2010 was the year of "environment" and "IT"
As a serious effort to discuss limited global resources and to put an end to global warming caused by CO2 and other greenhouse gases, the United Nations Global Life Conference (the 10th Conference of the Parties for Biological Diversity Convention - COP10) was held in Nagoya in October 2010. In the market, companies of all sorts, including manufacturers of consumer electronics, automobiles, and housing, introduced products that follow eco-points in rapid succession. In other, information related areas, 3D (three-dimensional) movies have been successful, and 3D televisions were released. The "eco-points"-effect pushed the sales of flat-screen TVs, and the past year was also the first year of multifunctional smart phones. 2010 was the year where various efforts centering on the abovementioned two keywords were made. In the future, the birth of a product proposed from the grand design originating from a unified field of consumer electronics, housings, and automobiles is expected, as it is represented by the "smart grid concept".

Changing times through technological development and design
In 1890, Toshiba was the first company in Japan to manufacture general incandescent light bulbs for household use, and within the past 120 years, the very same company ended the history of incandescent bulbs and switched to fluorescent light bulbs and then to light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs. The technological development that was concerned with the effect it had towards global warming saw the changing of an era. Regarding automobiles, the national new car sales result of 2010 shows that the majority of consumers moved from luxury sedans (1990) to cheap compact and hybrid cars (HV). Many automakers are developing plug-type hybrid cars that can be recharged with domestic power supply and cars with idle-shutdown systems that stop the engine while the car is in standstill. Electric cars can now also run longer due to the development of lithium-ion batteries, and companies are working proactively with an eco-development focus. It can be said that engaging proactively with the environment is a good chance to review design from the basics, as, for example, in this field, the platform (bodywork).


As far as the field of information technology is concerned, 31 years after Sony released the first Walkman as a cassette player in 1979, the history of cassette player sales in Japan has ended. The young generation welcomed the new style of "taking the music outside", and it soon spread widely and became a huge hit in the United States, in Japan and all over the world.

Furthermore, the first telephone service started in 1890 between Tokyo and Yokohama. Fixed phones spread widely during the post-war economic growth, and the number of contracts reached 63 million in 1997. Times have changed, and in 2010 (as of the end of November), the number of mobile phone contracts is 116 million, which means that almost every Japanese has a phone. Optical lines that allow a large amount of various types of data to be transferred rapidly through phones are also spreading widely. The American company Apple released the "iPhone" and the "iPad". Companies in Japan also introduced new models of multifunctional mobile devices, so-called "smart phones", in succession. It was the year when every company developed unique functions and started to compete in the field of user service. Terrestrial digital broadcasting will get up to speed in 2011, and the transfer of information going both ways will probably be more active. Furthermore, a new communication standard (LTE=Long Term Evolution) will start its domestic service in 2011, and movies will be transferred clearer and more vividly. Simultaneous translation and emergency support can be done in a short time period. One can look forward to the possibility of mobile devices to change daily life for the better.

Inheriting manufacturing techniques
This has nothing to do with manufacturing, but there is a plan to build a new commercial facility in Akasaka, Tokyo where the Prince Hotel now stands. The buildings of Kabuki-za in Ginza will also be demolished, and a new building will be completed in three years time and the theater will be reopened. Having been destroyed by fire twice before, the current building was reconstructed in 1951 and is a theater specialized on Kabuki, which represents Japan. One can look forward the performances on a new stage by new Kabuki actors, such as Somegoro Ichikawa, Shoroku Onoe, Ebizo Ichikawa, and Kantaro Nakamura. It is said to be a reconstruction due to the theater being dated, but the author would rather like to see the effort of increasing the fan base with their young sensibilities and the tradition of Kabuki than to do away with a historic building.

銘板と定礎




Japan, lacking in natural resources, has come this far with technologies with added values that improve manufacturing efficiency by using new ideas and also by producing products with high-grade added values through new ideas and designs. However, this concept is threatened by remarkable industrial developments of emerging countries. The number of baby boomers born in the first baby boom between 1947 and 1952 is approximately 11 million, and the majority of them has passed retirement age. Especially in the area of manufacturing, the passing on of traditional techniques is called for, and this is reflected by the encouraging fact that large enterprises are making efforts to acquire such techniques (training institutes) and that small to medium-sized enterprises are pursuing their own unique product development and are exploring a new ways out of this situation. For the product selection of the Design Museum Selection Vol.12, products that make use of craftsmanship and unique production technology were chosen.

2010 Events Impacting Daily Life