launched the Study Group on
Approaches to Common Platforms for Communicating
Information during Disasters in March 2014, which is
studying issues hindering the nationwide expansion of
public information commons and solutions that should
be promoted in order to further expand and develop
public information commons.
b. Crime prevention initiatives
In the area of crime prevention, the local government
survey found the most common crime prevention initia-
tives that local governments are currently either run-
ning or participating in / cooperating with are “crime
prevention email” (63.7 percent) and “sharing crime pre-
vention maps” (14.5 percent). In contrast to current ini-
tiatives, the top crime prevention initiative that local gov-
ernments are planning or studying for future
implementation is “protecting children and students”
(6.2 percent).
c. Tourism initiatives
In the area of tourism and sightseeing, the local gov-
ernment survey found the most common initiatives that
local governments are currently either running or par-
ticipating in / cooperating with are “providing tourism
information with other regions and organizations using
influential Websites” (32.6 percent) and “generating and
providing tourism information using multifunctional ter-
minals and other devices” (22.8 percent). In contrast to
current initiatives, the most notable tourism initiative
that local governments are planning or studying for fu-
41
2014/11/05 14:38:45
 ture implementation is “using apps to encourage excur-
sions, long stays, and consumption” (16.0 percent).
As large numbers of visitors to Japan are expected
during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games,
MIC is moving ahead with efforts in three areas: (1) es-
survey found the most common initiatives that local gov-
ernments are currently either running or participating
in / cooperating with are “on-demand transportation”
(24.1 percent) and “real-time transportation information
systems or bus location systems” (12.7 percent). In con-

Part 1 tablishing infrastructure; (2) promoting ICT use and ap-

plication; and (3) communicating the attractions of Ja-
trast to current initiatives, the most notable transporta-
tion initiative that local governments are planning or
pan. studying for future implementation is “real-time trans-
portation information systems or bus location systems”
d. Transportation initiatives (11.5 percent).
In the area of transportation, the local government

3. ICT use and application in social and economic fields

(1) Examples of ICT applications in medical care and healthcare
Japan, which has developed into a full-blown super-
aging society, is confronting many issues, including a
shrinking working-age population and fast-rising medi-
cal expenses. And just as it is important to have a society
in which all citizens can maintain their health and live
autonomously for as long as possible, as well as be able
to live with reassurance in communities they are familiar
with while having access to high-quality medical and
nursing services when they fall ill, it is also important to
construct a society that can deliver economic growth.
a. Local government survey results on medical care and healthcare
For the purposes of the local government survey, ICT
use in the medical care and healthcare field was divided
into medical care / nursing and social welfare. In the
area of medical care / nursing, the local government
survey found the most common initiatives that local gov-
ernments are currently either running or participating
in / cooperating with are “radiation imaging diagnoses
and telediagnoses” (14.2 percent) and “electronic medi-
cal record coordination” (11.3 percent). In contrast to
current initiatives, the most common future initiatives
cited were “electronic medical record coordination”
(13.3 percent), “emergency telemedicine” (8.1 percent),
“local information collaboration for paramedic staff” (7.6
percent), and “home telediagnoses” (7.0 percent).
In the area of social welfare, the local government sur-
vey found the most common initiatives that local govern-
ments are currently either running or participating in /
cooperating with are “provision of child support infor-
mation” (29.7 percent), “sharing information on people
needing support” (20.0 percent), and “protection / safe-
ty confirmation” (16.6 percent). In contrast to current
initiatives, the most common future initiatives cited were
“living assistance systems” (6.4 percent) and “electronic
maternity record books” (2.9 percent) (Figure 4-2-3-1).
b. G overnment ICT use and application initiatives in medical care and
healthcare
In the area of medical care, ICT is seen as beneficial in
sustaining the communications and coordination re-
quired among various entities regarding medical care,
nursing, and living assistance. ICT has become espe-
cially important in the construction of platforms that co-
ordinate medical care information.
In healthcare, the government is looking to modern-
ize existing mechanisms by making use of cloud servic-
es and other advances as well as eyeing future overseas
deployment of advanced healthcare models. And even
as smartphones and tablets are becoming key devices in
healthcare, the government is anticipating the use of
sensors and wearable devices to save time and expense
in the collection and analysis of routine patient data.

