7. The Politics of Creating New Significance

An interview with Kinoshita Tōru titled “Sonotoki watashi wa [How I Acted at That Point],” published in the August 22, 1982 issue of the Nikkei Sangyō Shimbun newspaper. Nebashi Masato assumed the position of managing director at the VLSI Technology Research Association, which was established later. Suzuki Ken also devoted his energies to the establishment of the association. Technological counselors became known as assistant vice-ministers for engineering affairs through the revision of post titles in July 1973.

Nebashi Masato and Suzuki Ken, interview by author, May 8, 1998.

Nebashi Masato and Suzuki Ken, interview by author, May 8, 1998.

MITI Kōgyō gijutsuin Kenkyū kaihatsukan shitsu (1987, p. 51).

Suzuki took charge of a project for studying and developing electric cars that was launched in fiscal year 1971. He also took part in the launch of studies of integrated automobile control technologies in the same year (Nebashi Masato and Suzuki Ken, interview by author, May 8, 1998).

Energy Issue Study Group at the Electric Power Division of Denki Shikenjo, Enerugī mondai ni kansuru burēn sutōmingu [Brainstorming on Energy Issues], unpublished manuscript, 1969; and Horigome Takashi, interview by author, June 13, 1998.

The paper mentioned above published by the Energy Issue Study Group in the Electric Power Division of Denki Shikenjo. Reference examples from the paper are as follows (figures denote item numbers): “Generate electricity by drilling holes in the earth and dropping objects in them” (use—45), “Generate electricity by coiling the earth and producing magnetic fields” (generation—17), “Collect radioactive fallout and use it as a source of energy” (use—64), and “Provide treatment by guiding electric signals into the body” (use—79). There were also smile-provoking examples that suggested the daily life of young researchers, such as “Use of rush-hour energy” (generation—46) and “Electricity generation by induction (heat and sweat from holding the hands of young women)” (generation—30).

Kurokawa Kōsuke, who took part in this brainstorming session and later moved from the ETL to the NEDO temporarily at the time of the latter’s establishment, noted the following: “It covered virtually all fields of research, including fuel cells, superconducting power transmission, superconducting storage, biotechnologies and medical electronics. Studies of this type were far ahead of their time. I think that all the observers were a bit surprised. But I believe that the feeling that energy technologies were pretty good emerged a little because of those studies we conducted.” (Kurokawa Kōsuke, interview by author, April 20, 1998.)

Energy Issue Study Group at the Electric Power Division of Denki Shikenjo, Denki Shikenjo ni okeru enerugī gijutsu no kenkyū kadai [Themes for Energy Technologies Research at Denki Shikenjo], unpublished manuscript, 1970.

“Several collaborators and I decided to advance solar cell studies, convinced that a new power generation method that is softer, more eco-friendly and cleaner than conventional hard power generation methods (thermal power generation and atomic power generation) will be necessary in the future based on those results (Denki Shikenjo ni okeru enerugī gijutsu no kenkyū kadai [Themes for Energy Technologies Research at Denki Shikenjo]—note by the quoter). …I did not much like hard power generation methods that require ultrahigh temperatures and supervoltage in the first place. Accordingly, I chose solar power generation as the next-generation power generation method in the 21st century” (Horigome Takashi “Jinrui kyūkyoku no dennryoku enerugī gijutsu o motomete [Searching for the Ultimate Electric Power and Energy Technology for Mankind],” in Enerugī kenkyūsha eno messēji senpai kara kōhai e: Atarashii mirai no kensetsu no tameni [A Message from Senior Energy Researchers to Their Juniors: For Building the New Future], ed. Den’yūkai (1995), p. 128.

Horigome Takashi. “Jinrui kyūkyoku no dennryoku enerugī gijutsu o motomete [Searching for the Ultimate Electric Power and Energy Technology for Mankind],” in Enerugī kenkyūsha eno messēji senpai kara kōhai e: Atarashii mirai no kensetsu no tameni [A Message from Senior Energy Researchers to Their Juniors: For Building the New Future], ed. Den’yūkai (1995), p. 128.

Sawada Shinji, interview by author, June 22, 1998; and Sawada (1998, p. 68).

