Government
Japan Seeks U.S. Net Dominance
A blue-ribbon panel that wants Japan to overtake the United States as a high-speed information technology giant by 2005 approved on Wednesday the outline of a bill aimed at achieving that ambitious target.
And in an effort to boost computer literacy, politicians said they were considering an "IT voucher" scheme under which, according to media reports, those aged 20 or over would be eligible for vouchers worth about 6,000
yen ($55.93) to help defray the cost of courses in how to use PCs and the Internet.
"In the new Internet age, not being able to use a computer is like not being able to read and write," said Economic Planning Agency (EPA) chief Taichi Sakaiya, a keen proponent of the plan.
Officials will flesh out the details of their high-tech bill by next month so that the government can present the legislation to a session of parliament that begins on Thursday.
The panel late last month urged the government to take steps -- including laying a high-speed fiber optic network needed to promote the spread of the Internet -- needed to surpass the United States as an Internet powerhouse in five years.