Chapter 4 · that they had an intention to use communication robots (total of respondents who...

This section focuses on three types of ICT devices—wearable devices, connected vehicles and autonomous vehicles, and partner robots—tabbed for particularly rapid growth in the near future. We analyze consumer

intention to use these devices and probe what impact the growth of these ICT devices may have on future life-styles.

1. Wearable devicesWearable devices are ICT devices worn and operated

on the arm, head, or other parts of the body. Using sen-sors, the devices collect and transmit biological data about the wearer. The data can then be analyzed in the cloud and used to give the wearer feedback. Wearables are expected to find a variety of applications in fitness, health care, and similar fields. Wearables are also start-ing to be used in conjunction with smartphones for hands-free control of apps and for assisting work opera-tions in industrial fields.

(1) Interest in using wearablesA number of companies have started offering differ-

ent kinds of wearable devices, and the market is tipped for enormous growth. But how much actual awareness do consumers have about these devices? For this report, we selected 2,000 monitors and surveyed their inten-tions to use wearable devices.

As described above, many consumer-aimed wearable devices are expected to be used in the health field. Therefore, for the purposes of this survey, the monitors were asked about their intention to use health manage-

ment services that rely on wearable devices. More than a third of the respondents (37.7 percent) replied that they had an intention to use wearable devices in this con-text (total of respondents who answered “would like to use” and “would consider using”) (Figure 4-1-1-1).

By age bracket, the 30s cohort had the highest inten-tion to use (total of respondents who answered “would like to use” and “would consider using”), at over 40 per-cent. In general, the higher the age bracket, the lower the intention to use. Only 34.5 percent of respondents 60 and older said they had an intention to use health man-agement services that rely on wearable devices.

We also broke down the intention to use figures by smartphone users and non-users. More than 40 percent of smartphone users said they had an intention to use (“would like to use” + would consider using”), whereas only 32.5 percent of non-users answered in the affirma-tive. These results suggest that smartphone users have hopes for health management services that rely on wearable devices as a new use for their smartphones (Figure 4-1-1-2).

Section 1　New Forms of ICT Devices: After the Smartphone

4.9

32.9

28.1

21.1

13.2

n=2,000(%)

Would like to useWould consider usingWould prefer not to useWould not want to useI do not feel that health management is necessary

Figure 4-1-1-1 Intention to use health management services that rely on wearable devices

(Source) “Study Report on People’s Attitudes toward New ICT Services and Technologies that Resolve Social Issues,” MIC (2015)

4.9

7.3

5.5

5.5

4.5

1.5

6.3

3.2

32.9

31.8

35.5

32.3

31.8

33.0

36.1

29.3

28.1

16.8

23.8

30.8

32.3

37.0

23.8

32.7

21.1

17.0

19.0

19.3

25.8

24.3

18.3

24.1

13.2

27.3

16.3

12.3

5.8

4.3

15.5

10.6

0 20 40 60 80 100

All respondents

20 or younger

30 to 39

40 to 49

50 to 59

60 or older

Smartphone users

Non-smartphoneusers

(%)

Would like to useWould consider usingWould prefer not to useWould not want to useI do not feel that health management is necessary

n2,000

400

400

400

400

1,041

959

400

Figure 4-1-1-2 Intention to use health management services that rely on wearable devices

(by age bracket and smartphone ownership)

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Part 2

Chapter 4ICT and Future Lifestyles

2. Connected vehicles and autonomous vehicles(1) Connected vehicles

Connected vehicles are vehicles with ICT device func-tions. Sensors on the vehicles collect many kinds of data, such as the vehicle’s operational status and the sur-rounding road conditions. By accumulating and analyz-ing these data via networks, new value is expected to be generated. For example, some applications that are just reaching commercial viability are systems that automat-ically place an emergency call in the event of an acci-dent, telematics auto insurance that adjusts insurance rates based on driver behavior, and systems that track the position of a vehicle if stolen.

(2) Autonomous vehiclesAlmost all vehicles on the road today require the driv-

er to manually operate the steering wheel, accelerator pedal, and brakes. Autonomous vehicles, in contrast, have been gaining attention lately because the vehicle drives itself safely, following instructions, to the speci-fied destination while accounting for road and traffic conditions without the driver directly intervening in its operation. Autonomous vehicles work by combining sensing, which measures conditions and situations in-side and outside the vehicle, with other technologies,

such as ICT technologies and automated vehicle control technologies.