Horigome and Tani Tatsuo published their paper on solar energy in Denshi to keiei [Electronics and Management] magazine in 1972. Tani also found an article on the study of solar thermoelectric power generation systems conducted by Aden Baker Meinel at the University of Arizona in Physics Today magazine of the United States in the summer of 1972. Tani immediately wrote a letter to Meinel and received a draft of his research. Around the same time, Tani took an interest in an article on space-based solar power generation by Peter Glaser in Journal of Microwave Power. From these experiences, Tani and others came up with the idea of publishing their research findings with such research trends overseas to promote the course and potential of solar power generation. Horigome asked Tani to write a paper for Denshi gijutsu sōgō kenkyūjo ihō [Electrotechnical Laboratory Journal]. In September 1972, a paper titled “Taiyō hatsuden shisutemu no teian [A Proposal for a Solar Power Generation System]” was published in Denshi gijutsu sōgō kenkyūjo ihō [Electrotechnical Laboratory Journal] under the joint names of Horigome, Nagai Kazuyoshi, Sawada, and Tani (Horigome et al. 1972, pp. 718–729).

Electrotechnical Laboratory of the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology (1991, p. 406).

Tani Tatsuo, interview by author, July 9, 1998.

Sawada Shinji, interview by author, June 22, 1998.

“Generally speaking, the laboratory manager is the main official who establishes new topics. It is generally the laboratory manager who engages in frequent exchanges with the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology after obtaining the approval of people such as the division manager and the office manager as a matter of course. I had to do these things because of the position I occupied. All things, including exchanges, came to me when something happened because I proposed solar power generation.” (Horigome Takashi, interview by author, June 13, 1998).

Tani Tatsuo, interview by author, July 9, 1998.

It appears that the reason for ETL submitting solar energy as a proposal to AIST was that no other promising themes were available to them at the time, and that since the theme did not clash with those being proposed by any other national research institute ETL as a whole had no choice but to submit solar energy as their proposal. Additionally, the high powers within ETL also took a skeptical view in terms of the technical aspects of the proposal, doubting whether Horigome and his team of Energy Department staff—who were originally power transmission system researchers—could really carry out research in a completely different area like solar energy.

Geological Survey of Japan Editorial Committee (1982, pp. 84–85).

Testimony given by Suzuki Ken in the published interview with Kinoshita Tōru titled “Sonotoki watashi wa [How I Acted at That Point],” published in the August 22, 1982 issue of the Nikkei Sangyō Shimbun newspaper.

Horigome Takashi, interview by author, June 13, 1998.

Nebashi Masato and Suzuki Ken, interview by author, May 8, 1998. At the request of Suzuki, Okabe Takehisa (at the Office for Research and Development) and Suzuki Norio (at the Technology Research Section) took charge of budget integration related to solar power generation. Suzuki Norio made the following comments regarding the budget integration work he had taken charge of: “I asked for the supply of data I needed and integrated the budget all by myself in one shot because Horigome and other people at the Laboratory were not very good at those kinds of things. It was something like five billion yen. It was an authentic-looking figure that I came up with in one shot. I said that the budget could not be that high, but they said it would pass somehow as long as it was submitted. They said that the budget looks better when it’s higher. They said that a high sum remains even after cuts are made. I figured that about ten billion yen was right at that point, instead of arriving at the figure through integration, because they said that they would use one trillion yen by the year 2000.” (Suzuki Norio, interview by author, September 2, 1998). In this interview, Suzuki stated that the budget was five billion yen because five billion yen out of the total budget request of 11 billion yen was appropriated for a plan to establish a laboratory as a corporation with special semi-governmental status. Suzuki subtracted this amount from the budget he compiled.

Nebashi Masato and Suzuki Ken, interview by author, May 8, 1998.

The published interview with Kinoshita Tōru titled “Sonotoki watashi wa [How I Acted at That Point],” published in the August 22, 1982 issue of the Nikkei Sangyō Shimbun newspaper.

MITI Kōgyō gijutsuin Kenkyū kaihatsukan shitsu (1987, p. 51).