Figure 4-2-3-1  Survey results on medical care and healthcare

Survey results on medical care / nursing Survey results on social welfare

0 5 10 15 (%) 0 10 20 30 40 (%)
Radiation imaging diagnoses 14.2 Provision of child 29.7
and telediagnoses 7.8 support information 9.3
5.0
Emergency telemedicine
8.1 Electronic maternity 0.9
Electronic medical record 11.3 record books 2.9
coordination 13.3
Remote meetings 8.3 11.0
(for physicians) Barrier-free information
4.7 4.7
Home telediagnoses [physician-patient / 1.4
recipient of medical treatment] 7.0 Sharing information on 20.0
Home nursing support [center / physician-home nursing 3.7 people needing support 12.3
care provider (at nursing care recipient’s home)] 6.5
2.3 Protection / safety 16.6
In-home care support confirmation
5.2 10.6
Local information collaboration for 5.2
paramedic staff 7.6 4.1
Living assistance systems
3.7 6.4
Health promotion programs
4.9
0.4
1.9 Other
Other 2.6
2.3

Running, or participating in / cooperating with Plan to implement, or no plan, but currently studying

(Source) “Study Report on the State of Regional ICT Use and Application,” MIC (2014)

42

CW6_AX102_11_D14_C.indd 42 2014/11/05 14:38:45

 As for future efforts, the Declaration to be the World’s
Most Advanced IT Nation calls for the nationwide de-
ployment of medical information coordination platforms,
health promotions, and initiatives to prevent the occur-
rence and the exacerbation of lifestyle diseases. MIC’s
Smart Platinum Society Promotion Conference has dis-
cussed these and other issues and is working toward the
nationwide deployment of medical and nursing informa-
tion coordination platforms using a high-quality, inex-
pensive minimal model that makes use of cloud tech-
nologies. The Conference is also working toward
establishing an ICT health model (preventative health-
care) that enables citizens to maintain their health and
live independently longer. In view of policies on future
overseas expansion, Japan, as a pioneer in solving issues
associated with a super-aging society, should provide Ja-
pan’s ICT use and application models on a global scale.
The government is seeking an international collabora-
tion framework for the examination stage of these mod-
els, including working in partnership with universities,
research institutions, and ICT businesses in other coun-
tries.
(2) Examples of ICT applications in agriculture
Two observed issues for our agricultural sector are a
decline in the number of primary farmers and the ad-
vanced ages of our farmers. Another concern is the in-
crease in out-of-production fields and rice paddies that
has accompanied the decrease in agricultural worker
numbers. Given these conditions, the application of ICT
to revive the nation’s agricultural sector is expected to
optimize the cultivation conditions for crops, transform
the highly productive techniques of expert farmers into
viewable data, improve yields through the establish-
ment of practical techniques, and increase production
and added value of agricultural produce that meets con-
sumer needs by coordinating information from produc-
tion to consumption.
a. Local government survey results on agriculture
In the area of agriculture, the local government sur-
Figure 4-2-3-2  Survey results on agriculture
0 10
Deliver POS data from
producers
Direct online sales
Traceabilit
5.0
Prevention of crop
damage by wildlife
4.1
Farmland management
5.5
3.3
Local cooperative systems
3.4
1.2
Other
1.6
Running, or participating in / cooperating with
Plan to implement, or no plan, but currently studying
(Source) “Study Report on the State of Regional ICT Use and Application,” MIC (2014)
CW6_AX102_11_D14_C.indd 43
vey found the most common initiatives that local govern-
ments are currently either running or participating in /
cooperating with are “direct online sales” (25.4 percent)
and “traceability” (17.0 percent). In contrast to current
initiatives, looking to the future local governments see
“prevention of crop damage by wildlife” (11.2 percent)
and “farmland management” (5.5 percent) as important Part 1
fields for ICT applications (Figure 4-2-3-2).
b. Government ICT use and application initiatives in agriculture
The government is moving ahead with initiatives to
bolster the competitiveness of the agriculture industry
based on the agriculture information creation and distri-
bution promotion strategy, announced as a cross-gov-
ernment strategy by the IT Strategic Headquarters on
June 3, 2014. The strategy pertains to the information
handling and standardization needed to ensure the in-
teroperability of agricultural information, so that a broad
range of agricultural information can be generated and
distributed throughout the entire agricultural sector,
while heeding the rights of farmers who are trying to
use and apply agricultural information.
(3) Examples of ICT applications in education
Bringing ICT into education is fundamental to becom-
ing the world’s most advanced ICT nation. It is impor-
tant that we build a 21st-century society in which chil-
dren, who will lead the next generation of our country,
become familiar with ICT at an early stage, elevate their
information usage skills, and create new intellectual and
cultural value. In the area of using and applying ICT in
education, from FY 2010 until FY 2013 MIC ran the Fu-
ture School Promotion Project in association with the
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology’s Learning Innovation Project. As for using
and applying ICT in university education, Massive Open
Online Courses (MOOCs), which open up online cours-
es to a broad audience and provide credit for completing
courses, are expanding primarily in the West, but Japan
is also working on MOOCs.
20 30 (%)
15.3
6.0
25.4
6.3
17.0
6.0
11.2
43
2014/11/05 14:38:45
 a. Local government survey results on education
In the area of education, the local government survey
found the most common initiatives that local govern-
ments are currently either running or participating in /
cooperating with are “interactive whiteboards and digi-
ure 4-2-3-3).
c. Government ICT use and application initiatives in education
The Declaration to be the World’s Most Advanced IT
Nation calls for the incorporation of IT in classrooms at