Companies are very active in pushing toward practical autonomous vehicles, but what is the actual level of in-terest in autonomous vehicles among consumers?

In our survey, we asked the monitors about their in-tention to use autonomous vehicles after defining an au-tonomous vehicle as “a vehicle that maintains an aware-ness of the surrounding conditions and drives autonomously by means of radar and sensors and that can find the optimal route to a destination just by select-ing the desired destination.”

The results found that more than half (54.6 percent) of the respondents had an intention to use autonomous cars (total of respondents who answered “would like to use” and “would consider using”) (Figure 4-1-2-1). By age bracket, respondents 60 and older had the highest intention to use (total of respondents who answered “would like to use” and “would consider using”), at near-ly 60 percent. This finding suggests that there are mounting high expectations among seniors for autono-mous vehicles as means of getting around without the difficulty of driving (Figure 4-1-2-2).

3. Partner robotsThe development of robot technology has been pri-

marily focused on industrial robots that operate in facto-ries and plants. Domestic robots, on the other hand, have been mainly the stuff of science fiction―i.e., life-service robots that help with chores, caregiving, and raising children in the home or serve as communication partners for people―and only a few have been devel-oped into commercial products. In recent years, howev-er, there has been growing interest in such robot appli-cations in the life services field.

The future partner robot market is predicted to sky-rocket. Although Japanese corporations have been de-veloping and marketing rudimentary domestic robot products, how interested are consumers in them? We

verified the intention to use partner robots among con-sumers with a survey that asked about three different fields―caregiving, communications, and child-raising―that are anticipated to become leading application fields for partner robots.

(1) Intention to use caregiving robots Caregiving is expected to become one of the leading

application fields for partner robots. Some preliminary trials are already in progress to gauge the application of robot technology in the caregiving field. Since robot technology is advancing day by day, it is difficult to make a one-size-fits-all definition of caregiving robots. Never-theless, for the purposes of this survey, we assumed a

15.9

38.722.4

14.6

8.5

Would like to useWould consider usingWould prefer not to useWould not want to useNo need for a vehicle, now or in the future

n=2,000(%)

Figure 4-1-2-1 Intention to use autonomous vehicles

15.9

18.3

17.8

15.8

10.8

16.8

38.7

35.8

37.3

37.0

42.5

41.0

22.4

20.3

22.3

23.3

26.0

20.3

14.6

12.8

15.8

15.8

15.8

13.0

8.5

13.0

7.0

8.3

5.0

9.0

0 20 40 60 80 100

All respondents

20 or younger

30 to 39

40 to 49

50 to 59

60 or older

(%)

n2,000

400

400

400

400

400

Would like to useWould consider usingWould prefer not to useWould not want to useNo need for a vehicle, now or in the future

Figure 4-1-2-2 Intention to use autonomous vehicles(by age bracket)


22

Part 2

broad potential for caregiving robots, in anticipation of future technological advances. Therefore, we asked the monitors about their level of interest in caregiving ro-bots after defining an caregiving robot as “a robot that functions to help caregivers with toileting (attending the care-recipient while toileting, changing diapers, etc.), with bathing (attending the care-recipient while bathing, washing the care-recipient, etc.), with meals (preparing meals and assisting the care-recipient during meals), and with movement (assisting the care-recipient when moving from a wheelchair to a bed, toilet, bathtub, or chair), thereby reducing the caregivers’ workload, and that functions to inform caregiving service facilities about the care-recipient’s health status via the Internet.”

When the respondents were asked about their inten-tion to use caregiving robots assuming that they were the caregiver to a family member, over 60 percent (63.3 percent) replied that they had an intention to use (total of respondents who answered “would like to use” and “would consider using”) (Figure 4-1-3-1).

(2) Intention to use communication robots The development of communication robots has

moved forward with advances in artificial intelligence, and these robots can now hold conversations, dance or exercise with people, and be partners in quizzes and games. There are hopes that communicating with ro-bots will stimulate people’s brains and, thus, have a pre-ventative effect against dementia and that exercising moderately with robots will ward off muscle atrophy and emaciation and keep people from becoming bedridden. It is also possible for communication robots to act as pets for people who live in places where pets are forbid-den. The survey asked the monitors about their inten-tion to use such communication robots.

