Imagining Japanese Technofutures – The Role of Futurology and Science Fiction in Shaping the Information Society

The original roots of the information society (jōhō shakai) are clearly Japanese and date back to the year 1963. The concept was developed in the context of a private study group circle spearheaded by the anthropologist Umesao Tadao, including members like the science fiction writer Komatsu Sakyō and the futurologist Hayashi Yūjirō. Drawing on the methodology of science and technology studies (STS), I will show how the ideological narrative underlying Umesao’s original theory on the information industries was condensed into a sociotechnical imaginary (STI) in the years from 1963 to the end of the 1970s. This article explains why the narrative was so successful and how the Expo 1970 in Osaka served as a showcase for the public performance and stabilization of the STI. The article argues that this contributed to its lasting impact on the way in which Japanese technofutures were imagined, based on the premise of a techno-centered society.