Part 1 tal textbooks” (69.5 percent), “local cultural promotion

with digital museums and other programs” (20.5 per-
cent), and “distance learning between schools” (8.9 per-
cent). In contrast to current initiatives, looking to the
future the most common local government plan was “im-
proving ICT literacy with e-Learning” (4.9 percent) (Fig-
all elementary schools, junior-high schools, high
schools, and special needs schools during the 2010 de-
cade as well as for the construction of education and
learning IT environments that seamlessly connect
schools and homes.

Figure 4-2-3-3  Survey results on education

0 20 40 60 80（％）
8.9
Distance learning between schools
10.6

2.6
Assist lifelong learning with e-Learning
4.4

69.5
Interactive whiteboards and digital textbooks
19.9

Local cultural promotion with digital 20.5

museums and other programs 9.5

2.1
Improving ICT literacy with e-Learning
4.9

2.1
Other
2.4

Running, or participating in / cooperating with (n=733)

Plan to implement, or no plan, but currently studying

(Source) “Study Report on the Social Impacts of ICT Advancement,” MIC (2014)

Section 3　Construction of Safe and Secure Internet Usage Conditions

1. Internet addiction and other new issues and the importance of Internet
literacy
(1) International comparison of Internet addiction trends
With the increased time spent on smartphones, tab-
lets, and other devices as well as on social media, con-
cerns have been raised about Internet addiction and its
impact on real-world social life. Internet addiction has
been defined as experiences of elevated anxiety levels
that people have when not constantly engaged with the
Internet.
Using the Young 20 test to assess Internet addiction,
we analyzed the extent of Internet addiction in Japan
from an international viewpoint by comparing results
from the six-country Web survey mentioned in Section 1
of this chapter. Some points of caution must be given
about this analysis and its results. Although we concen-
trated primarily on Internet users with a score of 70 or
more on the test (indicating severe impairment due to
Internet addiction), it does not always follow that some-
one in the 70 or higher category requires medical treat-
ment for compulsive Internet behavior. Furthermore,
this survey was an international Web survey to highlight
Japan’s characteristics in comparison with those of other
countries, and, by the very nature of Web surveys, re-
spondents are much more likely to be heavy Internet
users than respondents to a paper survey.
a) International comparison of Internet addiction trends
In all six countries where the international Web sur-
vey was conducted, the 10 to 29 age group had the high-
est Internet addiction tendency. The older the age
group, the less pronounced this tendency was. In addi-
tion, the rate of Internet addiction was higher among
smartphone owners than non-owners in all six countries.
Comparing the six countries’ Internet addiction rates
in the prime 10 to 29 age group finds that although Ja-
pan’s rate was high, at over 10 percent, it was the second
lowest after France. The rate was at or above 20 percent
in the United States and the United Kingdom. Moreover,
narrowing down the results to just smartphone owners
did not produce a particularly high Internet addiction
rate in Japan either. Since similar results were found in
all the other age groups, there is no reason to single out
Japan as having considerably high Internet addiction
rates (Figure 4-3-1-1).
To see how differences in why people use the Internet
might affect Internet addiction rates, respondents were
asked to choose their main purpose for using the Inter-

44

CW6_AX102_11_D14_C.indd 44 2014/11/05 14:38:46

 Figure 4-3-1-1  International comparison of Internet addiction rates (by age and by smartphone ownership)
Owners: smartphone owners Non-owners: non-smartphone owners
Japan U.S. U.K.
(n) (n) (n)
All 45.7 46.1 8.2 1,000 All 51.5 33.7 14.8 1,000 All 56.2 32.0 11.8 1,000
10‒29 31.7 55.2 13.1 397 10‒29 34.5 44.0 21.5 400 10‒29 34.3 45.8 20.0 400

