Future of Crypto Currency and boom in Ethereum Mining - 2018 Latest_Crypto_Currency_Magazine___Future_of_Bitcoi | Page 13

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JAPAN:
LOOKS TO THE FUTURE
Japanese Companies Ideally Positioned to Power a B2C Revival in 2018.
Japanese companies face a unique and envy-
inducing opportunity in 2018. Those that are
prepared to take on more risk in the markets
while channeling fund stockpiles towards
workers have the chance to kick-start the
business-to-consumer (B2C) sector, after
years of relying on exports and the busi-
ness-to-business (B2B) market. At the same
time, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics
are playing an increasingly important role
in the workplace, and companies with the
foresight to adapt to unfolding technologi-
cal developments will be in the driving seat
when it comes to cheaper unit-per-cost
manufacturing.
Japanese companies have built up in-
house fund stockpiles to levels now esti-
mated to outstrip gross domestic product
(GDP) by as much as a multiple of three.
Those funds have been progressively squir-
reled away since the global financial crisis,
mirroring moves by risk-averse individuals
to remove funds from the markets and keep
them in low-interest bank accounts.
Fresh Incentives
But Japan now stands at a crossroads. The
risk-off stance of both companies and indi-
viduals will be difficult to maintain amid a
shrinking labor market, which has also seen a
depletion of experience and talent as skilled
labor retires without immediate replacement.
Japanese companies that empower
younger workers with greater upfront returns,
in terms of higher wages, can help fuel a self-
perpetuating consumer boom.
This move would entail companies shifting
away from the longstanding export and B2B-
driven economic model that has sustained
Japan for decades, and reinventing them-
selves in a domestic-demand-driven B2C
market. The ensuing multiplier effect would
not only underpin statistics such as GDP but
also boost loan demand and drive interest
rates out of the deflationary zone.
Rise of the Robots
AI and robotics will also play a greater and
more influential role going forward. Gone
is the idea of robots as slave machines in
1
Japan
AI -equipped robots such as Pepper (above) will have a huge role
to play in driving growth over the next decade.
production plants. CEOs interviewed for
this special edition agree that robots of the
future will be more intelligent, more adapt-
able, and eventually able to anticipate human
needs more rapidly and more selectively than
humans can.
Companies that develop and harness the
effective use of such robots will be at the cut-
ting edge of manufacturing by the end of the
first quarter of the 21st century, particularly
as they take in more young workers imbued
with the values of the new millennium.
Industry leaders will be those that not
only effectively utilize AI and robotic power
but also prepare their staff for the emerging
realities of this new world. Companies that
develop managers and skilled labor capable
of using robots as their servants, and not as
their workplace masters, will also avoid the
possible polarization in the workplace, where
low-end labor may be forced to compete
with robots for jobs.
2018 marks 10 years since the onset of the
global financial crisis. Japanese companies
have put this decade to good use, rebuild-
ing balance sheets, creating new overseas
markets, and replacing obsolete plants
and equipment. It is now time to reopen
the floodgates and power the potential of
domestic growth.