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Takashi KitaokaPresidentReal World Computing Partnership(RWCP) |
At the last general meeting held on May 31, 1995, Mr. Tadahiro Sekimoto (Chairman of the Board, NEC Corporation) completed his term and I was appointed his successor.
Since the founding of RWCP (July 1992), Mr. Sekimoto, as the first President of RWCP, put enormous effort into such projects as the establishment of the Tsukuba Research Center, the distributed laboratories, and implementation of RWCP's basic principles. As his successor, I would like to follow his lead and continue those projects.
I would like to ask not just RWCP members but also those related personnel in the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and related agencies for the same support in my continuing efforts to promote the RWCP Program.
In today's continuing strong yen environment, Japan continues to struggle with a weak economy. And yet because of us proposals for a worldwide information infrastructure and from a global point of view, investment in information technology seems to be steadily on the rise. In fact, personal computer sales have been sharply increasing, thus stimulating both the development of the information and communication business and employment.
In spite of this numerical growth, however, the information revolution as a more extension of conventional technologies has little future. The RWCP Program, in the long run, is a very important endeavor, providing a world with information technology breakthrough from Japan. The purpose of the RWC Program is to develop a new information technology paradigm. The RWC project's goal for the 21st century is "Establishing a Flexible Inforrnation Processing System." Implementing this goal requires research and development of theory and novel functions, massively parallel systems, and optical computing systems. These are, from a global point of view, the leading edge technologies that must be improved and developed.
The goals must be high but the research and development of these technologies should not be only research and development. The results of such research and development must be used worldwide and contribute to human advancement. For this purpose, it is also important to promote spread of the results.
It has been three years since RWCP was established in July 1992. The RWC Program has just completed its founding period (1992 - 1995) and has now shifted to full-blown research and development. It is critical for members and others involved to understand the goals and current status of RWC research and development and support the projects being undertaken.
Thank you.
Takashi Kitaoka President, RWCP