Government to provide USD30bn boost for ICT sector

The government of Japan is to pour JPY3 trillion (USD30.6 billion) into the country’s info-communications technology (ICT) sector over the next three years in a bid to rejuvenate the industry. The plan, the brainchild of the IT Strategic Headquarters unit, which is headed up by Prime Minister Taro Aso, is seen as a way of counteracting a projected 6% contraction in the sector this year (based on data provided by the IMF earlier this month). Japan hopes its three-year emergency plan, which is expected to be approved by a panel of experts next month, will create up to half a million new jobs in the industry.