Akira Amari "Inventions of Japan for both smartphones and 3D printers" # Fact Check (Asahi Shimbun Digital) --Yahoo! News
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[Remarks by Akira Amari, Secretary General of the Liberal Democratic Party (at that time)]
Akira Amari's fact check, the result is
"The smartphones, 3D printers, and quantum computers that are sweeping the world are all Japanese inventions." (NHK "Sunday Debate" on October 17, 2021) [Table] Criteria for fact checking
[Judgment] Smartphone "Judgment reservation"
Let's take a look at the products and technologies that Mr. Amari talked about as "Japanese inventions." First of all, from a smartphone (smartphone). Amari said that "the smartphone that is sweeping the world" is a Japanese invention. Immediately after this remark, there was an opinion on the Internet that questioned "Isn't it wrong?" According to Yuichi Kogure, a mobile researcher and associate professor at Aomori Public University, there are three ways to trace the sources of smartphones that are currently used on a daily basis in the world. One is a portable information terminal for individuals. Called a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), it was like a high-performance electronic organizer. Communication and telephone functions were added to that. The other is the evolution of pagers, which have enhanced screens and keyboards, and made it possible to make calls. In addition, there are some that have evolved from mobile phones and can now be connected to the Internet. On top of that, regarding the requirements for smartphones, in addition to being connected to the Internet, users can freely add apps and operate with a touch panel. Mr. Kogure says that these conditions will be met after the "iPhone" released by Apple in 2007. Regarding Mr. Amari's remarks in this program, it seems that it can be said that the evidence is unknown because there is no evidence or evidence or it is very scarce. However, in subsequent election speeches, Amari mentions "i-mode," which NTT DoCoMo launched in 1999, as the basis for this statement. "We were the first in the world to connect mobile phones to the Internet. This is a revolution. The full spec version is just a smartphone," he said. Regarding this statement, NTT DoCoMo's public relations department admitted to the Asahi Shimbun that "i-mode is the world's first Internet connection service using mobile phone terminals." However, regarding whether i-mode is an invention that leads to the current smartphone, he answered, "I am not in a position to answer because it is not the development side of the smartphone platform (operation platform)." Takeshi Natsuno, president of KADOKAWA, one of the central figures who developed i-mode at DoCoMo, said that the technical origin of smartphones is i-mode. He says he is "not wrong" about Amari's remarks. Professor Jun Murai of Keio University, who is familiar with information networks, pointed out that "generally, the origin of smartphones today is the iPhone, but before that, there are intermediate terminals such as blackberries." "If you call it a smartphone, including these things, (Amari's remarks) are totally correct," he said. On the other hand, Yasuhiro Yamane, a researcher living in Hong Kong who has written books such as "The day when the iPhone will land in Japan," says, "The market view of the industry is that smartphones are after the iPhone." Regarding Mr. Amari's remarks, "i-mode technology has attracted attention and may have stimulated the birth of the iPhone, but it cannot be said that it directly led to the invention of the current smartphone." .. Mr. Amari's remark that "smartphones are an invention of Japan" is said to be "reservation of judgment" because experts have different views on the requirements of smartphones and it is difficult to prove the authenticity.
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Last updated: Asahi Shimbun Digital
