Meiji University Preliminary Study

Christopher Ayling

June 2018

1 Problem 1
1.1 Introduction
Currently Japan is working towards realizing the 5th Science and Technol-
ogy Basic Plan as outlined by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology (MEXT). MEXT is the ministry responsible for
planning and proposing basic policies for promoting innovation in science
and technology [12].
Japan is very strong in many aspects of science and technology, both in
research and industry. Spending 3.56% of its GDP in 2017 [8] on research
and development, makes it the 5th highest spender globally behind countries
such as South Korea and Sweden [3]. Japan exports approximately 7 times
more technology than it imports, mostly to and from the US [8]. This
report will investigate and discuss strong and weak points of Japan in the
areas of electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, applied chemistry
and computer science.
In terms of electrical engineering, Japan is home to large electronics
companies such as Panasonic, Sony and Nintendo and is responsible for the
invention of numerous technologies such as the camera phone, the laptop
and the CD player.
As for mechanical engineering, manufacturing is responsible for around
20% of Japan’s GDP [8]. Transport is the industry with the highest value
of manufactured goods shipments at approximately 60 billion yen [8].
Japan has a high reputation for its achievements and abilities in sciences
such as physics and chemistry evidenced by it being the country in Asia
with the most science Nobel Prizes [14].
AI is shown to be of high importance to Japan with the Ministry of
Internal Affairs (MIC) estimating AI to be worth 121 trillion yen to the
Japanese economy in 2045 and by AI becoming the number one priority

1
for funding under the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology (MEXT) [7]. Other computer science focusses include the In-
ternet of Things (IoT), autonomous vehicles, human computer interaction
(HCI) through social robotics and crypto-currencies [11].

1.2 Electrical Engineering

Electrical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with the tech-
nology of electricity, especially the design and application of circuitry and
equipment for power generation and distribution, machine control and com-
munications [37].
Japan’s strengths in the field of electrical engineering are shown through
its electronics companies, manufacturing industry and market shares. Well
known Japanese electronics companies include Panasonic and Mitsubishi
Electric along with consumer electtronics companies like Nintendo and Sony.
Mitsubishi Electric is working towards a more sustainable future through
the reduction of carbon emissions in both the production and operation
of their products. In 2016, the non-profit organisation Carbon Disclosure
Project (CDP) named Mitsubishi Electric an A-List company in the areas
of climate change and water. [5].
According to [32], Nintendo is the 10th most valuable Japanese brand
in 2018. Nintendo makes both video games and consoles, well known for
memorable series like Super Mario and Donkey Kong along with innovative
consoles like the DS and Wii. Nintendo has a long history of being a leader in
the video game industry. For example, the Family Computer was launched
in 1983 and became present in 37% of Japan’s households in 1989 [6]. Ahead
of its time in 1995, Nintendo was experimenting with Virtual Reality (VR)
through the development and release of the console known as the Virtual
Boy. The Virtual Boy is a console experienced similar to that of a modern
Oculus Rift or HTC Vibe in the sense that a headset is worn to give the
user a more immersive experience through 3D visuals.
Sensor devices, critical for the operation of robots, the IoT, manufac-
turing, the collection of big data and autonomous vehicles, are yet another
strength of Japanese electrical engineering. Japan accounts for 70% of global
luminous intensity and temperature sensor sales and approximately 50% of
all sensor sales worldwide [8].

2
1.3 Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical engineering is the branch of engineering the encompasses the
generation of heat, mechanical power and the design, production and use of
machines and tools [38].
Employing 8.3% of population, the design and manufacture of automo-
biles in Japan plays a large role Japanese life [9]. The Renault-Nissan-
Mitsubishi alliance along with Toyota had the 2nd and 3rd most amount of
sales in 2017 globally (each only slightly behind the Volkswagen), making
Japan an automotive manufacturing world leader [33]. The Japanese auto
industry is also environmentally minded, shown by already beating 2020
fuel efficiency goals for passenger cars [9].
Assisting in the manufacturing of automobiles and other products, robots
are another strength of Japanese mechanical engineering. Japan is home to
industrial robotics companies such as Fanuc, Yaskawa, Nachi and Kawasaki
Heavy Industries, making it a global leader in the field along side Germany
(which is home to industrial robotics giant ABB) [31].

1.4 Applied Chemistry

This section will discuss Japan’s histroy and acheivements in area of applied
chemistry. Japan has a high count of science Nobel Laureates and is looking
to continue this trend. Japan has a history of impacting inventions and
discoveries involving chemistry such as the lithium-ion battery and vitamin
B1 and Statins.
Japan holds a total of 7 Nobel Prizes for chemistry (25 nobel prizes in
total). The earliest being awarded to Kenchi Fukui in 1981 for his investiga-
tion into chemical reactions and the most recent being Ei-ichi Negishi and
Akira Suzuki for their work with palladium in organic synthesis [15][16]. Af-
ter consecutively recieving Nobel Prizes in 2014 and 2015, MEXT discussed
in their 2016 Science and Technology white paper their plans to promote
the continuation of this trend [11]. In 2016, Japan again received a Nobel
Prize for Physiology or Medicine which was again featured in MEXT’s 2017
Science and Technology white paper [13].
Lithium-ion batteries, a type of rechargeable battery used in mobile de-
vices, were first commercialized by Sony in 1991 [2]. Ever since their first
appearance, Japan has been involved in the production and commercial-
ization of these batteries. The USA’s National Academy of Engineering
awarded Yoshio Nishi and Akira Yoshino the Draper Prize ”for engineering
the rechargable lithium-ion battery that enables compact, lightweight mo-

3
bile devices” [28]. In 2014 Panasonic signed an agreement that layed out
their plans for cooperation on the construction and running of the Gigafac-
tory with electric car company Tesla. Panasonic will be the manufacturer
of lithium-ion cells in this agreement [34].