Close to half of the respondents (46.2 percent) replied that they had an intention to use communication robots (total of respondents who answered “would like to use” and “would consider using”), a figure lower than that for caregiving robots (Figure 4-1-3-2).

(3) Intention to use robots to assist child-raising Another envisioned future application of robots is as-

sisting child-raising. Robots are expected to lessen some of the child-raising burden by talking and playing with children and watching over them for short periods of time. Furthermore, robots can constantly monitor a child’s situation and, thus, potentially improve child safe-ty. Robots may also be equipped with functions to check children’s health conditions, such as detecting when a child starts to develop a fever. In the survey, we asked the monitors about their intention to use such robots to assist child-raising.

Only about 30 percent of the respondents replied that they had an intention to use robots to assist child-raising (total of respondents who answered “would like to use” and “would consider using”). Compared to caregiving ro-bots and communication robots, these robots have the lowest intention to use at the present time (Figure 4-1-3-3).

15.1

48.2

17.1

8.0

11.7

n=2,000(%)

Would like to useWould consider usingWould prefer not to useWould not want to useCannot imagine receiving caregiving in the future

Figure 4-1-3-1 Intention to use caregiving robots (respon-dent as caregiver)


Figure 4-1-3-2 Intention to use communication robots

8.9

37.4

22.8

10.1

21.0

n=2,000(%)

Would like to useWould consider usingWould prefer not to useWould not want to useI do not feel communication robots are necessary


Figure 4-1-3-3 Intention to use robots to assist child-raising

4.2

26.4

27.517.0

25.1

n=2,000(%)

Would like to useWould consider usingWould prefer not to useWould not want to useNo need for child-raising assistance, now or in the future


23

Part 2

This section develops an understanding of trends in the sharing economy, one of the transformations result-ing from social media growth. We also analyze, by means of a survey, consumer interest in the sharing economy and some the issues caused by the expansion of the sharing economy.

Furthermore, the broad penetration of social media has brought with it the potential for problematic posts to

be disseminated widely in an instant and for posters to be exposed to unexpected social backlash. Therefore, we will examine developments in the problems of going viral and flaming, as another transformation resulting from social media growth, and analyze, by means of a survey, user awareness of these problems and future is-sues.

1. The sharing economy: a new economy driven by social media(1) What is the sharing economy?

The sharing economy typically refers to services that list idle assets owned by individuals that are for hire (as-sets include skills and other intangibles as well). The sharing economy is a win-win situation where lenders can earn money from their idle assets while renters can make use of the assets without owning them. For such services to function, there has to be an assurance of trust between the parties. This is where social media comes into play, with its unique ability to operate loosely arranged community functions founded on the ex-change of information. Originating from Silicon Valley, the sharing economy has now expanded globally.

(2) Demand for sharing-economy-style servicesWe asked Japanese consumers about their intention

to use two different types of sharing-economy-style ser-vices that are gaining traction overseas. The results found that 22.9 percent of the respondents had an inten-tion to use (“would like to use” + “would consider us-ing”) “services that provide transportation to a destina-tion in the driver’s personal car” and 26.4 percent of the respondents had an intention to use (“would like to use” + “would consider using”) “services that let you stay at a private individual’s empty room, apartment, or house at

a travel destination.” In both cases, more respondents replied that they have no intention to use the services (“would not like to use” + “would prefer not to use”) (Fig-ure 4-2-1-1). These results indicate that many Japanese consumers are cautious about using these services at the present time.

We asked respondents that had replied they have no intention to use the services (respondents who an-swered “would prefer not to use” or “would not like to use”) for their reasons. The most common answer, given by about 60 percent of the respondents, was “concern about support in the case of an accident or other prob-lem.” This finding shows that improving trustworthi-ness is an issue for these services, as many people feel uneasy about the handling of accidents or other forms of trouble because the services are unfamiliar to them. Other reasons quoted by people―“services cannot be ranked sufficiently by user comments alone” and “ser-vices are more trustworthy when provided by a compa-ny that can be held responsible”―were not so common, at about 10 percent and 20 percent respectively (Figure 4-2-1-2). This suggests that on the whole people do ac-cept the fundamental mechanism of sharing-economy-style services: i.e., the assurance of C2C service quality by means of user comments and rankings.

