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  In recent years,the structure of employment is changing,and business competition and other economic situations are also becoming diversified and changing structurally due to the advancement of industrialization abroad.These changes have in turn led to a decrease in the percentage of domestic gross production taken up by manufacturing industries.This situation,combined with the difficulty of ensuring that fundamental technologies for manufacturing are passed on to the future,is a cause for increasing concern in Japan.

  In order for Japan to respond to this situation,and to ensure healthy growth in the future through the advancement of manufacturing industries which represent key industries for the national economy of Japan,it is critical to nurture a societal sentiment that holds a high regard for capabilities related to fundamental technologies for manufacturing,and to actively promote fundamental technologies for manufacturing.

  For this reason,the national government adopted the Manufacturing Fundamental Technology Pro-motion Basic Plan in September2000,in accordance with the Basic Law to Promote Fundamental Technologies for Manufacturing enacted in March1999.Based on this plan,the national government is comprehensively and strategically promoting measures related to the promotion of fundamental technologies for manufacturing.

  Since manufacturing is implemented through human efforts,actions have been taken such as expanding education for manufacturing,and promoting lifelong learning for manufacturing,in order to foster and secure personnel engaged in manufacturing.

  At the primary and secondary education levels,the Program to Promote and Assist Manufacturing Learning has been implemented since FY2000,which includes initiatives such as the creation of a database of"Manufacturing Study Instructors"who aim to promote study related to manufacturing,and the implementation of workshops for these Manufacturing Study Instructors.In addition,efforts are being undertaken such as the promotion of intern-ships,and the provision of experimentation and training equipment for industrial education at lower and upper secondary schools.

  At the higher education level,a number of initiatives were implemented,including:(1)the upgrading of experimentation and training equipment in science and engineering departments;(2)the promotion of internships at production sites,etc.;(3)the promotion of practical education in engineering departments,mainly related to manufacturing;and(4)the development of the Creative Education Program for nurturing creativity in students,and of the University-Industry Joint Education Program for fostering practically oriented human resources.In addition,the FY2002 supplementary budget included funding for development of"Regional Joint Techno Centers"to contribute to the advancement of manufacturing technologies in local industries,through the use of joint research and re-education of engineers,etc.

  At specialized training colleges,pioneering education programs were developed in cooperation with industry to foster advanced vocational skills in response to social needs.

  At the regional level,seminars were implement-ed with the aim of popularizing the internship system,a system in which students use their summer vacations to gain working experience at business enterprises,and internship businesses,which do such things as open up enterprises that accept interns and the schools that will dispatch them and match students with enterprises.It has become increasingly difficult to secure the skilled technicians who have played a critical role in the economic development of Japan in various fields of industry,and to foster successors to skilled technicians.This situation has arisen due to factors such as the lost interest in manufacturing occurring primarily in the younger generation,the shortage of successors for skilled technicians due to aging,the shift to overseas production bases,and decreasing opportunities for participation in skilled activities,as a result of mechanization and automation.

  One of the factors contributing this situation is the lack of opportunities for the younger generation to understand the joy and wonder of manufacturing,as a result of factors such as a lack of experience in manufacturing,and a lack of opportunities to observe manufacturing sites.

  To promote research and studies concerning the implementation of effective measures for hands-on education and learning that instills the joy and wonder of manufacturing in the young people who will bear responsibility for the next generation,the Ministry of Education,Culture,Sports,Science,and Technology and the Ministry of Health,Labor,and Welfare joined forces to convene the"Conference on Education and Study for Manufacturing"in FY1999 and FY2000.The Roundtable studied how people experienced in manufacturing skills and techniques should be utilized for education and learning,and published the results in"On the Utilization of Skilled Workers in Education and Learning about Manufacturing for Young People."