1.5 Computer Science

This section will give an overview of Japan’s progress, aims and challenges
in the broad field of computer science. Areas of Japanese computer science
to be discussed in this section include various applications of AI, the IoT,
Human computer interaction (HCI) and a comparison of Japan’s research
in the field of computer science and mathematics with leading countries.
Autonomous driving is being pursued in Japan, along with the IoT and
other AI efforts, it will play a large role in realizing ”The Advent of a Su-
per Smart Society” [11]. With aims of developing this technology by 2020,
Japanese companies developing autonomous driving technology include Toy-
ota, Nissan, Honda and Softbank Group. Toyota has created the Toyota
Research Institute (TRI) and Toyota Connected (TC) [35] while Softbank
is investing in General Motors Co. (GM) who aim to be create the first
autonomous taxi service [36].
Japan is also well known for its robotics prowess in not just industrial
but social robotics too. In stark contrast to the efficient, mechanical and
therefore inhuman nature of industrial robots, social robots are designed to
accompany and interact with humans. Applications of social robots include
schools, retail, hospitals and nursing homes (relevant to Japan’s again pop-
ulation [8]). Notable examples of Japanese social robots include Softbank
Robotic’s Pepper Robot and Hiroshi Ishiguro’s work on realistic androids.
As identified in [11], a weakness of Japan is, when compared to countries
such as Germany and the USA, their lack of research capability in various
fields, particularly computer science.

1.6 Conclusion
Japan’s strengths complement each other, especially in areas such as manu-
facturing and autonomous driving where skills are needed in electrical engi-
neering, mechanical engineering, computer science and more. As each area
gains strength they others benefit. Japan’s efforts in improving research
and advancing artificial intelligence will improve processes and standards of
living in Japan and the world.

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2 Problem 2

Hello こんにちは。
Good Morning! おはようございます。
Good Afternoon! こんにちは。
Thank you ありがとうございます。
Excuse me. すみません。
May I ask you something? 質問してもいいですか？
Tell me how I can get to Hotel A ホテル A はどう行けばいいですか？
I want this hamburger, how much is it? このハンバ-ガ-はいくらですか？
Do you speak English? 英語をはねせますか？
My name is B 私の名前は B です。

3 Problem 3
3.1 Geography
1. What is the land area of Japan?
364,485 sq km [1]

2. What is the area of her Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)?

200 nm [1]

3. What are the longitudes of the easternmost and westernmost points?

146, 129 [10]

4. What are the latitudes of the southernmost and northernmost points?

33, 47 [10]

5. What is the altitude of the highest point?

Mt Fuji, 3,776 m [1]

6. What is the average annual precipitation?

Precipitation averaged 131.6 mm from 1901 to 2015 [4].

3.2 History
7. In the Christian era system, when did the following periods begin?

(a) Nara 710-784 [23]

5
 (b) Heian 794-1185 [20]
(c) Kamakura 1192 - 1333 [21]
(d) Muromachi 1338-1573 [22]
(e) Azuchi-momoyama 1574 - 1600 [18]
(f) Edo 1603 - 1867 [24]
(g) Meiji 1868 - 1912 [17]
(h) Taisho 1912 - 1926 [19]
(i) Showa 1926 - 1989 [30]
(j) Heisei 1989 - Present [29]

3.3 Economy, Science and Technology

8. Choose any three Japanese Nobel Prize winners and answer their
names and the keywords which describe their works.

Hideki Shirakawa (2000) Discovery and development of conductive poly-

mers. [25]
Osamu Shimomura (2008) Green fluorescent protein. [27]
Hiroshi Amano (2014) Efficient blue light-emitting diodes. [26]

9. What is the GDP(PPP) per capita of Japan? Compare it with other

countries. Comparisons are available in Table 1 and Table 2.
According to [1], Japan has the 41st highest GDP per capita at $42,700
(2017 est.)

Table 1: Countries with similar GDP per capita to Japan [1]

Rank Country GDP per capita
39 France $43,800
40 United Kingdom $43,800
41 Japan $42,700
42 Malta $42,500
43 British Virgin Islands $42,300

10. What is the government budget of Japan?

According to estimates by [1], the 2017 Japanese government had
$1.678 trillion in revenue and $1.902 trillion in expenditures.

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 Table 2: GDP per capita of Japan’s Neighboring countries [1]
Rank Country GDP per capita
30 Taiwan $49,800
41 Japan $42,700
45 Korea, South $39,400
71 Russia $27,900
106 China $16,600
214 Korea, North $1,700

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