Digital divide in Japan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The digital divide in Japan refers to inequalities between individuals, households, and other groups of different demographic and socioeconomic levels in Japan in access to information and communication technologies ("ICTs") and in the knowledge and skills needed to effectively use the information gained from connecting.[1][2][3][4]
The digital divide in Japan is the disparity of access to the Internet by the population of Japan. Multiple factors influence this divide. Cultural aspects of Japanese people contribute to the digital divide in the nation. Contributing cultural factors to the digital divide present in Japan are closing over time. Groups shown to be improving access include women and the elderly.[5] 97.1% of the households in Japan have Internet access at home while 81% of the households in Japan have personal computers.
The 2015 population census of Japan was released.[6] There are about 16 million people under 15 years of age, which is 12.6% of the total population. There are 76 million people aged 15–64 years of age, which is 60.7% of the total population, and there are 3.3 million people who are 65 years of age or older, which is 26.6% of the total population.
According to the Japanese Statistics Bureau, MPHPA, and World Internet Project Japan, in 2001, 44% of the population was online, and 41% of that group were females. Additionally, figures point to declining disparity among internet access in various socioeconomic classes and gender. Additionally, figures show that younger Japanese individuals use the internet as compared to older Japanese individuals. All gaps are shown to be narrowing.[7] A study produced at the University of Buffalo shows that the Japanese consider advanced ICTs a common commodity, not as necessary for advancement.[8]
The Philippine Information Literacy website, which had an article based on a forum hosted by ASEAN and Japan about media and information literacy, held a two-day event that discussed “how the youth should cope with the rapidly growing world online—particularly the rise of social media—and how they could protect themselves from its hazards.” It also informed the audience about the advantages of technology and how telecommunications has taken over.