Part 1
30‒49 49.3 44.8 6.0 400 30‒49 52.0 32.8 15.3 400 30‒49 63.3 27.5 9.3 400
0.5 0.5
50 and older 66.0 31.0 3.0 203 50 and older 84.5 15.0 200 50 and older 86.0 13.5 200
Owners 40.6 47.7 11.8 535 Owners 44.8 36.5 18.7 696 Owners 51.6 34.8 13.6 800
Non-owners 51.6 44.3 4.1 465 Non-own 66.8 27.3 5.9 304 Non-own 74.5 21.0 4.5 200
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
（％） （％） （％）
France South Korea Singapore
(n) (n) (n)
All 65.5 29.2 5.31,000 All 34.3 56.8 8.9 1,000 All 54.1 35.5 10.41,000
10‒29 50.0 42.4 7.6 288 10‒29 30.6 54.8 14.6 314 10‒29 41.3 44.3 14.3 300
30‒49 64.0 29.0 7.0 400 30‒49 29.3 61.8 9.0 400 30‒49 50.3 38.8 11.0 400
1.0
50 and older 81.7 17.3 312 50 and older 45.5 52.1 2.4 286 50 and older 72.0 22.3 5.7 300
Owners 60.5 33.2 6.3 716 Owners 32.9 57.4 9.7 887 Owners 52.6 36.6 10.7 931
Non-owners 78.2 19.0 2.8 284 Non-own 45.1 52.2 2.7 113 Non-own 73.9 20.3 5.8 69
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
（％） （％） （％）

20‒39points 40‒69points 70 or more points

(Source) “Study Report on the Social Impacts of ICT Advancement,” MIC (2014)

net from “communication”―such as SNS and other b. Merits of SNS and smartphone use
communication apps, which are the main content sites In general, many users in all six countries said the
on the Internet, “collect information / use content”―in- merits of SNS use were “able to get information quick-
cluding watching videos and reading news online, “on- ly,” “able to get lots of information,” and “increased op-
line games” played over the Internet, and “shopping”― portunities to communicate with family, partners,
which typically means mail-order items ordered online friends, and acquaintances.” A fair number of users also
and Internet auctions. In all six countries, users who cited “increased new friends and acquaintances” and
said they mainly use the Internet for “communications” “reestablished contact with old friends” as benefits (Fig-
had a greater likelihood of Internet addiction. And in the ure 4-3-1-2).
United States, the United Kingdom, and South Korea,
users who said they mainly use the Internet for “online (2) Importance of Internet literacy
games” had somewhat higher Internet addiction rates. a. Problems with flaming―insulting and hostile posts on social media
The difference in Internet addiction rates in Japan be- Flaming has attracted attention in recent years on so-
tween smartphone owners and non-owners was also ana- cial media because of trouble arising from insulting and
lyzed. Since the sample size was small in this case, the hostile posts. The frequency of Google searches in Ja-
results must be treated with caution. Nevertheless, pan for “Twitter enjo [flaming]” and “Facebook enjo”
“communication”-oriented users who owned smart- have steadily escalated since around 2010. Searches for
phones were shown to have higher addiction rates. “Twitter enjo” in particular have skyrocketed since 2013,
We also analyzed the average time spent per day on illustrating that flaming drew increased attention in
mobile phones (smartphones and feature phones) and 2013.
PCs. The time spent on PCs was longer than that on mo-
bile phones in all six countries, but mobile phone usage b. User attitudes toward Internet literacy
time was nearly the same as PC usage time in South Ko- (i) Anonymous use of SNS and awareness of being identified
rea and Singapore. This is another demonstration of The use of leading SNS and the use of anonymous
how entrenched mobile phones are in people’s lifestyles names versus real names on SNS was analyzed for all six
in these two countries, where smartphone proliferation countries. Facebook usage was lower in Japan than in
is high, as stated in Section 1. We broke down these re- the other countries, but in all six countries many users
sults further by the user’s primary Internet usage pur- use their real name on Facebook, since it recommends
pose and found that in all the countries users oriented users register under their real name. However, over 70
toward “online games” tended to use PCs longer. One percent of Japanese users of Twitter, which does not
characteristic in Japan is that “communication” users make any specific recommendations to register with
spent an average of 103 minutes on their mobile phones, real names, use the service anonymously, a noticeably
which was significantly longer than users in the other higher percentage than in the other countries (Figure
segments. 4-3-1-3).
These results suggest that Japanese users oriented In relation to the high degree of anonymous SNS use
toward SNS and other communications spend more and the flaming incidents mentioned above use, more
time on smartphones and other devices and have rela- than half of Japanese users (60 percent)―when asked
tively higher addiction rates. “do you think you might not be identified if you use SNS
anonymously?”―recognized the possibility of being

