Digital divide in Japan

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The digital divide in Japan refers to inequalities between individuals, households, and other groups of different demographic and socioeconomic levels in Japan in access to information and communication technologies ("ICTs") and in the knowledge and skills needed to effectively use the information gained from connecting. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

The digital divide in Japan is the disparity of access to the Internet by the population of Japan. Multiple factors influence this divide. Cultural aspects of Japanese people contribute to the digital divide in the nation. Contributing cultural factors to the digital divide present in Japan are closing over time. Groups shown to be improving access include women and the elderly. [5] 97.1% of the households in Japan have Internet access at home while 81% of the households in Japan have personal computers.

The 2015 population census of Japan was released. [6] There are about 16 million people under 15 years of age, which is 12.6% of the total population. There are 76 million people aged 15–64 years of age, which is 60.7% of the total population, and there are 3.3 million people who are 65 years of age or older, which is 26.6% of the total population.

Cultural cause

According to the Japanese Statistics Bureau, MPHPA, and World Internet Project Japan, in 2001, 44% of the population was online, and 41% of that group were females. Additionally, figures point to declining disparity among internet access in various socioeconomic classes and gender. Additionally, figures show that younger Japanese individuals use the internet as compared to older Japanese individuals. All gaps are shown to be narrowing. [7] A study produced at the University of Buffalo shows that the Japanese consider advanced ICTs a common commodity, not as necessary for advancement. [8]

The Philippine Information Literacy website, which had an article based on a forum hosted by ASEAN and Japan about media and information literacy, held a two-day event that discussed “how the youth should cope with the rapidly growing world online—particularly the rise of social media—and how they could protect themselves from its hazards.” It also informed the audience about the advantages of technology and how telecommunications has taken over.

Population

Japan is divided into territorial divisions and depending on which geographic area that you live in, and everyone either has internet or no one has internet.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, there are a total of 39 “Zero Broadband Areas” in Japan. This is where there is no broadband access for even a single household within the district. This means Japanese citizens cannot get broadband even if they wanted to because there is no broadband infrastructure in their neighborhood. For some territorial divisions the coverage is up to 99.8% of the people in this area have access to broadband. This leads to a digital divide, but the divide is more drastic at the ends of the curve depending on where you[ who? ] live.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is aiming to improve broadband penetration in remote areas of Japan, but businesses aren't exactly queuing up to provide expensive infrastructure to hook up remote islands and mountain villages. Japan has more than 4000 islands, 260 of which are inhabited. Japan's land is also 73% mountainous or hilly, and whilst the population is concentrated mainly in the alluvial plains and coastal areas, there are significant populations living in remote valleys deep in the mountains mainly engaged in agriculture or forestry. It is difficult to justify building out a fiber-based infrastructure to a remote island, or to a dead end mountain ravine community miles from anywhere. [9]

Possible solutions

The internet users in Japan are increasing at an exponential rate but there are still areas demographically do not receive optimal broadband satellite communications in Japan. A possible solution for this is to launch more satellites for those areas. [10] Globally separated into categories of 58% female (most pronounced in Africa, Arab states and Asia-Pacific), 60% rural, poor, illiterate and elderly are offline. ITU provides idea/plans for these focus groups to increase the amount of internet users. Rural areas need to implement a low-cost, given the lower household income is lower in these areas, another idea for rural areas is to provide public buildings with internet access.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Telecommunications and Information Administration</span> American government agency

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet access</span> Individual connection to the Internet

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The global digital divide describes global disparities, primarily between developed and developing countries, in regards to access to computing and information resources such as the Internet and the opportunities derived from such access.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Information and communications technology</span> Extensional term for information technology

Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications and computers, as well as necessary enterprise software, middleware, storage and audiovisual, that enable users to access, store, transmit, understand and manipulate information.

Over the past decade, there has been an increase in the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) in China. As the largest developing country in the world, China faces a severe digital divide, which exists not only between mainland China and the developed countries, but also among its own regions and social groups.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">National broadband plan</span> National plans to deploy broadband Internet access

Broadband is a term normally considered to be synonymous with a high-speed connection to the internet. Suitability for certain applications, or technically a certain quality of service, is often assumed. For instance, low round trip delay would normally be assumed to be well under 150ms and suitable for Voice over IP, online gaming, financial trading especially arbitrage, virtual private networks and other latency-sensitive applications. This would rule out satellite Internet as inherently high-latency. In some applications, utility-grade reliability or security are often also assumed or defined as requirements. There is no single definition of broadband and official plans may refer to any or none of these criteria.

The digital divide in the United States refers to inequalities between individuals, households, and other groups of different demographic and socioeconomic levels in access to information and communication technologies ("ICTs") and in the knowledge and skills needed to effectively use the information gained from connecting.

