经济学人下载:日本武士走向没落

Innovation in Japan
日本创新

Samurai go soft
日本武士走向没落

Japan’s preference for hardware over software is fading
相对于计算机软件而言，日本偏爱计算机硬件，但这种偏爱正在消退。

Jul 14th 2011 | TOKYO | from the print edition

“A SAMURAI would never write software!” barked a senior executive at one of Japan’s biggest electronics firms, as drinks flowed at a dinner party. His view is widely held in Japan. Monozukuri (making things) is macho. From sword-forging in feudal times to machines and microchips today, real men toil tirelessly to make things you can see. Services are for sissies.

“一个武士绝不会去编写软件！”一名任职于日本最大的电子企业的高级主管厉声说道，当时他正在一个晚宴上开怀畅饮。大部分日本人认同这个观点。人们普遍认为制造业才是真正的男子汉的行当。从铸剑的封建时期到机械和微芯片的今天，大丈夫不辞辛苦的在各种物质生产领域工作着。而服务业则是留给那些没出息的家伙们做的。

But like the traditional samurai hairstyle (shaved pate and topknot), such attitudes are looking increasingly out of date. Writing business software is now a growing business in Japan. The country’s large electronics companies are buying into the sector. Even foreign companies are coming to Japan in search of programming talent.

但是就像传统武士的发型（脑袋四周剃得精光，只有头顶留着一撮小辫子）一般，这种态度看起来越来越过时了。现在，在日本编写商业软件成了一个新兴的商业活动。这个国家大型的电子公司正在进入这个领域。甚至外国公司都跑到日本去寻找程序编制人才。

Software firms typically make fatter profit margins than hardware firms. The best ones easily hit 30%; electronics firms struggle to reach 5%. The software business needs fewer people and less capital; handy for a country with a shrinking population and tight-fisted banks. Jobs at big electronics firms are scarce, and the work is sometimes boring. Small wonder that Japan’s young, creative engineers are getting in touch with their inner sissy.

软件公司明显比硬件公司获得了更高的利润空间。最好的利润空间达到30%；而电子公司却挣扎在5%的边缘。软件行业需要更少的人和资金；适合于人口正在减少和银行资金严格控制的国家。大型电子公司的工作少，并且有时很无聊。难怪日本年轻富有创造力的工程师们变得女里女气。

Japan has long made popular video-game software—just ask the Mario Brothers. Yet its computer makers have done little to foster independent software businesses. On the contrary, by bundling programs free with machines, they taught customers that software was of little value, says Kazuyuki Motohashi of the University of Tokyo. They also locked customers in, making it costly and cumbersome to switch to rivals.

日本长期制造了流行视频游戏软件，看看马里奥兄弟就知道了。但是电脑制造商们却几乎没有开展独立的软件业务。东京大学的元桥一之教授说道，正相反的，通过程序捆绑机器，电脑制造商们让消费者认为软件没什么用处。他们也锁定了消费者，使得切换到其他竞争者的游戏是昂贵且不方便的。