The Era of Digitalization in Japan and Indonesia: The Third Perspective – Bangladesh

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The Era of Digitalization in Japan and Indonesia: The Third Perspective – Bangladesh

Author Details

Abdullah Al Mamun

Professor, Department of Japanese Studies,

Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh

E-mail: mamun.djs@du.ac.bd

Indra Sasanti

Vice Chairman, The Indonesian Association for Japanese Studies (ASJI), Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia.

E-Mail: indrasasanti1955@gmail.com

 

Abstract

This paper is a comparative analysis of the transformative effect of digitalization in Japan, Indonesia, and Bangladesh. In the long run, Japan has been working toward an IT-oriented society. Following the 4IR, they hope to achieve a more advanced Society 5.0, with intensive applications of digital technologies, including IoT, AI, and robotics, across industries, especially manufacturing, to minimize human involvement and enhance the quality of production and society. Indonesia, on the other hand, is experiencing fast infrastructure-based growth. Digital inclusion and collaboration between the government and society are priorities for Indonesia to achieve sustainable growth and create an inclusive economy. To create this, they are quickly moving to focus on the digital economy. In Bangladesh, on its part, the Digital Bangladesh path has shown exponential growth in ICT infrastructure, mobile and internet penetration, the creation of e-government platforms, and high-tech exports. Using a desk review approach this qualitative research suggests that the human-oriented society model, industry-government-academia partnership, and extensive digital literacy of Japan can be adopted by Bangladesh for its overall growth and development. In addition, digital inclusion and public-private partnerships are the right routes for Bangladesh to learn from to achieve sustainable economic transformation, as is the case in Indonesia. This addresses the possibilities of adaptive learning in policy and regional collaboration to pioneer sustainable, inclusive, and innovative digital transformation in the rising economies.

Keywords: Digitalization, Society 5.0, Japan, Indonesia, Bangladesh.