The 1999 report to the Japanese Prime Minister by the Economic Strategy Council strongly recommended the improvement of Japan's Internet environment by promoting drastic deregulation in the telecommunications industry to promote active competition and by making efforts to reduce the construction cost of fiber optic networks to establish an information superhighway running across Japan. Several government ministries are taking steps to improve the Internet environment for Japanese citizens. This section of the essay briefly discusses example efforts by the Ministry of Education and by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.

The Ministry of Education (1998) plans to connect all junior high and high schools to the Internet by 2001 and all elementary schools by 2003. The Ministry is working to train all school personnel in Internet use and to enhance educational content. Japanese teachers report that the use of the Internet in the classroom has produced several benefits in the education of children (Japan Information Network 1997). Some students who previously hated to study English put more effort into learning the language once they went on the Internet. When teachers brought up topics in class, students many times took the initiative to research them online. The Internet broadened the horizons of the students and allowed them to communicate with people they ordinarily would not meet in the school's "closed society" that existed prior to the Internet. The Ministry of Education (1997) believes the Internet will give students a better international understanding and knowledge, which has been a major goal of the Japanese government since the Nakasone administration in the mid 1980s.

The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (2000, 25-27, 35) also recognizes how the Internet changes personal interactions, especially for the disabled and the elderly. In a survey of ways that the lives of disabled people have improved since using the Internet, over 60 percent responded that they now have more hobbies and pastimes and they can more easily gather and send out information. Over 50 percent said they have wider social interaction since using the Internet. The Internet also provides the elderly, whose opportunities for social interactions may be limited, with an additional activity and gives them an opportunity to participate more in society if they with to do so. The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and the Ministry of Health and Welfare are jointly working toward the creation of an "information barrier-free environment," where all Japanese people, including the disabled and elderly, can take advantage of the Internet as a means of information and cultural exchange.

Conclusion

Since widespread Internet use is so recent and since mobile access to the Internet has only been available for a little more than a year, it is difficult to draw definitive conclusions on the effects of the Internet on social interactions in Japan. Although it is clear that the future of interpersonal relations will be dramatically changed by the new technology, it is unclear to what extent the Internet will replace face-to-face interactions. Nevertheless, the Internet clearly provides many advantages with its capabilities to easily obtain information and to communicate with others.

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