The published interview with Kinoshita Tōru titled “Sonotoki watashi wa [How I Acted at That Point],” published in the August 22, 1982 issue of the Nikkei Sangyō Shimbun newspaper.

MITI Kōgyō gijutsuin, Shin’enerugī gijutsu kaihatsu keikaku (Sanshain keikaku) [New Energy Technology Development project (The Sunshine Project)] , memorandum, June 1973.

Horigome Takashi, interview by author, June 13, 1998; and Sawada Shinji, interview by author, June 22, 1998.

MITI Kōgyō gijutsuin Kenkyū kaihatsukan shitsu (1987, p. 52).

Nebashi Masato and Suzuki Ken, interview by author, May 8, 1998.

Nebashi Masato and Suzuki Ken, interview by author, May 8, 1998.

Nebashi Masato and Suzuki Ken, interview by author, May 8, 1998.

Yamagata (1991, p. 89).

Yamagata (1991, pp. 95–96).

Kishida (1991, p. 138).

Horigome Takashi, interview by author, June 13, 1998.

Comments made by Suzuki Ken (in Nebashi Masato and Suzuki Ken, interview by author, May 8, 1998). The Putnam Report—officially entitled Energy in the Future—was a report compiled in the 1950s by an engineer named Palmer C. Putnam. He was commissioned by the United States Atomic Energy Commission to write a report detailing the super-long-term global outlook with regard to energy for the next 100 years up until 2050.

Suzuki Norio, interview by author, September 2, 1998.

Tani Tatsuo, interview by author, July 9, 1998.

Tani Tatsuo, interview by author, July 9, 1998.

Industrial Technology Council, “Shin enerugī gijutsu kaihatsu no susumekata ni tsuite [Points Regarding How to Advance the Development of New Energy Technologies],” in Shin’enerugī gijutsu kenkyū kaihatsu keikaku (Sanshain keikaku) [New Energy Technology Development project (The Sunshine Project)] , ed. MITI Kōgyō gijutsuin (Tokyo: Nihon Sangyō Gijutsu Shinkō Kyōkai, 1974), pp. 405 and 407. The Subcommittee on Solar Energy had a total of 11 members, including its chairman. Other participants included Suyama Junji (of the Geological Survey of Japan) in the Subcommittee on Terrestrial Heat, Kimura Hideo (of the Pollution Resources Laboratory) in the Subcommittee on Synthetic Natural Gas and Miyake Yoshizō (of the Osaka Industrial Technology Laboratory) in the Subcommittee on Hydrogen. All these participants were involved in the Sunshine Project at the respective national laboratories, like Horigome at the ETL.

Nebashi Masato and Suzuki Ken, interview by author, May 8, 1998.

Sangyō Gijutsu Chōsa Iinkai [Industrial Technology Council] , “Shin enerugī gijutsu kaihatsu no susumekata ni tsuite [Points Regarding How to Advance the Development of New Energy Technologies],” in Shin’enerugī gijutsu kenkyū kaihatsu keikaku (Sanshain keikaku) [New Energy Technology Development project (The Sunshine Project)] , ed. MITI Kōgyō gijutsuin (Tokyo: Nihon Sangyō Gijutsu Shinkō Kyōkai, 1974), p. 383.

Investigative Committee on Industrial Technologies (1974), p. 57.

Nebashi Masato and Suzuki Ken, interview by author, May 8, 1998.

Suzuki Norio, interview by author, September 2, 1998.

Kurokawa Kōsuke, interview by author, April 29, 1998.

Kimura Kenjirō, interview by author, September 9, 1998.

MITI Kōgyō gijutsuin Sanshain keikaku suishin honbu (1984, p. 69).

Kimura Kenjirō, interview by author, September 9, 1998.

Suzuki Norio, interview by author, September 2, 1998.

Kimura Kenjirō, interview by author, September 9, 1998.

Kimura Kenjirō, interview by author, September 9, 1998.