The digital divide is described as the characterization of the gap between individuals or countries that have access to technology and individuals or countries that do not. This also includes, but is not limited to: access to computers, internet, and information literacy. General contributions to the digital divide are geography and next generational users. Next generational users are more involved with using devices that can connect to the internet, while the geography factor focuses more on how an individual's location put them at an advantage or disadvantage to compete with the digital age. However, only a handful on people and communities are being represented. Underdeveloped geographical locations, like certain regions of the continent of Africa serves as one of the underrepresented minorities. In particular, South Africa faces many developmental problems that make it one of the more complex societies in the world to map the digital divide in. The country is divided by ethnic inequality and discrepancies in the level of development between different sectors. These obstacles result in disparities in access to information and communications technology (ICT). This disparity is commonly known as the digital divide. There has been another major contributor, namely, Telkom and its monopolistic hold on the progress of ICT in South Africa. South Africa faces unique challenges in addressing the digital divide, including ethnic inequality, disparities in development levels between different sectors, and a historically monopolistic telecommunications industry. Efforts to bridge the digital divide in South Africa involve a combination of government initiatives, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), non-profit organizations (NPOs), and public-private partnerships, all working towards increasing access to technology, promoting digital literacy, and enhancing digital skills among the population.

Mobiles for development (M4D), a more specific iteration of Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D), refers to the use of mobile technologies in global development strategies. Focusing on the fields of international and socioeconomic development and human rights, M4D relies on the theory that increased access to mobile devices acts as an integral cornerstone in the promotion of overall societal development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital divide in Canada</span> Overview of the role of the digital divide in Canada

The digital divide in Canada refers to the discrepancy that exists between Canadians who have access to information and communication technologies (ICT) and the benefits they provide compared to those who do not. This divide can be the result of many factors, including high costs for technology and online access, differences in the availability of online connectivity resources in different locations across the country, and lacking digital literacy. The digital divide in Canada also stems from income inequality among Canadians and differences in online practices exhibited by those of different age, gender, first language, and cultural background.

The digital divide in Malaysia refers to the gap between people who have access to certain technologies within the country of Malaysia. The presence of the digital divide is due to several factors that include age, location, and wealth, all of which can contribute to the gap in availability of information communication technology (ICT). Malaysia is not a fully developed country, which has led some researchers to express concern that the limited access to ICT may cause the country to fall even further behind in the progress of worldwide technology if this issue is not addressed and mended.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital divide by continent, area and country</span>

The digital divide is an economic and social inequality with regard to access to, use of, or impact of information and communication technologies (ICT). Factors causing the divide can vary depending on the country and culture, as can the potential solutions for minimizing or closing the divide.

The digital divide in Pakistan refers to inequalities between individuals, households, and other groups of different demographic and socioeconomic levels in Pakistan in access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) and in the knowledge and skills needed to effectively use the information gained from connecting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital divide in Thailand</span> Overview of the role of the digital divide in Thailand

The digital divide in Thailand refers to the economic, educational, and social inequalities between the Thai people who have access to information and communications technology (ICT) and those who do not. Thailand is a developing country within Southeast Asia, and is currently confronted with this problem. There are a number of factors that determine the digital divide within a country, including income, choice of technologies and socioeconomic factors. ICT development and mobile penetration are strongly correlated with economic growth and social benefits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital divide in Colombia</span> Overview of the role of the digital divide in Colombia

The digital divide in Colombia refers to inequalities between individuals, households, and other groups of different demographic and socioeconomic levels. More specifically, differences in access to information and communication technologies ("ICTs") and in the knowledge and skills needed to effectively use the information gained from connecting.

References

  1. ↑ Norris, P. 2001. Digital divide: Civic engagement, information poverty and the Internet world- wide. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge Univ. Press.
  2. ↑ "FALLING THROUGH THE NET: A Survey of the "Have Nots" in Rural and Urban America". doc.gov.
  3. ↑ Patricia, J.P. 2003. 'E-government, E-Asean Task force, UNDP-APDIP'(PDF)
  4. ↑ Mossberger, K., C.J. Tolbert, and M. Stansbury. 2003. Virtual inequality: Beyond the digital divide. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
  5. ↑ "Japan Profile (Latest data available: 2016)". International Telecommunication Union. 2016.
  6. ↑ "Statistics Bureau Home Page/News Bulletin December 27, 2016". www.stat.go.jp. Retrieved 2017-11-07.
  7. ↑ Chen, Wenhong (Summer 2004). "The Global Digital Divide –Within and Between Countries". IT & Society. 1: 18–25.
  8. ↑ The digital divide as cultural practice: A cognitive anthropological exploration of Japan as an 'information society'. 2010.
  9. ↑ "The Digital Divide in Japan". Wordpress.com. 28 June 2006. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  10. ↑ "Connection The Unconnected Working together to achieve connect 2020 Agenda Targets" (PDF). International Telecommunication Union. 2017.
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