Japan’s new era of education and artificial intelligence

Preparing for the future of algorithms, big data, and sensors

Erik P.M. Vermeulen, PhD
5 min readApr 7, 2019

Reiwa: Japan’s new Imperial era

I will be teaching in Japan next week. It’s always an amazing trip. I learn a lot from teaching in other parts of the world and this year is particularly exciting to visit, as Japan recently announced the name of the new Imperial era. Reiwa was the chosen name.

Although the experts on Japanese language and culture have difficulties to agree on the exact meaning of Reiwa, the Japanese government translated the name as “beautiful harmony” last week. It follows the Showa (1926–1989) and Heisei (1989–2019) periods. Japan’s industrial policies and growth characterized these two eras.

The Reiwa era will start on May 1, 2019. And the question is whether it will consolidate/restore Japan’s reputation as a technology pioneer in the fields of robotics, automation, and artificial intelligence.

I go to Japan several times a year to teach and speak at conferences. And I have always been impressed by the technological developments. I have witnessed first-hand the automation of production processes and the deployment of robots at airports and in stores.

But the last couple of years have been disappointing. Things don’t seem to be moving as quickly and the…

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Erik P.M. Vermeulen, PhD
Erik P.M. Vermeulen, PhD

Written by Erik P.M. Vermeulen, PhD

Where Gen X memories meet today’s struggles.

Responses (1)

What are your thoughts?

Well written as always Erik, curious to hear your thoughts on what ‘type’ of education and learning on algorithms would be most useful particularly to adults?