Section 2　Transformations Resulting from Social Media Growth

5.8

4.1

20.6

18.8

29.7

33.1

44.0

44.1

0 50 100

Services that let you stay at a privateindividual’s empty room, apartment,

or house at a travel destination

Services that provide transportation toa destination in the driver’s personal car

(%)n=2,00026.4

22.9

Would like to use Would consider usingWould prefer not to use Would not want to use

Figure 4-2-1-1 Intention to use overseas sharing-economy-style services


24

Part 2

2. Viral posts and flaming on social media(1) Background to the problems

Recently, some posters on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media have been subject to severe rebukes because of a careless post. Companies too have come under fire unexpectedly because of a consumer’s post on social media. Such flaming incidents have drawn wide attention and major media outlets often cover them.

From the dawn of the Internet, things written by peo-ple about themselves or others on the Internet have caused trouble for individuals and companies, so the phenomenon itself is not new. However, the social media flaming that has drawn much attention in recent years is distinctive because it has been fueled by the functional-ity of Twitter, Facebook, and other social media. In par-ticular, the social media functions that make it easy to share other people’s posts you like with friends have led to careless posts going viral, where a post spreads rap-idly to an extremely broad audience due to the chain re-action of sharing the post. Another factor that has given rise to flaming is the ease of posting controversial pho-tos taken with smartphones on social media.

(2) Current state of sharing information on social mediaMore than half of all social media users “share” other

people’s posts with their friends (i.e., spreading informa-tion using a function such as Facebook’s Like! function or Twitter’s retweet function), and around 17 percent share information nearly every day. People 20 and younger are slightly more likely to be sharers, but there is no appreciable difference among the age brackets 30 and older. The findings show that people in all age brackets actively share information on social media (Figure 4-2-2-1).

(3) Criteria for deciding whether to share informationThe next question we asked is by what criteria do so-

cial media users select information to share. The most frequent response, given by 46.2 percent of respondents, was “whether I feel an emotional connection with the information,” followed by “whether the information is interesting,” with a response rate of 40.4 percent. Con-versely, “whether the information is very credible” was mentioned relatively infrequently, at 23.5 percent (Fig-ure 4-2-2-2). These results suggest that social media us-ers tend to select information to share based on whether they find the information empathic or interesting more that whether it is factual.

1.7

1.6

30.7

27.9

20.2

17.6

61.1

64.0

9.2

9.1

23.2

21.1

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Services that let you stay at a privateindividual’s empty room, apartment,

or house at a travel destinationn=1,473

Services that provide transportationto a destination in the driver’s

personal carn=1,543

Services are more trustworthy when provided by a company that canbe held responsibleServices cannot be ranked sufficiently by user comments aloneConcern about support in the case of an accident or other problemDifficult to understand the service / use the serviceRegistering personal information in advance and other proceduresare a nuisanceOther

(%)

Figure 4-2-1-2 Reasons for not wanting to use overseas sharing-economy-style services


Figure 4-2-2-1 Experience with sharing information on social media (by age bracket)

17.1

21.7

16.5

13.3

18.7

11.3

13.6

17.4

11.4

12.5

13.6

10.5

24.6

22.0

23.1

26.6

24.2

31.5

44.7

38.8

49.1

47.7

43.4

46.8

0 20 40 60 80 100

All respondents

20 or younger

30 to 39

40 to 49

50 to 59

60 or older

(%)

Almost every day Once or twice a weekLess than once or twice a week Never

n1,178

327

273

256

198

124


25

Part 2

This section sorts out the current state of telework and its issues though an analysis of a survey given to employed people and companies. We also present spe-

cific examples of the potential of telework by presenting the results of interview surveys with actual teleworkers.

1. Telework awareness levels among companies and employed peopleOne of the reasons telework has not taken off is be-

lieved to be a lack of awareness about telework as a via-ble work style. To test this hypothesis, we surveyed the telework awareness levels among companies and em-ployed people.

