Professor Hiroshi HARASHIMA coordinated panel discussion B, with three panelists participating. The friendly discussions examined the casual themes of "creating," "walking," and "playing." Personal elements are performing an ever more important role in the new media, and broadcasting, too is being required to provide services that correspond to individual lifestyles. Broadcasting, as a popular part of contemporary culture, will have a greater need for mobility and new contents production tools that will assist in the dispatch of information to the public.

Coordinator Hiroshi HARASHIMA (Professor, University of Tokyo) Professor HARASHIMA is engaged in intellectual communication technology centering on video data structures, intellectual coding systems, "Kansei" communication processing, and space sharing communication technology, as well as other unique activities at Japan Academy of Facial Studies. Panelists Tsuyoshi TAKASHIRO (Hyper Media Creator) Mr. TAKASHIRO directs video clips. He has won various awards, including the Ministry of International Trade and Industry MMCA President Award, and held important posts such as special member of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications' Telecommunications Council. Mari MATSUNAGA (Former Director, NTT DoCoMo Planning Department) Ms. MATSUNAGA established the Mari Matsunaga Office in April. After working as editor in chief of the employment information magazines "Shushoku Journal" and "Toraba-yu," Ms. MATSUNAGA hit a homerun with her development of "i-mode" as the Director of the NTT DoCoMo Planning Department. Masaki HAYASHI (Senior Research Engineer, Multimedia Services Division, NHK Science & Technical Research Laboratories) Dr. HAYASHI researches contents production technology such as the virtual studio and TVML (TV Program Making Language).

In terms of contents, TV programs can be divided into two categories; the first delivers news of what is happening, while the second contains a more laissez-faire type of content.
In the world of the web or the Internet, the latter laissez-faire kind of content has become very popular, because anybody can create it, making it possible for them to become an information dispatcher. To realize the same situation in the world of television, TVML (TV Program Making Language), a television version of HTML, has been developed. This language produces a real-time TV program based on a text-format manuscript, produced on a word processor-like device. It makes it possible to enter the information into a computer.
The broadcasting field in the 21st century will accept the participation of anyone in the dispatch of information as a member of the popular culture. I feel that research can now be shifted from the emphasis on signal processing to the questions of how to deal with the content itself; how to convert, process, and produce it.

HARASHIMA: Program production as a part of the popular culture means that, with the help of tools, the possibility will exist for amateurs to reveal their abilities in this area.
HAYASHI: That is correct. Just as some people are already reediting other people's HTML pages and making them their own, related abilities and creative sense will be refined in a sort of lawless zone by people doing the same with TV programs, through the use of TVML.
MATSUNAGA: This will lead to the development of editing ability and also people having fun with editing.
TAKASHIRO: Since the volume of content is increasing year by year, one question that this raises would be that in everybody's busy lives, who would have the time to look at the kind of information that anybody could create?
HARASHIMA: This can be seen within groups of friends; that kind of information is the most fun.
TAKASHIRO: People in Japan are not used to creating contents or delivering them to others. We should give people about 10 years to get accustomed to such a new medium.

Even though the human being is an animal that generally wants to move around, technological devices usually require the human being to approach them from the front. However, we are finally entering an era in which technology can follow us while we are moving around. When I was working on i-mode, I based its concept on "my concierge." I felt that it would be nice if we could put that concierge service into our pocket and walk around. It is my hope that any new ideas we have will make life in the future richer and more convenient.

HARASHIMA: In the video we saw, I enjoyed the scenes of the mobile conference, and the sitting on a bench reading an electronic magazine. I think that the acquisition of style and fashion will become important for future technologies as well.
TAKASHIRO: I don't think that we can secure the kind of communication system that was seen in the video in the next 10 years. I have the feeling that the time range will put it closer to 2017 or 2018.
HAYASHI: I regarded the conquering of physical mass (of the mobile terminal) to be about a 100-year project.
TAKASHIRO: Digitization may advance without restriction, but the basic camera lens and needs of illumination will not change.
MATSUNAGA: It isn't necessary to deliver contents in full-color all of the time; the latest information can be dispatched in a single line of text.
HARASHIMA: Even a face does not have to be seen in its natural color. An illustration is often good enough. The most important issue for a mobile terminal is fashion.
MATSUNAGA: A key point for a cellular phone is to make it in a size that fits in your hand; people feel a sense of affection for things that can be held in the hand. A small thing is adorable. It should be charming.

The major directions in which contents development have recently been moving will be reflected in the media over the next ten years, with more and more content focusing on individuals. The first problem seen in Japan, in comparison with the United States, is a lack in terms of personal viewpoints and individual values. Instead, people are more likely to hold common, uniform values; in other words, everybody wants the same thing.
The second problem is what I call "AB." A is for content and B hardware. The arrow can point both ways. This interaction, in the direction of A to B, or mutual in some ways, will be very important. Although both A and B are already digital, the arrow has not yet been digitized. One example of this is terrestrial broadcasting, where the arrow can represent networks, a way of thinking, the distribution system, or software portals. This area is presently the least advanced, and this is where we have to give the most thought. It is neither software nor hardware.

HARASHIMA: The precariousness of the arrow, not being sure how things will turn out, depending on the combination, seems important.
TAKASHIRO: This is the zone of excitement or entertainment. Basically "playing" belongs there. It can be thought of as the extent that you can be excited or amused.
MATSUNAGA: It seems important that contents be summarized like the headlines of newspapers.
HAYASHI: Much content could die through such summarization or fast forwarding.
MATSUNAGA: I think that contents will be separated into some that have meaning after watching for 10 minutes, and others that contain concentrated information. Combining the various media should enhance convenience for users.
TAKASHIRO: The same as in the United States, the number of people who simultaneously do multiple tasks, perhaps working while chatting on the web and watching TV, will increase.
HAYASHI: The expressions, the Japanese way or the Asian way, carry the image of a sort of chaotic and exotic world. Trying to be American will not do for the Japanese people, even after 10 years.
TAKASHIRO: We have to create a lifestyle in a Japanese way and flavor. As for the future of Japanese television, I think that TV itself will need to be mobile, fitting into a Japanese-style digital culture.

HARASHIMA: We can add more and more possessions to our property, but there is nothing we can do to increase the hours in a day. Broadcasting, in a wide sense, needs to place emphasis on how to support each person's 24-hour lifestyle. When good systems can be constructed, individual lifestyles will become more significant.
MATSUNAGA: A desirable image is that of making things easy and comfortable. Media can perform all kinds of functions, but we can prioritize the comfort that we feel in selecting each medium.
HAYASHI: No long-cultivated culture can be eradicated easily. It is important to maintain things which are deep-rooted in Japanese culture and which bring a sense of comfort and relaxation, not allowing it to be Americanized.
TAKASHIRO: I think that we should continue proceeding in the direction we are heading. In order to seriously discuss the issues, such as how the media should be in Japan, or the way technology in Japan should advance, the best way is to consider things like, "what Japan stands for," from the viewpoint of daily life.
HARASHIMA: The future agenda includes how engineers will interpret what was discussed here in order to make it their own and use it to promote studies. In that case, it is important to think about the future, the year 2010 and beyond, and then come back to the present to decide what should be done now instead of considering the mere extension of present technologies. We will look forward to hearing the research themes that the Science & Technical Research Laboratories will offer to the public in the future.