45

CW6_AX102_11_D14_C.indd 45 2014/11/05 14:38:46

 Figure 4-3-1-2  Merits of SNS
(%)
80

60

40

Part 1 20

0
Able to get Able to get lots Increased Able to smoothly Able to deepen Increased new Reestablishe Able to make Able to make Able to None of the
information of information opportunities to convey information communications friends and d contact with friends and contact with progress with above
quickly communicate with with family, with longtime acquaintances old friends acquaintance people in other work smoothly
family, partners, partners, friends, friends and s just on countries
friends, and and acquaintances acquaintances social media
acquaintances

Japan (n=386) 47.7 41.7 25.9 18.1 14.5 19.7 18.1 18.4 6.5 1.3 21.0
U.S. (n=558) 52.3 44.6 47.0 44.3 29.7 29.0 43.4 21.3 23.8 10.9 13.3
U.K. (n=648) 51.9 40.9 43.5 36.7 20.5 25.8 34.1 15.0 26.4 6.0 13.6
France (n=517) 39.7 29.8 43.7 27.3 28.2 21.1 27.7 14.1 20.7 3.7 13.9
South Korea (n=759) 63.5 55.6 44.8 38.3 22.8 31.4 27.1 22.7 19.4 11.3 7.6
Singapore (n=816) 62.6 54.5 45.5 47.3 23.3 25.9 40.6 15.0 35.8 13.8 11.5
Japan (smartphone users) (n=347) 49.3 41.5 25.9 18.7 14.1 20.2 18.2 17.3 6.6 1.4 20.5
Japan (non-smartphone users) (n=39) 33.3 43.6 25.6 12.8 17.9 15.4 17.9 28.2 5.1 0.0 25.6

(Source) “Study Report on the Social Impacts of ICT Advancement,” MIC (2014)

Figure 4-3-1-3  Use of anonymous names versus real names on Twitter

(n)
Japan 75.1 19.4 5.5 402

U.S. 35.7 56.4 7.8 498

U.K. 31.0 60.3 8.7 539

France 45.0 42.4 12.6 278

South Korea 31.5 54.5 14.1 569

Singapore 39.5 47.6 13.0 494

0 20 40 60 80 100 (%)

Use anonymous name Use real name

Use both (multiple accounts)

(Source) “Study Report on the Social Impacts of ICT Advancement,” MIC (2014)

Figure 4-3-1-4  Awareness of the risk of being identified even with anonymous use
(n)
Japan 13.3 26.5 43.7 16.5 1,000

U.S. 11.3 27.4 36.9 24.4 1,000

U.K. 9.0 31.4 38.4 21.2 1,000

France 8.9 21.4 38.0 31.7 1,000

South Korea 12.1 45.0 36.2 6.7 1,000

Singapore 10.1 27.6 41.6 20.7 1,000

0 20 40 60 80 100 (%)

Almost no possibility of being identified

Low possibility of being identified
Some possibility of being identified
High possibility of being identified

(Source) “Study Report on the Social Impacts of ICT Advancement,” MIC (2014)

identified (Figure 4-3-1-4). fewer Japanese users than those in the other countries
When users were asked for “people you think follow mentioned “workplace supervisors or school teachers,”
and see your posts on your SNS account,” a high per- “former classmates,” “family members,” and other peo-
centage of Japanese users, as in the other countries, rec- ple. When asked about the content of actual communica-
ognized friends and acquaintances. On the other hand, tions on SNS, there was no significant gap between Ja-

