The Japanese government said it has compiled a strategy aimed at making Japan the world's most advanced IT nation within five years.

The plan, called the "E-Japan Priority Policy Program", consists of more than 200 government actions, categorized into five functional policy areas and four cross-cutting issues, each of which has a concrete time line and target, the government said in an official statement from the Information Technology Policy Office. The program is calculated to establish an environment in which the private sector can exert its full potential, the statement said. The authorities outlined a time-line which calls for the introduction of asymmetrical regulations and an incentive-based competition policy, the establishment of a "Telecom Conflict Resolution Committee," strengthening functions of the FTC by drafting guidelines under the Antimonopoly Act, the establishment of a system to encourage the use of existing optical fibers and network-related resources such as poles and conduits, expanding the radio frequency spectrum for high-speed wireless access, all within the current year. Also slated for 2001 is promotion of education and development of human resources, Internet access from all public schools, familiarization of all public school teachers with PCs, IT basic skill lessons for 5.5 million adults, and more flexibility in university curriculum. This year will also see the preparation of a legal basis on electronic contracts, contracts on information properties and ISPs' responsibilities. In 2002, the plan calls for digitized government and standardized cryptographic technologies. By 2003, the government said it hopes to deliver all laws and white papers via the Web and prepare online systems for substantially all the procedures of application and reporting. The statement also said that government officials will cooperate with the Council for Science and Technology Policy for the promotion of R&D, improve the digital divide due to geographical, age, physical constraints, and contribute to the international standardization of rules and specifications, and the dissolution of the global digital divide.