Silicon solar cells do not generate electricity when light has a wavelength that is longer than 1.145 microns. Silicon solar cells generate electricity in reaction to light with a longer wavelength when this threshold wavelength is long. The material must be changed to alter the threshold wavelength because a numerical value peculiar to each material known as the optical band gap determines the threshold wavelength. The band gap of material that is most sensitive to sunlight is said to be approximately 1.5 eV. Incidentally, the band gaps for silicon and amorphous silicon are 1.1 eV and 1.7 eV, respectively. The optical band gap is a numerical value peculiar to each material that determines the threshold wavelength for power generation using solar cells. (Taiyōkō Hatsuden Gijutsu Kenkyū Kumiai [Photovoltaic Power Generation Technology Research Association] , ed., Taiyōkō hatsuden: Sono hatten to tenbō [Solar Power Generation: Its Development and Prospects] (Tokyo: Art Studio 76, 1998), p. 20; and Murozono Mikio, interview by author, September 11, 1998).

Murozono Mikio, interview by author, September 11, 1998.

Murozono Mikio, interview by author, September 11, 1998.

Murozono Mikio, interview by author, September 11, 1998.

Kimura Kenjirō, interview by author, September 9, 1998.

Kagono Tadao, “Benchā Keieisha: Inamori Kazuo (Kyosera) [Venture Business Manager: Inamori Kazuo (Kyocera)],” in Kēsubukku Nihon kigyō no keiei kōdō 4: Kigyōka no gunzō to jidai no ibuki [Casebook 4 on Administrative Actions Taken by Japanese Companies: A Group of Entrepreneurs and the Signs of the Times], eds. Itami Hiroyuki et al. (Tokyo: Yuhikaku, 1998), p. 378.

The contract was concluded before inauguration in September.

Kimura Kenjirō, interview by author, September 9, 1998.

Kimura Kenjiro, interview by author, September 9, 1998.

Kimura Kenjiro, interview by author, September 9, 1998.

“There was a car battery plant near Lake Hamana in Shizuoka Prefecture in those days. Electricity generated by solar cells is direct current. At this plant, direct-current electricity was used in a manufacturing process for car batteries. …We proposed the establishment of a 100 kW system there, and the government accepted our proposal. Accordingly, members of the battery industry also took part in the Sunshine Project simultaneously with the establishment of the NEDO in 1980.” (Murozono Mikio, interview by author, September 11, 1998.)

Ishikawa Fujio, interview by author, June 4, 1998.

Sakaiya (1975).

Kurokawa Kōsuke, interview by author, April 29, 1998.

MITI Kōgyō gijutsuin Sanshain keikaku suishin honbu (1984, pp. 13–14).

MITI Kōgyō gijutsuin Sanshain keikaku suishin honbu (1984, p. 16).

The NEDO was established for the objectives of (1) developing alternative forms of energy for oil that need to be commercialized, (2) assisting with the development of geothermal resources and coal overseas, and (3) promoting the development of other forms of alternative energy.

The Steering Committee consisted of the following seven members: Chairman Dokō Toshio, Deputy Chairman Ashihara Yoshishige, and members Ikeura Kisaburō, Enjōji Jirō, Shiba Tadao, Nagayama Tokio, and Hiraiwa Gaishi. (Watamori Tsutomu, “Dokōsan no omoide [My Memories of Mr. Dokō],” NEDO News, October–November, 1988, p. 40.

The directors included the following ten individuals: Chief Director Watamori Tsutomu, Deputy Chief Director Ōnaga Yusaku, directors Matsuo Yasuyuki, Ezaki Kōzō, Ameya Masakata, Yamazaki Tetsurō, Fujinuma Rokurō, Takase Ikuya, Toyama Atsuyoshi, and auditor Teramura Toshiaki.

Watamori Tsutomu, “Dokōsan no omoide [My Memories of Mr. Dokō],” NEDO News, October–November, 1988, p. 40.

Dokō Toshio, “Kanmin no chikara no kesshū [Rallying Forces in Public and Private Sectors],” NEDO News, January, 1981, p. 3.

Horigome Takashi, interview by author, September 16, 1998.

Horigome Takashi, interview by author, September 16, 1998.

Kurokawa Kōsuke, interview by author, April 29, 1998.

Kurokawa Kōsuke, interview by author, April 29, 1998.

Tanaka Kazunobu, interview by author, October 15, 1998.

