[smackay]

As far as I recall, Japan's Fifth Generation program, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_generation_computer, which had the West running around in a panic, was primarily software driven. It was seen as an attempt the break the European and American dominance of software and microprocessors but was unsuccessful. It is interesting that many of the companies mentioned in the article are small rather than the usual set of behemoths. Perhaps this time with the disruption in Japanese society with life-time employment at large corporations no longer a sure thing and with the rise of China that there is enough fear/desire in Japan to make it work.

[bane]

Thanks for this. I had never heard of this, but it's yet another fascinating footnote in the parallel history of Japanese consumer electronics. The amount of money invested is simply staggering...well over a billion dollars in 2010 money.