46

CW6_AX102_11_D14_C.indd 46 2014/11/05 14:38:47

 pan and the other five countries in the response rate for
“chat and communicate with friends, acquaintances, and
partners.” However, the response rates for family topics
or topics about society, work, or health tended to be
lower in Japan than in the other countries.
From these results, we can surmise that one charac-
teristic of SNS use in Japan is an awareness of privacy
among friends or groups of acquaintances.
(ii) Literacy education about SNS
Around 20 percent of Japanese respondents said they
had taken literacy education or training on the use of
SNS, which was a lower rate than in the other five coun-
tries. When the results were narrowed to just smart-
phone owners, this rate rose to close to 30 percent in
Japan. When limited to the 10 to 29 group of young peo-
ple, the response rate of those who had taken literacy
education or training increased in all the countries, in-
cluding Japan (Figure 4-3-1-5). These results indicate
that literacy education about the use of SNS starting to
spread in Japan, particularly in the youth cohort.
(3) Initiatives on proper ICT practices
a. Initiatives by private sector organizations
The Japan Internet Safety Promotion Association, set
up as an initiative to establish usage environments for
mobile phones and the Internet, carries out public
awareness activities in local communities. It works to
enhance explanations, such as creating usage rules, at
homes and schools about to adopt smartphones or so-
cial media, it lists on its Website classes on Internet
safety and security provided for free by member enter-
prises and organizations, and it encourages ICT use at
schools and local communities by publishing classes
that do not require instructor fees or transportation
charges. The Japan Social Game Association (JASGA)
began in January 2014 to publicize the development of
educational apps for elementary-school-aged children
and to carry out public awareness activities, with the aim
of educating people about the safe and secure use of so-
cial games.
b. Initiatives in local regions
The Second Basic Plan on Development of Internet
Enhancement for Young People calls for stronger ties
between the national government, local governments,
and nongovernmental organizations. This spawned,
starting in FY 2013, forums for building an environment
that provides safe and secure Internet use for young Part 1
people in eight national blocks. The forums, with the
sponsorship of the Cabinet Office, prefectures, cities,
and national administrative institutions, aim to construct
platforms that will allow institutions and organizations
related to promoting the establishment of Internet us-
age environments for young people in each region to
work together and independently carry out various ini-
tiatives. Participants include guardians, local govern-
ments, schools and educators, police, and communica-
tion corporations. Forums are scheduled to be held in
six places nationwide in 2014.
c. Initiatives by governments
The Basic Plan on Measures for Providing Safe and
Secure Internet Use for Young People was established
and implemented throughout government in June 2009
as an initiative for young people, who will lead the future
of our country, to properly handle ICT. This was fol-
lowed by the Second Basic Plan, under which initiatives
are being undertaken by the national government, local
governments, businesses, and private organizations.
With the recognition that establishing environments
in which young people, after understanding the risks as-
sociated with Internet use and measures to prevent
risks, can use smartphones and other devices correctly,
has become even more important than in the past, the
Cabinet Office, MIC, the Ministry of Economy, Trade
and Industry, the IT Strategic Headquarters under the
Cabinet Secretariat, the National Policy Agency, the
Consumer Affairs Agency, the Ministry of Justice, and
the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology have been concentrating on developing
these environments under an initiative on public aware-
ness for young people and their guardians since 2014.

Figure 4-3-1-5  Literacy education or training

Lower than the other countries. Higher among smartphone users. Higher than the rate for all users

All age groups Young people 10s and 20s

(n) (n)
Japan 22.2 77.8 1,000 Japan 36.8 63.2 397

U.S. 40.6 59.4 1,000 U.S. 61.0 39.0 400

U.K. 35.4 64.6 1,000 U.K. 57.8 42.3 400

France 36.4 63.6 1,000 France 49.0 51.0 288

South Korea 28.4 71.6 1,000 South Korea 29.9 70.1 314

Singapore 45.3 54.7 1,000 Singapore 59.3 40.7 300

Japan Japan
28.8 71.2 535 42.3 57.7 281
(smartphone owners) (smartphone owners)
Japan 14.6 85.4 465 Japan
23.3 76.7 116
(non-smartphone owners) (non-smartphone owners)
0 20 40 60 80 100 (%) 0 20 40 60 80 100 (%)

Yes No

(Source) “Study Report on the Social Impacts of ICT Advancement,” MIC (2014)

47

CW6_AX102_11_D14_C.indd 47 2014/11/05 14:38:48

 2. Ensuring cyber security
(1) Recent developments in threats against information security method is that many people use the same ID / password
McAfee, an information security vendor, maintains a combination for multiple Web services.
database of malware samples it detects. The company The six-country survey asked users about their use of

