About Us.
Japan's historical strength lies in its ability to blend the old and the new, the native and the foreign, into something unique and powerful. We aim to bring back this strength, combining Japan's rich culture and heritage with the digital and global, creating a dynamic workforce ready for the future.
Our Goal
The world has significantly globalized in the past 30 years. The Cold War ended, and the so-called Eastern countries transitioned to a capitalist economy. International trade and transaction rules were established, and the division of labor around the world advanced. The increase in human movement across the globe was in sync with this trend, leading to a dramatic increase in global trade volume. As a result, the world rapidly turned into one large market.
Simultaneously, the world has substantially digitalized in the past 30 years. Companies worldwide adopted workstyles involving personal computers and software/IT services. People around the globe now own smartphones, and it is standard to use an app every day and access social networking services like YouTube and Instagram. These services have become indispensable to our lives. Consequently, U.S. tech companies referred to as GAFAM (G=Google, A=Amazon, F=Facebook, now Meta, A=Apple, M=Microsoft) now monopolize the top ranks of global market capitalization.
Unfortunately, these 30 years coincide with Japan's continued loss of international competitiveness. Since the collapse of the bubble in the early 1990s, Japan has been stuck in a slow decline due to insufficient measures, often termed the "Lost 30 years". Even in the GDP per capita ranking, an indicator of national prosperity, Japan has declined from 2nd place in 2000 to around 30th place today.
Why has Japan ended up in this situation? The reasons are undoubtedly complex, with various issues intricately intertwined. However, our company, Waspect, believes that it is largely due to Japan's failure to adapt effectively to the two major trends of globalization and digitalization. Specifically, we lost out in terms of English proficiency and IT/digital skills compared to other countries.
Regarding English proficiency, according to a 2022 survey by EF Education First, the world's largest language school, Japan ranks 80th out of 111 countries and regions, placed in the "low proficiency" category. Regarding IT/digital skills, the digital competitiveness ranking released by the IMD, a Swiss business school, in 2022 ranks Japan 29th out of 63 countries and 50th in the "IT/digital talent" category. This, unfortunately, is where we Japanese stand in the world today.
English is the operating system (OS) for communication in a globalized world, and Japanese is an OS used only in Japan. Being unable to use English means giving up the opportunities in a world filled with potential and living and doing business only with Japanese people in Japan. Moreover, lacking these IT/digital skills is a significant disadvantage both in individual careers and daily life. Many Japanese people have missed many opportunities due to the lack of these two skills, and if things stay the same, they will continue to miss out.
If we Japanese lack these abilities, we could simply resign ourselves to it. However, even children in America and the UK can speak English, so I believe it ultimately depends on the environment we are in. Moreover, I find it hard to believe that Japanese people, who consistently rank high in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which comprises reading, mathematical literacy, and scientific literacy, cannot acquire IT/digital skills.
In the future world, "English proficiency" and "IT/digital skills" are absolutely necessary. However, Japanese people are significantly behind internationally in these areas.
However, given the right opportunity and system, we at Waspect believe Japan can come to the forefront of the global market once again.
From this viewpoint, Waspect started its education business. We understand that learning English and IT together is challenging. Still, we hope that through experiencing English as a tool rather than a subject to be learned and through understanding the fascination and potential of IT/digital as a career, we can facilitate a transformation in students' awareness of learning English and IT/digital skills. We are confident that by addressing the skill gap issue at its root and during the early stages of development for the future Japanese workforce, we can positively influence its standing in the global community.