With commercial web-based e-mail, we can check and send e-mails wherever we are. Still, trying to access in-house networks (intranets) from home or when outside on business can be troublesome or simply impossible: an inconvenience business people have often experienced. However, at universities, people are now able to read e-journals and access the university database from anywhere in the world as if in their own research room. This is made possible with an identity federation called GakuNin.Read article
Motonori Nakamura (Professor by Special Appointment, Academic Authentication Systems Office, Academic Infrastructure Division, Cyber Science Infrastructure Development Department, NII) / Junichi Taki (Editorial Writer and Senior Writer Nikkei Inc.)
Single Sign-on (SSO) enables seamless access to a range of services with a single ID and password. Content services such as e-journals can be accessed at anytime from anywhere. Once logged in to a certain service, there is no need for the user to re-login when going to a different service. The current user experience of library services has significantly improved thanks to the SSO-enabled GakuNin authentication service. The following looks into this improvement, and also at related trends in Japan and overseas.Read article
Hideaki Noda(Librarian, Academic Content Division, Chiba University Library of Health Sciences) / Fumiyo Moriya(Japan Alliance of University Library Consortia for E-Resources (JUSTICE) Secretariat, Library Liaison Cooperation Office, Cyber Science Infrastructure Development Department,NII) / Kazu Yamaji(Associate Professor, Academic Access Development Office, Cyber Science Infrastructure Division, Cyber Science Infrastructure Development Department, NII)
There has been an increase over recent years in individual universities' launching of cloud services. Using the cloud enables a reduction in the operating costs and management tasks involved in the email, web and storage services provided by individual universities to date. Furthermore, linking to the SINET academic information network and GakuNin makes application sharing among multiple universities easier and further reduces costs. The potential of the academic cloud is being further developed with the progressive integration of services offered to universities by commercial service providers.Read article
Madoka Aihara (Assistant Manager, Service & Tariff Planning Section, Corporate Planning Department, UQ Communications Inc.) / Masayoshi Setoyama (Solution Manager/Section Leader, Public Business Department, First Business Division, NTT Data Kyushu Corporation) / Shunji Abe (SINET Promotion Office Manager, Associate Professor, Information Systems Architecture Science Research Division, NII)
IT service improvement and cost reduction is an issue for universities and research institutions. IT managers from various educational institutions—national, public, private universities and colleges of technology (Kosen)—all with different perspectives on participation in GakuNin, gathered and told us about initiatives at their institutions and about how GakuNin helps solve problems. We also heard from IT managers' about their current challenges and requests they had for new services.Read article
Kaori Maeda (Deputy Director (Information Manager) and Information Processing Center Manager / Professor, Faculty of Information Sciences and Graduate School of Information Sciences, Hiroshima City University) / Kazuhiro Igarashi (Assistant Manager, Media Network Center, Seijo University) / Shinichi Tadaki (Professor, Director of Computer and Network Center, Saga University) / Tomoya Jin (Assistant Manager, Information Planning General Affairs Division, Headquarters Administration Office, Institute of National Colleges of Technology)
Once GakuNin can function as a collaborative infrastructure, seamless collaboration with overseas parties and commercial services will also become possible. For this to happen requires the building of a trust framework through which user information can be safely shared among participants. A trust framework enables identity federation in industry and academia, making it the potential foundation of a more secure and highly reliable online service.Read article
Hiroyuki Sato (Associate Professor, Information Technology Center, The University of Tokyo / OIX LoA 1 Assessor for GakuNin) / Natsuhiko Sakimura (Senior Researcher, Nomura Research Institute Ltd. / Open Identity Exchange Chairman) / Takeshi Nishimura (Specially Appointed Researcher, Academic Access Development Office, Cyber Science Infrastructure Division, Cyber Science Infrastructure Development Department, NII)
Computers replace human beings in leading to answers. NII is carrying out extensive informatics-based artificial intelligence (AI) research. The culmination of this research will be the fusion of AI and a variety of sciences, and the further evolution of Web services. AI research now attracts considerable attention as a methodology for pursuing the "knowledge" that is vital to creating a prosperous society. Read article
Katsumi Inoue (Professor , Principles of Informatics Research Division, NII) / Noriyuki Yoshida (Staff writer, Science news department,Yomiuri Shimbun Tokyo Head Office)
Computers sort through information gathered from the Web, providing only useful information. They behave as if they understand what people are thinking. 3 researchers working together on the same project discuss the allure and possibilities of the Semantic Web. Read article
Hideaki Takeda(Director, R&D Center for Scientific Information Resources, NII) /Ikki Ohmukai (Associate Professor, Digital Content and Media Sciences Research Division, NII) /Ryutaro Ichise (Associate Professor, Principles of Informatics Research Division, NII)
Gathering information by searching for it on the Web has become commonplace, but it is difficult for the average user to find the information they need from the constantly growing volume of data. NII is currently at the center of research into interactive information acquisition and data mining using constrained clustering techniques. What is this revolutionary and innovative information acquisition technology based on fundamental AI technologies? Read article
Seiji Yamada(Professor, Digital Content and Media Science Research Division, NII) /Masayuki Okabe(Assistant Professor, Toyohashi University of Technology, Information and Media Center) /Takashi Onoda(Sector Leader, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, System Engineering Research Laboratory) /Yasufumi Takama(Tokyo Metropolitan University, Faculty of System Design, Division of Information and Communications Systems)
There is a need in the judicial world for the trial process to be accelerated. Research is underway to increase trial efficiency by applying logical processing to some civil litigation processes. Trial and legal documents contain expressions and words used by real people for communicating, and may seem quite removed from artificial intelligence and logic programming, but in fact they share much in common. We heard from Professor Ken Satoh, of the Informatics Principle Research Division, regarding the fruits of his research, and its future potential. Read article
Ken Satoh (Principles of Informatics Research Division, NII)
NII Essay
Sharing experiences sharing privacy as well? When you see the Japanese words Kumo-no-su, Koshi, and Kumo, you might feel puzzled. But if they are written in katakana, as foreign words usually are, these words refer to Web, Grid, and Cloud. You might then realize that... Read article
Isao Echizen(Associate Professor, Digital Content and Media Sciences Research Division, NII)