Part 1 reported that malware samples increased by 15 percent

in the fourth quarter of 2013 to over 196 million samples.
Tracking the transformations in information security
threats since 2000 finds that they have been steadily
growing in sophistication and complexity. New forms of
malware and attack methods emerge nearly every year,
while the objectives appear to have shifted from nui-
sance attacks targeting individuals to attacks targeting
organizations, key infrastructures, and countries for
economic benefit or for organized crime.
a. Unauthorized logins to Web services and unauthorized use of services
In 2013, there was a string of victims where attackers
used stolen IDs and passwords to gain access to and ex-
ploit Web services in the victim’s name. One method of
gaining login credentials to Web services is list-type ac-
count hacking. Attackers use lists of stolen IDs and pass-
words to try iteratively to access accounts on many dif-
ferent Web services. The insight behind this attack
Internet IDs and passwords. The results found that be-
tween 30 and 50 percent of users in all six countries have
between two and five IDs (Figure 4-3-2-1). And in five of
the countries, except France, more than 40 percent of
the respondents said the number of accounts and pass-
words they maintained increased (total of “increased
greatly” and “increased” responses) once they started
using a smartphone (Figure 4-3-2-2).
Users with multiple accounts were asked whether
they reused passwords between accounts. In all six
countries, only around 20 percent of users said they
“change passwords for each site” (Figure 4-3-2-3). When
asked how often they change passwords, about 20 per-
cent of users in France said “regularly,” while less than
10 percent of users said the same in Japan and South
Korea (Figure 4-3-2-4).
(2) Information security awareness among users
MIC conducted an international survey of users in Ja-

Figure 4-3-2-1  Number of IDs used on the Internet Figure 4-3-2-2 Changes in accounts and passwords after
(n) owning a smartphone
Japan 2.8 9.0 33.6 14.5 9.5 9.7 20.9 1,000
(n)
U.S. 5.4 23.4 32.9 12.2 5.9 4.7 15.5 1,000 Japan 17.0 30.7 50.3 0.4 1.7 535

U.K. 4.4 23.2 36.2 11.4 6.1 4.9 13.8 1,000 1.6
U.S. 15.7 30.2 50.9 1.7 696

France 1.6 17.9 38.3 14.9 7.2 5.5 14.6 1,000 U.K. 1.5
17.1 32.0 48.4 1.0 800
0.4 2.2
South Korea 9.8 44.0 16.6 11.4 10.2 7.6 1,000 France 12.0 20.8 63.4 1.5 716
2.2
Singapore 2.0 27.0 46.0 9.6
4.0
9.2 1,000 South Korea 11.0 43.0 43.5 1.7 0.8 887
0 20 40 60 80 100 (%)
Singapore 15.9 37.9 44.9 0.5 0.8 931
0 1 2 to 5
0 20 40 60 80 100 (%)
6 to 10 11 to 20 21 or more
Don’t know Increased greatly (more than doubled) Increased
No change Decreased (to less than half)
Decreased (to between one-quarter and none)

(Source) “Study Report on the Social Impacts of ICT Advancement,” MIC (2014)

Figure 4-3-2-3  Reuse of passwords Figure 4-3-2-4  Frequency of changing passwords

(n) (n)
Japan 16.8 19.4 52.0 11.8 882 Japan 56.8 33.7 9.5 1,000

U.S. 20.6 40.2 32.6 6.6 712 U.S. 37.7 43.1 19.2 1,000

U.K. 24.7 37.4 31.2 6.6 724 U.K. 39.9 41.5 18.6 1,000

France 24.5 29.7 37.0 8.8 805 France 43.3 36.5 20.2 1,000

South Korea 10.7 21.9 61.5 5.9 898 South Korea 45.4 48.1 6.5 1,000

Singapore 16.1 25.4 49.7 8.9 710 Singapore 56.7 31.3 12.0 1,000

0 20 40 60 80 100 (%) 0 20 40 60 80 100 (%)

Change password for each site Do not change (unless forced to by the system)
Use five or more passwords and use each Regularly change important passwords
depending on the site (sometimes use the Regularly change all passwords
same password on multiple sites)
Use teo to four passwords and use each
depending on the site (sometimes use the
same password on multiple sites)
Use one password for all sites

(Source) “Study Report on the Social Impacts of ICT Advancement,” MIC (2014)

48

CW6_AX102_11_D14_C.indd 48 2014/11/05 14:38:48

 Figure 4-3-2-5  Experienced losses from an information security breach
(n)
Japan 6.1 8.9 63.5 21.5 1,000

U.S. 11.4 13.5 54.7 20.4 1,000

U.K. 7.2 11.1 61.5 20.2 1,000

France 7.8 26.8 45.7 19.7 1,000

Part 1
South Korea 11.3 28.1 35.1 25.5 1,000

Singapore 4.9 15.5 57.4 22.2 1,000

Japan
(smartphone owners) 6.9 9.5 62.4 21.1 535
Japan
(non-smartphone owners) 5.2 8.2 64.7 21.9 465

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 (%)

Experienced a loss Experienced a loss

(confirmed, have proof) (possibility exists)
Have not experienced a loss Don’ t know