Kuwano Yukinori, interview by author, October 29, 1998. The article mentioned above (“Haiteku Jinmyaku [Hi-Tech Personal Contacts]”) also contains similar statements.

Tanaka Kazunobu, interview by author, October 15, 1998.

Horigome Takashi, interview by author, September 16, 1998. Hamakawa Yoshihiro of Osaka University reportedly visited Horigome repeatedly around this time to propose amorphous studies as well.

Planning Division of the Electrotechnical Laboratory, Ō Puro, Sanshain, hiaringu nittei [Hearing Schedule for the Large Project and Sunshine Project] , unpublished manuscript, 1977. Hearings were conducted at the Headquarters Meeting Room on May 24 and the Planning Office at the Tanashi Annex on May 20, May 23, May 24 and May 25 of that year. The hearings in question that took place on May 23 included those on studies of solar thermoelectric power generation systems (by the Energy System Laboratory and the High-Temperature Electronic Materials Laboratory) from 10 a.m., studies of solar spectral irradiance measurement (by the Applied Optics Laboratory) from 1.30 p.m., studies of new electricity generation methods (by the Energy Transportation Laboratory) from 2 p.m., basic solar cell studies by the Solid Device Laboratory from 3 p.m. and basic solar cell studies by the Semiconductor Device Laboratory from 4 p.m. After the hearings, Kazunobu Tanaka from the Basic Component Laboratory provided supplementary explanations from 5 p.m.

Tanaka Kazunobu, interview by author, October 15, 1998.

Tanaka Kazunobu’s pocket notebook for fiscal year 1977. His note in the writing space for May 23 says, “They understood. We might be able to draw the line successfully.”

As described in Chap. 3, the ELT sent Kurokawa to the AIST temporarily from October 1976 to December 1977. The ELT dispatched two members to the Office for Developing the Sunshine Project at the AIST under the MITI on a temporary basis each year to work there as officers in charge of development.

Tanaka Kazunobu’s note on the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology’s hearings on the Sunshine Project, 1977.

Sakudo Tsunetarō, Shochō ryūchihi no tokubetsu sochi no irai ni tsuite [Request for a Special Measure for Manager Retention Expenses], unpublished manuscript, August 4, 1977.

Tanaka Kazunobu, “Amorufasu hakumaku taiyō denchi no kiso kenkyū [Basic Research on Amorphous Thin-Film Solar Cells],” unpublished manuscript, February 14, 1980.

Tanaka Kazunobu, interview by author, October 15, 1998.

Tanaka Kazunobu, “Amorufasu hakumaku taiyō denchi no kiso kenkyū [Basic Research on Amorphous Thin-Film Solar Cells],” unpublished manuscript, 1979, p. 8. This handwritten material for explanation is stated as additional material for Assistant Vice-Minister for Engineering Affairs Yamanaka Masami. The statement shows that by May 1979, Tanaka had already had an idea that would become a model for a figure in Denshi gijutsu sōgō kenkyujo ihō [Electrotechnical Laboratory Journal] (Fig. 7.4).

Refer to Numagami (1992): 50–65 for the roles technologies play as cognitive models by functioning as focusing equipment.

M. H. Cohen, The development of amorphous photovoltaic cells in Japan, 1979 is the record of this lecture.

Subcommittee on the Development of Amorphous Solar Cells, Report by the Subcommittee on the Development of Amorphous Solar Cells (draft), unpublished manuscript, 1979.

Kato Katsumi, “Sanyō Denki amorufasu shirikon taiyō denchi [Amorphous Silicon Solar Cells by Sanyo Electric],” President, September issue, 1984.

Kuwano (1985, p. 22). Similar descriptions appear in Nikkei Sangyō Shimbun, June 3, 1981, as well.

Kuwano (1985, p. 22).

Kuwano (1984, p. 109).

Kuwano Yukinori, interview by author, October 29, 1998.

Sharp (1996, p. 113).

Kuwano Yukinori, “Waga kaihatsu monogatari: Amorufasu shirikon taiyō denchi ni toritsukareta otoko [My Development Story: A Man Obsessed with Amorphous Silicon Solar Cells],” WiLL, October issue, 1984, p. 110.

