xli
That is not the case. It could make up some of the necessary conditions of a platinum society shown in Fig. 9.
Civil engineering and construction have so far been considered a typical 3D (difficult, dirty, and dangerous) industry. Currently, cutting-edge companies are focused
on i-Construction, where everything from design to maintenance is informatized,
drones perform surveying, and robots and automatic tractors complete the work. If
successful, the unit price of the construction work would be reduced to a tenth. This
means it would be possible to perform 100 times as much construction work, though
such work will probably not exist in developed countries. In reality, there exist enormous needs in this area, particularly in the area of maintenance. Infrastructure such
as water and gas, bridges, tunnels, and expressways have aged. It is said that it
would require 100 trillion yen a year for the maintenance of all the above-mentioned
infrastructure, and virtually nothing has been done. If this continues, the future is
bleak. However, a better future is possible if productivity increases tenfold. What
we need are innovators like Henry Ford.
Furthermore, if one caretaker can look after ten times as many people, nursing
care costs would be reduced to one-tenth many could receive nursing care services
without anxiety, causing the market size to expand. The same would hold true for
medical care. Given that expensive cutting-edge medical care is considered problematic in that it may lead to financial collapse, what needs to be done is to reduce
costs and improve productivity. As Japan moves toward an aging society, medical
care needs will swell to more than 10 times its current rate. By training co-medical
human resources in large numbers and introducing information systems including
artificial intelligence in earnest, it will be possible to improve productivity. All we
need is innovation.
GDP and IWI
Henry Ford responded to the needs of the people by enhancing the productivity of
automobiles, thereby spurring economic growth. However, even if creative demand
in a platinum society generates innovation, it may not necessarily lead to economic
growth through business, due to the problem of externalities in the economy.
For example, if people worked together in groups to provide nursing care to their
parents, that would not be counted in the GDP, even if it were high-quality care and
the productivity is not inferior to that of the nursing care industry. This is similar to
the case when eating at a restaurant would be counted in the GDP, but if people
invited each other to dinner at their homes, that would not be counted in the GDP. In
addition, health and self-reliance are necessary conditions of a platinum society. In
the current market, however, prevention cannot be counted in the GDP. People suffering from diabetes increase the GDP if they become dialytic, but preventing them
from becoming dialytic would instead reduce the GDP. Dialytic patients are forced
to suffer a drastically lower QOL, but they significantly increase the GDP. This is
Preface: From “Vision 2050” to “New Vision 2050”
That is not the case. It could make up some of the necessary conditions of a platinum society shown in Fig. 9.
Civil engineering and construction have so far been considered a typical 3D (difficult, dirty, and dangerous) industry. Currently, cutting-edge companies are focused
on i-Construction, where everything from design to maintenance is informatized,
drones perform surveying, and robots and automatic tractors complete the work. If
successful, the unit price of the construction work would be reduced to a tenth. This
means it would be possible to perform 100 times as much construction work, though
such work will probably not exist in developed countries. In reality, there exist enormous needs in this area, particularly in the area of maintenance. Infrastructure such
as water and gas, bridges, tunnels, and expressways have aged. It is said that it
would require 100 trillion yen a year for the maintenance of all the above-mentioned
infrastructure, and virtually nothing has been done. If this continues, the future is
bleak. However, a better future is possible if productivity increases tenfold. What
we need are innovators like Henry Ford.
Furthermore, if one caretaker can look after ten times as many people, nursing
care costs would be reduced to one-tenth many could receive nursing care services
without anxiety, causing the market size to expand. The same would hold true for
medical care. Given that expensive cutting-edge medical care is considered problematic in that it may lead to financial collapse, what needs to be done is to reduce
costs and improve productivity. As Japan moves toward an aging society, medical
care needs will swell to more than 10 times its current rate. By training co-medical
human resources in large numbers and introducing information systems including
artificial intelligence in earnest, it will be possible to improve productivity. All we
need is innovation.
GDP and IWI
Henry Ford responded to the needs of the people by enhancing the productivity of
automobiles, thereby spurring economic growth. However, even if creative demand
in a platinum society generates innovation, it may not necessarily lead to economic
growth through business, due to the problem of externalities in the economy.
For example, if people worked together in groups to provide nursing care to their
parents, that would not be counted in the GDP, even if it were high-quality care and
the productivity is not inferior to that of the nursing care industry. This is similar to
the case when eating at a restaurant would be counted in the GDP, but if people
invited each other to dinner at their homes, that would not be counted in the GDP. In
addition, health and self-reliance are necessary conditions of a platinum society. In
the current market, however, prevention cannot be counted in the GDP. People suffering from diabetes increase the GDP if they become dialytic, but preventing them
from becoming dialytic would instead reduce the GDP. Dialytic patients are forced
to suffer a drastically lower QOL, but they significantly increase the GDP. This is
Preface: From “Vision 2050” to “New Vision 2050”