Prof. Yoneji Masuda, one of the pioneers in conceptualizing the idea of information society, states that the basic function of industrial society is “replacement and amplification of physical work”, and that the basic function of information society is “replacement and amplification of Intellectual work” in his book “Information Society: As Post-Industrial Society” (Institute for the Information Society, Tokyo, 1980). In fact, much of the physical work was mechanized and productivity increased rapidly especially in the manufacturing industry by the First Industrial Revolution with the steam engine at the end of the 18th century and the Second Industrial Revolution with electric power, etc. at the beginning of the 20th century. And our information processing ability has improved dramatically by the Third Industrial Revolution, which started in the middle of the 20th century with the use of information and communication technology. And now, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is underway with AI, robots, and IoT.

The Japanese government is advertising that the 4th industrial revolution will lead to the realization of Society 5.0, following the hunting and gathering society, agrarian society, industrial society, and the information society. However, if we follow Masuda’s definition, it is more natural to interpret that the 1st and 2nd industrial revolutions led to the birth of the industrial society, and the 3rd and 4th industrial revolutions led to the transition to the information society.

My current interest lies in the nature of the changes that the third and fourth industrial revolutions will bring to society, economy, and business. I believe that if we can understand the nature of these changes, we can make some contribution to the formation of a healthy information society.

Major Works