(1) Company awareness of telework is around 40 percentOnly 40 percent of the surveyed companies replied

that they “knew” about telework (Figure 4-3-1-1). In gen-eral, the more employees a company had, the higher the awareness level. The awareness level among companies with 301 or more employees was about 70 percent, com-pared to about 30 percent among companies with 50 or fewer employees. The awareness level was significantly higher among ICT companies, at just under 70 percent, than companies in other industries.

(2) Awareness of telework among employed people is less than 50 percentMore than half of the surveyed employed people said

they “do not know” about telework. Only around 45 per-cent of respondents said they “know or have heard” about telework. Of these respondents, about 30 percent answered “I have heard the term but I don’t know what it means,” which indicates that only a minority of people understand the telework concept (Figure 4-3-1-2). These results highlight that telework awareness levels are not particularly high, being less than 50 percent among companies and employed people alike. We can conclude the first step in promoting telework take-up is raising its awareness.

Section 3　New Work Styles Made Possible by ICT: Telework’s Potential

1.80 10 20 30 40 50

Other criteria6.8Whether the post is from a person’s official account

authenticated by the site operator

3.4Whether the poster is a famous person3.1Whether the poster is a government organization or

large company

13.7Whether the poster is a friend or acquaintance of mine12.7Whether the original poster wants the information

shared

23.5Whether the information is very credible

46.2Whether I feel an emotional connection withthe information

40.4Whether the information is interesting

30.4Whether the information is helpful for living26.9Whether the information is socially important

n=651

(%)

Figure 4-2-2-2 Criteria for deciding whether to share information


Knew40.9%

Did not know59.1%

Note: n=3,306

Figure 4-3-1-1 Awareness of telework among companies (all companies)

(Source) “Study Report on Revitalizing Local economies and Com-pany ICT Use and Application,” MIC (2015)

Figure 4-3-1-2 Awareness and use of telework among employed people

(%)

I do not know55.4%

I know or haveheard the term

44.6%

1.01.52.1

4.2

7.8

28.1

0.0

15.0

30.0

45.0

n=2,000I have heard the term but I don’t know what it meansI have heard the term and I know what it meansI know what it means and I’m interested in teleworkI’m interested in telework, and I have asked people aboutit or have looked it up on the Internet or elsewhereI have worked by teleworkI have worked by telework, and I have told people aboutmy telework experience or posted information abouttelework on social media or elsewhere


26

Part 2

2. Employed people’s intention to use teleworkWe next surveyed the intention to use telework

among employed people. We asked this question after explaining the telework concept to respondents who did not know about telework before the survey. We also asked respondents who do not work in an environment where telework is available whether they would like to use telework, assuming a work environment that permit-ted telework.

(1) More than 50 percent of employed people hope to use teleworkThe respondents who answered “already using tele-

work,” “actively want to use telework,” and “would like to try using telework” added up to more than 50 percent of all respondents (Figure 4-3-2-1). This result indicates that many people have at least a latent desire to use tele-work. Even among respondents who had answered they “do not know” about telework to the previous question, more than 40 percent said that they “actively want to use telework” or “would like to try using telework” (Figure 4-3-2-2). This suggests that if the general public were more aware of telework as a new viable work style, more people would probably want to work by telework.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games (2020 Tokyo Games) to be held in five years time are expected to be a powerful trigger for social transforma-

tions driven by ICT. This section provides a general overview of the potential of ICT use and application at the 2020 Tokyo Games.

1. Looking ahead to the 2020 Tokyo GamesThe 2020 Tokyo Games are a momentous opportunity

to realize sustained economic growth for Japan in 2020 and beyond as well as a valuable venue to showcase our cutting-edge ICT to the countries of the world. To this

Section 4　ICT and the Olympic and Paralympic Games

1.4

1.5

1.2

11.6

11.7

11.5

40.8

38.2

43.4

25.9

26.7

25.1

20.4

21.9

18.8

0 20 40 60 80 100

All respondents

Male

Female

Already using teleworkActively want to use teleworkWould like to try using teleworkWould prefer not to use teleworkDo not want to use telework

n

2,000

990

1,010

(%)

Figure 4-3-2-1 Intention to use telework among employed people (by gender)