Kuwano Yukinori, interview by author, October 29, 1998.

Uchida Yoshiyuki, “Sekai ni sakigaketa amorufasu taiyō denchi no shōhinka [Commercialization of Amorphous Solar Cells Ahead of Competitors around the World],” OHM, November issue, 1984.

Tawada Yoshihisa, interview by Tomae Hisao, August 9, 1995, transcript, Tomae (1996, pp. 71–74); and Konagai Makoto, interview by author, October 12, 1998.

Tawada Yoshihisa, interview by Tomae Hisao, August 9, 1995, transcript, Tomae (1996, p. 76).

NEDO News, January 1983, p. 23.

Kuwano Yukinori, interview by author, October 29, 1998.

MITI Kōgyō gijutsuin Sanshain keikaku suishin honbu (1987).

The Japan Society of Applied Physics, Daiikkai handōtai no hikari kidenryoku kōka no kiso to ōyō ni kansuru shinpojium [1st Symposium on the Basics and Application of the Photoelectromotive Force of Semiconductors], 1980. Engineers from NTT, Japan Silicon, NEC, Fujifilm, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, Mitsubishi Electric, Sharp, and Fujitsu also took part in the Symposium.

Konagai Makoto, interview by author, October 12, 1998.

MITI Kōgyō gijutsuin Sanshain keikaku suishin honbu (1984, p. 73).

The following discussion is based on statements made in “Taiyōkō hatsuden shisutemu—Jitsuyōka eno kadai [Solar Power Generation Systems—Issues for Their Practical Application],” NEDO News, January 1983.

Horigome Takashi, telephone conversation with author, November 19, 1998.

Horigome Takashi, interview by author, September 16, 1998.

“We accepted the extremely strong request made by Mr. Sasaki. He told us that amorphous looked promising, and Sharp really wanted to join the Project and perform research in competition with companies like Sanyo.” (Horigome Takashi, interview by author, September 16, 1998).

Kimura Kenjiro, interview by author, September 9, 1998.

MITI Kōgyō gijutsuin Sanshain keikaku suishin honbu (1981); and Kimura Kenjirō, telephone conversation with author, November 10, 1998.

Hirono and Seiichi (1985, pp. 61–87).

NEDO (1996).

Hirono and Seiichi (1985, p. 69).

Hirono and Seiichi (1985, p. 71).

Hirono and Seiichi (1985, pp. 80–81).

The following is a statement made by Inamori: “I don’t know how long it will take for amorphous solar cells to become extremely reliable, but solar cells exposed to intense sunlight must be new crystalline cells no matter what that takes. I feel that reducing their cost is the only major area left for development” (Hirono and Seiichi 1985, p. 81).

Murozono Mikio, interview by author, September 11, 1998.

Murozono Mikio, interview by author, September 11, 1998.

Kimura Kenjirō, interview by author, September 9, 1998.

Hirono and Seiichi (1985, p. 80); and Mr. X at company S (name withheld by request), interview by author, September 10, 1998.

Fuji (1997, p. 81).

Kimura Kenjirō, interview by author, September 9, 1998.

Horigome Takashi, interview by author, September 16, 1998.

Kimura Kenjirō, interview by author, September 9, 1998.

Kimura Kenjirō, interview by author, September 9, 1998.

Kimura Kenjirō, interview by author, September 9, 1998.

Takeuchi et al. (1986).

Saitō Tadashi, interview by author, September 7, 1998.

Horigome Takashi, interview by author, September 16, 1998.

PVTEC (1996, p. 8).

Kurokawa Kōsuke, interview by author, April 29, 1998.

Murozono Mikio, interview by author, September 11, 1998.

Kurokawa Kōsuke, “Taiyōkō hatsuden shisutemu no kenkyū kaihatsu [Research and Development of Solar Power Generation Systems],” unpublished manuscript, 1977.

Kurokawa Kōsuke, interview by author, April 29, 1998.

Kuwano (1992, p. 113).

Kuwano Yukinori, interview by author, October 29, 1998.

PVTEC (1996, p. 49).

Kuwano Yukinori, interview by author, October 29, 1998.