  Based on this report,the Ministry of Health,Labor and Welfare implemented education and learning projects utilizing experienced technicians to teach youths how to build things.Information about the materials and curriculums used in the education and learning project were provided over the Internet.Examples from FY2002 projects include the following items made by elementary and junior high school students:bird nests,book-cases,hardwood tables,and small stands for flower vases made by children in Hokkaido;bookends,small stands for flower vases,wooden chairs,and wooden puzzles made by children in Iwate Prefecture;container gardens,plaster work,and small tatami mats(Japanese rush matting)made by children in Chiba Prefecture;engraved seals,computers,and pendants made by children in Tokyo;book stands made by children in Mie Prefecture;planter boxes and dream mirrors made by children in Nara Prefecture;book stands,folding chairs,and transistor radios made by children in Hiroshima Prefecture;flowerpot stands made by children in Kagawa Prefecture;yukata(summer kimono),racks,and pen-stands made by children in Kumamoto Prefecture;and copperplate craftwork,bamboo craftwork,and Japanese sweets made by children in Oita Prefecture.

  In these six prefectures,skilled workers from the local area were invited into a total of eight middle schools to give instruction in the crafting of bench tables,brass reliefs,wooden puzzles,stippling,antique mirrors,seat cushions,and tile mosaics,etc.In addition,advanced skilled workers from the local area went into a total of eight high schools in these same prefectures to give official classes for screw thread-cutting,machining hexagonal surfaces,processing and welding of metal plates,metal molding,and arc welding.Responding to questionnaires handed out after the classes,nearly90%of middle school and high school students said they felt"a strong interest in manufacturing"and felt"a sense of achievement,"revealing the high degree of satisfaction they had with the activity.

  In addition,weekend and holiday programs planned for children of elementary and lower secondary school age offer instruction in making bird boxes,folding chairs,copper engravings,and sliding bookshelves,etc.,making use of many subjects for hands-on experience in manufacturing.

  In order to allow Japan's manufacturing industries,which represent the foundation of the national economy,to maintain and strengthen their competitiveness by means of information technologies,it was decided to establish techniques to scientifically analyze and digitize the skills,know-how,experience and other aspects of skilled individuals,as well as to develop an information system that includes software and databases to utilize the resulting digital data.

  The Ministry of Education,Culture,Sports,Science and Technology has been utilizing RIKEN to implement research and development for the creation of an integrated Volume-CAD system using advanced IT.This system will contribute to the upgrading and improved efficiency of new technology at manufacturing sites,and aims to lead a revolution in the information technology of Japan,in the context of serving as a common foundation for a broad range of technology systems.Taking as a foundation the new ideas for technology to utilize volume-data88),a system is being developed based on the novel concept that various simulation technologies for manufacturing,product measurement and evaluation technology(CAT:computer aided testing),and machining technology(CAM:computer aided manufacturing)can be handled in a completely unified form.The"Digital Master Project"is based on the recognition of the need to objectify the skills of experienced technicians,who are the source of competitiveness,and replace them with reproducible technologies,to the greatest extent possible,in order to maintain and strengthen the competitiveness of Japan's manufacturing industry.The Ministry of Economy,Trade and Industry is implementing the"Digital Master Project"to develop methods for taking the skills,know-how,and experience of skilled technicians at design and manufacturing sites-which exists as"implicit knowledge"-and turning them into"formatted knowledge"through scientific analysis,using IT to then create software and databases of this knowledge.

  Furthermore,to promote the integration of manufacturing and IT at small and medium-scale enterprises,3D CAD/CAM facilities introduced to prefectural public research institutions,were used in FY2000 for training people at small and medium-size enterprises in the use of CAD/CAM,continuing from the previous year.

  The Ministry of Economy,Trade and Industry has taken three measures to accrue manufacturing-related information.These measures include establishing links through the cooperation of universities,the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology(AIST),and other organizations,with public research institutes at the regional level playing the central role,as well as building up a database that assembles technology information on successful cases of manufacturing and cases of technology consultations for public research institutes.This database,known as the Techno-Knowledge Network,was made available over the Internet in order to provide precise and efficient technology support for small and medium-scale corporations.

  In addition,to support the design of innovative products from the vantage point of the elderly,development of a system that automatically calculates the dimensions of the human body from three-dimensional measurements of the shape of the body has begun,and the speeding up,simplification,and cost-reduction of dimensional measurement is being promoted.