WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/L/451
1 May 2002
(02-2484)
Original:  English
JAPAN'S INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT)
Communication from Japan
I. BACKGROUND
1. In the G8 Kyushu-Okinawa Summit 2000, the G8 emphasized that Information and
Communications Technology (IT) is one of the most  important forces in shaping the twenty-first
century.  There is a growing awareness that IT is fast becoming a vital engine of growth for the world
economy.
2. At the same time, IT has a strong influence in changing the social order, which encompasses
not only a positive effect, but also a possible negative effect.  For example, there is the problem ofDigital Divide, the gap in the availability of a means of access to information.  There is concern that,
left unaddressed, Digital Divide might widen the economic disparity between developed and
developing nations, unhinging the stability of to morrow's world.  Under these circumstances, Japan
has taken the initiative to provide development assist ance in the IT area, so that developing nations
can reap the benefits.
II. JAPAN'S ACTIONS
3. Four Important Fields of Japan's IT Assistance.  Japan's IT assistance places special
importance on the following four fields:
(a) intellectual contributions to policy-making and institution-building;
(b) human resource development;
(c) assistance in building an IT infrastructure and network systems;  and
(d) promotion of IT utilization in the implementation of development assistance.
4. Examples of Japan's IT Assistance
(a) Intellectual contributions to policy-making and institution-building
(i) Specific needs in IT fields, such as advice for policy-making and institution-
building, differ greatly from one developing country to another.  With this in
mind, Japan's assistance highlights each developing country's positive role,focusing on specific circumstances.
(ii) There are two types of actual requests to Japan:  (1) calls for schematic help
in constructing policies, legal frameworks and action plans to promote IT,WT/L/451
Page 2
and (2) requests for actual help in dealing with concrete problems in
establishing organizations or institutions for the promotion of IT.
- Policy Support is given by Japan International Cooperation Agency
(JICA) experts: (Examples)
- Indonesia: assistance with the formation of IT policies
- The Philippines: assistance with an information management
system
- A Digital Communication Training Center has been established in
Chile:  Five years of cooperation since 1992.  To assist in the smooth
digitalization of telecommunications services, down-to-earth training
was made possible through the dispatch of experts and the provision
of materials from Japan's ODA.
(b) Human resource development
It calls for diverse human resource development, including higher education to
produce policymakers and software developers, technical education for experts and engineers
and the promotion of the general awareness of IT utilization.  Also important is the legal
establishment of qualification systems, which contribute to human resource development.
- South-East Asia Engineering Education Development Network
(SEED-NET):  Project aiming at the development of human resources of major
universities from ten (10) ASEAN nations in cooperation with Japanese universities;
- Pilot Experiment in Global Distance Training:  Promoting a pilot experiment
system using the latest information and communications technology;
- Computerization of Human Resource Development in Asian Countries:
Assistance through the establishment of a qualification system contributing to human
resource development, and enhancing the use of IT in a wide range of industries.
(c) Assistance in building IT infrastructure and network systems
Information infrastructure must be built by effectively combining the various choices
of technology, and by implementing agencies and fund-raising systems, taking into
consideration each country's specific conditions.  Some countries need to establish aninfrastructure for economic development through IT in order to build up such fields as
broadcasting and communication networks and to foster IT-related industries.
- Television, Radio and Telephone network Infrastructure:  the People's
Republic of China - Liaoning Television  and Radio Infrastructure Improvement
Project;  and Angola - the Project for Rehabilitation of Telephone Network in
Luanda, Angola,
- Projects to Establish a Common Asian Infrastructure for Electronic
Commerce and Other Commerce-Related Activities:  in order to ensure future
interoperability of digital certificates in the Asian area, Japan has carried out
experiments of interconnection by certificate authorities.
(d) Promotion of IT utilization in the implementation of development assistanceWT/L/451
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In implementing plans for development assistance, Japan attempts to promote the
utilization of IT in such forms as remote training, education and medical care programmes.
- J-NET:  This system aims at extending timely and flexible technical
cooperation and policy advice to developing countries, by linking core centers in
Tokyo and Okinawa with satellite centers to be set up at a human resource buildingbase in developing countries through technologies such as satellite communications.
(e) Others
Contributions to International Organizations:  for the worldwide development of the
IT sector, Japan makes contributions to IT-related international organizations, such as those
mentioned below:
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) "ICT trust fund for
development"
- International Telecommunications Union (ITU):  "Support for ITU activities
to bridge the digital divide ";  "Support for ITU activities for the establishment of aglobal digital society"
- Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT):  "Special contributions for the intra-
regional dissemination of IT"
- Asia Development Bank (ADB):  "Japan Fund for Information and
Communication Technology"
- The World Bank:  "Information for Development Programme (InfoDev)"
- UNESCO:  "The Japanese Funds-in-Trust for the Promotion of Effective Use
of ICT in Education"
III. IMPORTANCE OF MULTIPLE KINDS OF COOPERATIONS
5. To enhance the use of e-commerce, Japan has taken the initiative to provide development
assistance such as that mentioned above.  We believe that not only the construction of an IT
infrastructure, but also the development of multiple kinds of cooperations, including the
computerization of human resource development the schematic help in constructing policies, legal
frameworks and action plans to promote IT, are extremely important.
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