2.2

0.6

16.9

7.3

46.1

36.6

24.4

27.1

10.3

28.4

0 20 40 60 80 100 (%)

I know or haveheard the term

I do not know

n

1,108

892

Already using teleworkActively want to use teleworkWould like to try using teleworkWould prefer not to use teleworkDo not want to use telework

Figure 4-3-2-2 Intention to use telework among employed people (by previous awareness of telework)


27

Part 2

end, MIC held the “Conference on the Advancement of ICT utilization for the whole society towards 2010” in No-vember 2014. The conference is studying an industry-academic-government action plan to promote the adop-tion of ICT throughout society, with a focus on sustained economic growth in Japan after the 2020 Tokyo Games, in cooperation with related organizations and related government ministries and agencies (Figure 4-4-1-1).

One technology expected to be used at the 2020 Tokyo Games is 4K and 8K video technology, which offers far

greater resolution than current high-definition video. Ac-cording to the New 4K / 8K Promotion Roadmap, re-leased by MIC in September 2014, trial 4K / 8K broad-casts will begin on broadcasting satellites (BS) in 2016 and practical broadcasts will begin as early as possible before 2018 on BS and other television delivery systems. The end goal is to foster conditions to popularize 4K / 8K technology and enable many viewers to watch 4K / 8K programs on commercially available television sets by the time the 2020 Tokyo Games are held (Figure 4-4-1-2).

Exe

cutiv

e C

omm

ittee

Con

fere

nce

on th

e A

dvan

cem

ent o

f IC

T ut

iliza

tion

for t

he w

hole

soc

iety

tow

ards

202

0

Report

Free Public Wireless LAN Maintenance Advancement Council

Fifth Generation Mobile Communications Advancement Forum (5GMF)

Follow-up Meeting on 4K/8K Roadmap

Next Generation Television & Broadcasting Advancement Forum (NexTV-F)

Study Group on Public Transport Open Data

Vitalizing Local Economy Organization by Open Data & Big Data (VLED)

Collaboration/Cooperation

Report


Sport & ICT Working Group

Advancement of free WLAN, public relations, simplification and unification of use start procedures)

Global Communications Development Advancement Council

Broadcast Program Export Association of Japan (BEAJ)

Advancement of R&D, international collaboration/standardization of 5G, and practical use in 2020

Advancement of R&D and demonstrations for multilingual speech translation technology and implementation for actual system with 10 languages

Advancement of an overseas expansion of broadcast content

Achievement and expansion of application range of 4K/8K practical broadcasting

Clarification of utilization and application strategies of ICT in the field of sports

Construction of environment to use open data and achievement of one-stop public information provision services

Digital Signage ConsortiumDigital Signage Working Group


Report Enhancement of digital signage function (ensuring the interoperability) and diffusion

Information Security Advisory BoardRealization of the world’s most secure cyberspace

Actualization of high-level video delivery services

Advancement of Sophistication of Social/Community Services

Sophistication of Social/Community Services Working GroupReport








Figure 4-4-1-1 Organizational structure of the Conference

Sate

llite

Cable TV

IPTV, etc.

4K practicalbroadcasts

(124/128 degree CS)


(124/128 degree CS)

4K Trialbroadcasts

4K VODtrial

4K Trialbroadcasts

4K VOD service



4K/8K Trialbroadcasts

(after ending satellitesafety net)

4K/8K Practicalbroadcasts

(as early as possible)

Experimental efforts toward 8K

Experimental efforts toward 8K

2014 2015 2016 2018 2020

<Vision>

-Many relays of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are being broadcast on 4K/8K.

-The sensation of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics is being shared not only in the arena but also with a nationwide audience thanks to public viewing across the nation.

-As a result of the introduction of 4K/8K, many viewers are enjoying 4K/8K broadcast programs on commercially available TV sets.

Move up a year

4K Trialbroadcasts

(124/128 degree CS)

CSBS

※The portion in red letters shows newly added items in the interim report of September 2014.

Figure 4-4-1-2 New 4K / 8K promotion roadmap

(Source) Prepared based on the “Interim Report of the Follow-up Meetings on the 4K / 8K Roadmap” (September 2014)

28

Part 2

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