## (2) Toward the economic growth accomplished through the active utilization of Big Data

Facing increasingly fierce competition in the international economy and society, Japan is now in a difficult situation where its pool of human resources, having backed its economic growth along with its advanced science and technology such as ICT, is rapidly shrinking due to demographic ageing with a declining birthrate, ahead of any other country. Furthermore, as a result of the shrinkage of the labor population, Japan is facing the threat of a declining economy. For the continuation of Japan's economic growth, the high utilization of the existing resources or the cultivation and utilization of new resources is acutely required.

On the other hand, in Japan, as one of the lessons from the Great East Japan Earthquake, the importance of information and at the same time the supporting of ICT are re-acknowledged as forming a life line protecting human life. Also in Japan, diversified data-resources have been created and accumulated at a significant rate.

Therefore, in order to enhance its global competitiveness while preserving its strength in manufacturing, and to achieve economic growth again, Japan is required to recognize Big Data as a strategic resource and promote its utilization in the real society under government coordination.

Specifically, Japan is required to promote discussions on the development of environments for utilizing the data which have been accumulated in various sectors and used only closely in the individual sectors, for the purpose of allowing the public sector and businesses to share data and utilize the data across borders, for example, under the policy of the promotion of open-government. In addition, it is important for Japan, which has the globally-acknowledged strength in manufacturing, to solve social problems and activate its economy through utilizing, in a cross-border manner and analyzing in a real-time manner, the large and various data generated and collected through censor networks, such as M2M, while paying attention to the preservation of personal information, so that such data is accumulated, publicized, distributed, and integrated for the creation of knowledge and information that can be shared by the entire society. Furthermore, it is required to promote the safe and secure utilization of Big Data, through advances in technologies of authentication, encapsulation, and regulation of data.

In summary, Japan, which is running ahead of other countries toward the social problems they share, and at the same time is expected to be the front runner to solve such problems, should realize an environment that enables the creation of new values, through utilizing Big Data to create new values and enhance the features of ICT as a tool and a driving force of economic growth.

## Section 2

## “Smartphone Economy”—Transformation of ICT Industry Structure and User Behavior

### 1. New Competition and Growth induced by Rapid Spread of Smartphone

## (1) Rapid Spread of Smartphone and Transformation of Terminal Market

This article shows the analysis of the smartphone market by the broader definition¹ partly including feature phones

### a. Forecasts on the world market expansion of smartphones

The smartphone share of units sales (including feature phones) around the world mobile phone market reached about 27% in 2011; the smartphone share is predicted to grow to over 50% of the world mobile phone market in 2015; the smartphone market is promising because of its high growth rate.

### b. Changes around the world smartphone market

Figure 2-2-1-1 shows the change of the world smartphone market share distributions by OS and major mobile phone manufacturers from 2009 — when smartphones were widely accepted — to 2011; in the three-year period, smartphone sales-units grew 2.7 times, indicating that a rapid change has occurred in the smartphone terminal market; a look into the change in manufacturer-shares shows that the Japanese manufacturers have failed to obtain benefits from the growing market —while four Japanese manufacturers or subsidiaries were ranked in the top 10 in 2009, only one was ranked in 2011. Figure 2-2-1-2 $ ^{2} $ presents the overview of such