(Source) “Study Report on the Social Impacts of ICT Advancement,” MIC (2014)

pan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France,
South Korea, and Singapore to determine whether there
were any national differences in the awareness of indi-
viduals about information security.
a. Experiences with losses from information security breaches
First, users were asked whether they had experienced
a loss resulting from an information security breach in
using the Internet. Summing the response rates for “ex-
perienced a loss (confirmed, have proof)” and “experi-
enced a loss (possibility exists),” South Korean users led
the way, with 39.4 percent reporting a loss, followed in
order by French users (34.6 percent) and U.S. users
(24.9 percent). On the other hand, the numbers were
lower in Japan, with 15.0 percent of Japanese users say-
ing they had experienced a loss, a figure that only edged
up to 16.6 percent when the results were limited to
smartphone owners (Figure 4-3-2-5).
When asked about the types of losses experienced,
the most common loss in Japan was “received unsolicit-
ed email (spam) (but not including false billing email)”
at 61.3 percent, followed in order by “computer virus in-
fection” (49.3 percent) and “received email demanding
payment for an unknown fee (false billing email)” (49.3
percent). “Received unsolicited email (spam) (but not
including false billing email)” and “computer virus infec-
tion” were among the most common losses experienced
in the other countries as well.
b. Recognition levels of threats on the Internet
Users were asked about their recognition of various
threats on the Internet. In Japan, the most widely recog-
nized threats, in order, were “spyware” (63.5 percent),
“phishing” (62.6 percent), “one-click fraud” (60.1 per-
cent), “false billing” (59.4 percent), “spam” (58.6 per-
cent), and “malware (computer viruses)” (48.2 percent).
Recognition levels for “spyware,” “malware (computer
viruses),” and “spam” were generally high in the other
countries as well. But there were discrepancies in other
countries with Japan’s higher recognition levels of “one-
click fraud” and “false billing.” Recognition levels in Ja-
pan of newer threats―“targeted attacks,” “list-type ac-
count hacking,” and “ransomware”―were all still under
20 percent.
c. State of information security measures
When it came to information security measures on
their own PCs, less than 20 percent of Japanese users
“install applications from trusted sites” and “back up im-
portant data,” a lower percentage than in the other coun-
tries. On smartphones, more Japanese users, 35.9 per-
cent, were likely to “update smartphone operating
system and apps” than users in the other countries, but
fewer, 14.8 percent, “back up important data” on their
smartphones.
Figure 4-3-2-6 compares the implementation of secu-
rity measures on PCs versus on smartphones for users
who own both devices. Security measures on smart-
phones tended to lag behind measures on PCs. One tell-
ing difference was the gap in installing and using “anti-
virus applications / online services” on PCs versus on
smartphones. This gap was around 20 percent in Japan,
the United Kingdom, France, and Singapore.

49

CW6_AX102_11_D14_C.indd 49 2014/11/05 14:38:49

 14:38:49
2014/11/05
(n=667)

(n=804)

(n=852)

(Source) “Study Report on the Social Impacts of ICT Advancement,” MIC (2014)
19.0

18.2

28.1

Back up Back up Back up

important data important data important data
33.4

27.5

43.0
Figure 4-3-2-6  State of security measures taken (comparison between own pc and smartphone)

34.2
31.1

Install Install Install

22.2

applications from applications from applications from

41.5
34.5
28.5

trusted sites trusted sites trusted sites

South Korea

Singapore
France

Install and use Install and use Install and use

23.6
23.3
19.9

anti-virus anti-virus anti-virus

applications / applications / 42.6 applications /
30.1
43.2

online services online services online services

35.1
30.7

Smartphone
34.0

Update operating Update operating Update operating

system and apps system and apps system and apps

44.1
46.6
47.8
(%)

(%)

(%)
60

40

20

60

40

20

60

40

20

Own Computer
(n=441)

(n=647)

(n=734)
28.0

17.4
15.4

Back up Back up Back up

important data important data important data
39.7

34.1
21.1

32.5

30.1
Install Install Install
24.3

applications from applications from applications from

38.8

40.7
United Kingdom
21.1

trusted sites trusted sites trusted sites

United States
Japan

Install and use Install and use Install and use

25.7

18.8
20.9

anti-virus anti-virus anti-virus

applications / applications / applications /

41.7

39.4
43.5

online services online services online services

36.6

29.2
39.2

Update operating Update operating Update operating

system and apps system and apps system and apps

44.8

43.1
47.6
（%）

(%)

(%)
60

40

20

60

40

20

60

40

20

50
CW6_AX102_11_D14_C.indd
50
Part 1