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Japan’s Digital Divide

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The Global Digital Divides

Part of the book series: Progress in IS ((PROIS))

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Abstract

Japan is the world’s third largest economy and an ICT leading nation. The Japanese conceptual model posits that twelve independent factors influence ten technology utilization factors, with several unique variables for sub-national investigation including patents and prefectural openness score. Spatial analysis indicates hugely populous Tokyo prefecture as dominant in ICTs. Cluster analysis indicates high-ICT clusters surrounding and to the west of Tokyo, and low levels of ICTs in rural areas on the periphery of the main Honshu Island and in other major islands. The correlates of ICTs are patents, newspaper circulation, students/pupils, education expenditures, and urban/rural location. Japanese policies are recommended such as government and private partners in high-tech prefectures providing training to the lowest cluster regions, and subsidizing national universities to reach out to deprived societal elements. Cases are examined, in light of the model findings, of extending fiber-optic cable to a rural mountainous village in Hokkaido and a poultry council that created a safety system on the rural periphery of Kyoto city.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business, University of Redlands, Redlands, CA, USA

    James B. Pick & Avijit Sarkar

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  1. James B. Pick
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  2. Avijit Sarkar
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Correspondence to James B. Pick .

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Pick, J.B., Sarkar, A. (2015). Japan’s Digital Divide. In: The Global Digital Divides. Progress in IS. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-46602-5_7

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