Recent news about Y2k and business in Japan--

http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/AC/FEAT/y2k/

This little article seems significant: Govt To Help Smaller Companies Fix Y2K Bug: Obuchi; looks like they're starting to panic just a little.

-- Max Dixon (Ogden, Utah USA) (Max.Dixon@gte.net), January 22, 1999

Answers

A friend who does business (imports) with Japan tells me they date a lot of stuff as current 'year of the emperor'. So when Hirohito was no longer emperor - they had to do a lot of date changing on their systems - and fixed a lot of Y2K bugs in the parts that use the Western calendar at that time. Just where they are is very hard to evaluate. I have to admit I don't know - no hard evidence one way or the other - but suspect they are better off than we assume.

-- Paul Davis (davisp1953@yahoo.com), January 22, 1999.

http://www.boj.or.jp/en/seisaku/seisaku.htm#03 - Bank of Japan y2k page. Latest entry shows the results of data exchange test of Dec 20, 1998, using just Jan 04, 2000 as the test date.

http://www.boj.or.jp/en/seisaku/sei9704.htm - Checklist for the y2k problem, in which no mention of Japanese Natl dates is given, only standard Gregorian. This bears out the info given on csy2k re the use of Emperor dates at code level.

-- Mitchell Barnes (spanda@inreach.com), January 22, 1999.

Max - looks like wishful spin to me. "the govt will put together a plan" to help.... At this late date, whatinthehell is that going to do other than make Obuchi look good in this weekend's newspaper. Japan imports close to 100% of its energy needs... on oil tankers... using a very long ocean route passing through waters where even now ships, some of them big, get pirated.... on oil tankers run by 15 people and dozens of computer systems and sensors. Its this stuff that the US Coast Guard is warning the US about. btw, Hawaii is toast for the same reason, nearly all energy is imported.

-- Mitchell Barnes (spanda@inreach.com), January 22, 1999.

Mitchell- priracy of oil tankers sounds like a real danger in the event of world-wide shortages. I can imagine North Korean subs intercepting tankers enroute to South Korea and Japan. They could strike a double blow that way-- get oil for themselves and deny it to their enemies.

-- Max Dixon (Ogden, Utah) (Max.Dixon@gte.net), January 23, 1999.