Comments by Mr. Susumu Adachi

IBM Japan originally came to Japan in 1937. A key figure in making this happen was a man named Ando Kaoru. With the objective of compiling an autobiography describing Ando Kaoru's accomplishments over the past 50 years, I have been studying the historical development of computers. As a consequence, I was aware or rather made aware of the Y2K problem at a relatively early stage. I was asked approximately two years ago to write a book about the Y2K problem. For the past several years now, I have done nothing but contemplate and work to inform people about the Y2K problem. However, things do not seem to be getting any better. Personally, I do not care about my reputation as long as it helps people realize the tremendous force of destruction that Y2K will bring with it.

Although this group seems to have discussed many facets of the Y2K problem, it is my opinion that we do not have time left for such discussions. Rather, as is on your list, it is time to implement contingency plans at the community level.

In comparison to the U.S., France and Germany, it is my feeling that Japan will receive the most damage. It is necessary that Japan set up contingency plans. Essentially, what is most necessary is food and energy supplies. These plans must be developed and carried out immediately.

In order to make lay people understand this problem. We must try to get the public to look at the big picture and forget about what is going to happen to their refrigerator, computer, air conditioner or microwave. Debating about the impact of the Y2K on individual electronic devices minimizes the problem. Rather what we should be talking about is the grander scale of things. We must make people realize how much of our daily lives actually depend upon computers. In countries such as Japan and the U.S., whether we are asleep or awake, our lives rely upon computers for 24 hours a day. We must come to the realization that we are in fact extremely dependent upon computers. Say for instance if 3 percent of the computers go down as a result of the Y2K, the simple calculation that our living standard will go down an equivalent 3 percent is not accurate. In fact, as a result of the domino effect this 3 percent can transform into a 300% deflation in our living standards. For example, only a few percentage of the lunch, which we all enjoyed today, is in fact made in Japan. The majority of it is made outside Japan. The manufacturing, transportation and distribution of this majority are almost completely supported by computers. Thus, even if a few percentage of computers fail as a result of Y2K society will be impacted in numerous ways. If one computer signal fails then the whole system goes out of order. Thus, it is necessary for us to understand the degree to which our societies rely on computers for our daily living. The cause of the Y2K problem is embarrassingly simple. As far as this problem is concerned, I cannot help but feel that humans lack 'brain' and foresight.