06:11 a.m. Apr 06, 1999 Eastern
By Yvonne Chang
TOKYO, April 6 (Reuters) - Japan has moved into a higher bracket of nations in its readiness for computer problems threatened by the dawn of the year 2000, a senior analyst at a U.S. research institution said on Tuesday.
``It is clear that the last six months have seen a massive change in the focus of the administration and of key regulators on driving Y2K compliance activities throughout the whole of the Japanese economy,'' said Andy Kyte, research director at Gartner Group.
``We...are very much aware of the significant progress that has been made in Japan, largely as a result of the personal intervention of the prime minister,'' said Kyte.
Gartner, in a survey based on the fourth quarter of 1998, ranked Japan's infrastructure risk as level two on a scale of four, along with countries including Brazil, Germany, South Korea, Mexico and Thailand.
In level two, Gartner predicts ``isolated and moderate'' risks of power loss, natural gas interruptions, air transportation interruptions and oil shortages.
In its previous survey, Japan was ranked level three, along with, among others, Argentina, Kuwait, South Africa and Turkey.
Level one countries include Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada and Israel.
Awareness among Japan's large multinational firms with significant overseas presence is ``very advanced,'' while smaller firms less subject to external pressure ``will have a lot of work to do to catch up,'' Kyte, a specialist on the millennium issue, told reporters in Tokyo.
Kyte said small firms rely less on information technology and embedded computer systems, though medium-sized companies do, and the incentive for those firms to take action will eventually come from large customers who insist on appropriate measures.
Commenting on the individual sectors, Kyte singled out Japan's major financial institutions as most advanced and the public sector, mainly computers used in government offices, to be most behind in their preparations.
``It seems to us that the Japanese industry has picked up the year 2000 ball and is running with it,'' Kyte said. ``But we await evidence that...the (central) government, regional, and municipal information technology systems are worked on with the same degree of serious intent.''
The glitch, also known as the Y2K bug, may trigger widespread disruption when 1999 turns to 2000 because some computers and software recognise only two-digit numbers to represent years, and could take the zeroes in 2000 to mean 1900.
Kyte ruled out a ``doomsday scenario,'' not only for Japan but other countries as well, saying there were unlikely to be paralysing power outages.
``But what we cannot predict is behaviour of the public,'' Kyte said. ``And in order to avoid public panic causing unnecessary (supply) shortages, it will be necessary to have clear political leadership.''
((Tokyo Newsroom, +813 3432-8018)
tokyo.newsroom+reuters.com))
Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication and redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
|
-- Norm (norm@nwo.com), April 06, 1999 AnswersYO, PNG!! Lies! Lies! It's all a bunch of Klintonista lies! And who is this Andy "Kyte"? That is a tipoff that this "report" is not to be tolerated. Isn't his name really Andy "Lyte"? This is a war damn it and these reports are nothing but propaganda from our mortal enemy assholes! Unc, you haven't been gone as long as you wanted us to believe. It is clear that the last six months have seen a massive change in the focus of the administration and of key regulators on driving Y2K compliance activities throughout the whole of the Japanese economy Moderation questions? read the FAQ |