ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on information and communication technologies (ICTs) and industries are on developments that are still in the present and to some extent in the future. The technological revolution launched by ICTs, and the shift away from manufacturing industries. Also prominent is a belief in ICTs as the engine of today's world economy. Still, Japanese ICT industries with a few exceptions sprang up independently of pre-war companies. Because of World War II, Japan had to start from behind, importing technology from abroad. Some of the most important breakthroughs in ICTs came about through US government funding, through universities or private R&D laboratories benefiting from basic research and government funding of privately conducted R&D. The differences between the US and the Japanese education systems fall very much in line with how the countries have performed with respect to ICTs.
