No.46   April 1, 2002   Proposals for a New Industrial Development Mechanism   Nobuaki TAKADA         In the face of the continuing sluggishness in Japan's economy, structural changes among Japanese industries are being directed towards four major themes: (1) accumulating and creating more value-added knowledge industries; (2) shifting to high-value-added manufacturing based on the international division of labor and implemented in close cooperation with Asian countries such as China; (3) fostering business support industries; and (4) creating a number of new businesses that are closely tailored to customer needs. These objectives would call for support measures to foster university-originated venture firms, the establishment of mechanisms to facilitate the international division of labor, and support measures aimed at developing small businesses that are different from the existing growth-oriented venture firms.     The realization of these reforms inevitably requires three paradigm changes in Japanese society. These changes include a shift to corporate management strategies that emphasize human resources, a shift to product innovation, and a shift to a new networking era that features a partnership involving the public and private sectors and NPOs. Contents I Reconfiguring the Industrial Structure 1 The Structure of Japanese Industries 2 The Need for Reconstructing Industrial Systems II Pursuing the Desired Industrial Structure 1 Knowledge Industry Group: Strong International Competitiveness 2 High-Added-Value Manufacturing Industries: Global Networking 3 Business Support Industries: Improving Efficiency 4 New Community Businesses: Incubating Businesses III Realizing Industrial Structure Reforms 1 Creating Knowledge Industry Groups 2 Creating High-Added-Value Manufacturing Industries 3 Creating Business Support Industries 4 Creating New Community Businesses IV Paradigm Changes for Promoting Industrial Structure Reforms 1 Corporate Management Strategies with Emphasis on Human Resources 2 Product Innovation Shifting from Process Innovation 3 Networking Era Begins Among the Public and Private Sectors and NPOs GO to PDF