71st MUMEI-JUKU(19/12/2024)

Theme: NTT DATA’s Global Strategy

Guest Speaker: Mr. Yutaka Sasaki (Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer, NTT DATA)

◆Opening Remarks by Dr. Takeda◆

This will be the 71st meeting. I have decided to take this opportunity to invite also young college students to participate as audience members. For the future of Japan, I would like the younger generation to grow up well and to become globally active human resources. Today’s lecturer was Mr. Yutaka Sasaki, president of NTT Data Corporation and NTT Data Group. He will be speaking on the very important topic of “how Japan can develop in relation to the rest of the world. Yesterday, at a meeting, a senior official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it is time for Japan to rethink the basics of diplomacy. I think he is absolutely right. We need to reassess our position on the basics of how Japan can grow in the world in the future. This is not simply a question of how Japan can catch up in the IT field, but rather a confirmation of the fundamentals of what Japan and the Japanese people are capable of, and how we used to be active in the world. Based on the above, we need to consider what strategies Japan should develop as digital, IT, ChatGPT, QIS (Quantum Information Science), etc. develop rapidly in the future.

As one example, AI requires a great deal of energy, and data centers are important for the development of AI. As far as I know, NTT DATA Group is already developing its data center business with a global perspective, starting with the United States. I would like President Sasaki to talk about how NTT DATA Group is leading the group not only in data centers, but also in the global market with a new vision as “aiming for the next era”. He will also talk about “global strategy” which Japanese companies and us have not been much aware of so far.

◆Comments after the lecture By Dr. Takeda◆

I think it is a definite fact that the times are changing drastically. In this context, I feel that there is a possibility that President-elect Trump will be historically recognized as a great president. The cabinet appointments for Trump’s second term administration that he has nominated show that he has thought things through. Also, Kellyanne Conway, the Republican campaign manager for the 2016 presidential election, described Trump as “a complex man with a simple mind,” and it is certainly possible that he is thinking through what he says, although it appears simple. In fact, there are a growing number of people in the U.S. who hold him in high regard. A group of so-called superstars in the digital field has also formed around him, including J.D. Vance, who will become vice president, Elon Musk, and Silicon Valley entrepreneur Peter Thiel. It remains to be seen what they will bring to the table.

In the U.S., in particular, many are questioning our belief in globalization and trade liberalization. The trends of mercantilism, protectionism, and unilateralism that we have rejected are becoming stronger, and it is time for Japan to reconsider how it will respond to these trends.