It then set up the Multimedia Policy Planning Office in the Policy Planning and Coordination Division. Other bureaus and divisions of the Ministry are examining related issues in their specific areas of activity. There is no universally accepted definition of multimedia, and explanations of the concept are colored by perspectives and needs in the various fields in which the technology is used. Some explanations refer to information media and equipment capable of integrating diverse forms of information and modes of expression, such as text, sound, and images. Others focus on computer-based devices that combine the functions of various types of equipment, such as television, video, telephones, and facsimile machines, or on the use of these functions to provide interactive capabilities that enable users to edit and process information at will instead of using it passively.
Multimedia is a new information medium that unifies various types of information.
This characteristic of the technology can be utilized in a wide range of fields, such as the provision of individually targeted teaching, the sophisticated utilization of science information and materials, and applications in the arts. At the same time, it is necessary to monitor the diverse impacts of the progressive shift to an information-oriented society on character formation and ensure that the technology is used appropriately. The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture is working to accelerate the shift to an information-oriented society in the field of education. In fact, the entire government sector is now moving in the same direction. For example, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications aims to establish a fiber-optic communications network linking schools, libraries, and other facilities throughout Japan by the year 2000, while the Ministry of International Trade and Industry has proposed a plan to promote the use of advanced information technology, especially in the fields of education and research and in libraries.