----- Original Message -----
From: "Frank Conlon" <
conlon@U.WASHINGTON.EDU>
To: <
H-ASIA@H-NET.MSU.EDU>
Sent: Friday, November 11, 2011 1:31 PM
Subject: H-ASIA: AJISS-Commentary No.136 on K Computer by Akinori Yonezawa
> H-ASIA
> November 11, 2011
>
> Subject: AJISS-Commentary No.136 on K Computer by Akinori Yonezawa
> ***********************************************************************
> From: Japan Institute of International Affairs <e-commentary@jiia.or.jp>
>
> Editor: Akio Watanabe
> Editorial Board: Hideki Asari, Masashi Nishihara, and Taizo Yakushiji
> Online Publisher: Yoshiji Nogami
>
> AJISS-Commentary No.136
> "World's Most Powerful Computer: Does It Reflect Japan's National
> Power?" by Akinori Yonezawa
>
> [Akinori Yonezawa (yonezawa@riken.jp) is Co-Director of the RIKEN
> Advanced Institute of Computational Science and Professor Emeritus of
> the University of Tokyo.
> The views expressed in this piece are the author's own and should not
> be attributed to The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic
> Studies.]
>
> http://www.jiia.or.jp/en_commentary/201111/11-1.html
>
> The Japanese supercomputer "Kei," developed jointly by Fujitsu and
> RIKEN as a national project, took first place in the top 500 list at
> the International Conference on Supercomputing held in Hamburg,
> Germany, in June. The so-called "K Computer" outstripped its
> competitors, being more than three times faster than the second-place
> Chinese Tianhe-1A and more than four times faster than the US'
> third-ranked "Jaguar" (developed by IBM). Given that the competition
> takes place every six months, the K Computer is expected to maintain
> its lead as the world's most powerful computer for at least a year or
> so.
>
> Cutting-edge supercomputer technologies are an important indicator of
> a state's level of science and technology - and ultimately of
> national strength - because they require comprehensive skills in
> blending various kinds of high-tech components. While the development
> and application of supercomputers do help to improve people's daily
> lives through advances in clinical research and other means and
> promote technological development and enrichment, supercomputer
> research and development (R&D) requires enormous sums in excess of
> 100 billion yen. Whether and how the allocation of taxpayers' money
> for such a project is justified is strongly influenced by the state's
> views on science and technology.
>
> Although now ranked number one in the world, the K Computer earlier
> faced a major crisis. When the ruling Democratic Party of Japan
> attempted to streamline public spending two years ago, it decided to
> abolish funding for supercomputer R&D. The announcement sparked
> strong opposition from scientists and prominent figures in the
> industry, which eventually caused the government to restore funding
> under supplement budgets. Paradoxically, the project proceeded at a
> faster pace than previously planned.
>
> How the K Computer achieved first place after this budgetary crisis
> teaches us an important lesson: the levels of Japan's
> high-performance computers are a function of the priority given to
> supercomputer R&D within the state's science and technology policy
> and among the government's spending priorities. As a scientist
> engaged in the K Computer project, I think greater consideration
> should have been given to R&D for the K Computer, which could nurture
> basic technologies to shore up Japan's science and technology
> capabilities.
>
> Supercomputer R&D requires wide-ranging competency in managing the
> extremely sophisticated technologies necessary to conduct
> micro-semiconductor processing, design and implement instruction
> sets, interconnect central processing units (CPUs), rectify incorrect
> operations and establish reliability, and keep power consumption down
> - just to give a few examples from hardware development alone. It
> therefore reflects the levels of a state's technologies. On the other
> hand, winning the supercomputer competition does not necessarily
> guarantee major advances in science and technology or bring about
> improvements in medical treatment and people's daily lives, for the
> competition's evaluation standards are heavily focused on hardware
> performance.
>
> The K Computer's victory is no doubt proof of the continued strength
> of Japan's hardware technologies. A pressing challenge is making full
> use of the supercomputer to solve many previously unsolvable problems
> and to have fresh impacts on people's daily lives and scientific and
> technological progress. Meeting this challenge will allow Japan to
> earn international recognition on the software side, long considered
> to be one of Japan's weaknesses. This will in turn enable Japan to
> declare with confidence that its supercomputing technologies are
> truly the best in the world. It will then have another indicator
> demonstrating the high standards of Japan's overall technological
> capabilities and of its national power.
>
>
> ****************
> AJISS-Commentary is an occasional op-ed type publication of The
> Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies (AJISS)
> consisting of three leading Japanese think tanks: Institute for
> International Policy Studies (IIPS), The Japan Institute of
> International Affairs (JIIA), and Research Institute for Peace and
> Security (RIPS).
>
> http://www.jiia.or.jp/en/commentary/
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