OUGD406
Studio Brief 02
Research

I think the concept of the banknotes being informed by Japans economy is both educational and bringing the currency into the present. For this research I looked into Japans main sources of income, industries, and which ones could possibly be portrayed on a banknote. 

Japan's Income

The economy of Japan is the third largest in the world by nominal GDP, the fourth largest by purchasing power parity and is the world's second largest developed economy. The country has numerous sectors of the economy including fishery, automobile manufacturing, mining, tourism and technology. 

Industries 

Japan's major export industries include automobiles, consumer electronics, computers, semiconductors, copper, iron and steel. Additional key industries in Japan's economy are petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, bioindustry, shipbuilding, aerospace, textiles, and processed foods, Japanese manufacturing industry is heavily dependent on imported are materials and fuels. The industries I was most interested in researching more into was automobiles and robotics / electronics as I seen these as possible ways of portraying a futuristic Japan.

Automobiles

The automobile industry is one of the most successful industries in Japan, with large world shares in automobile, electrical machineries, parts, tire and engine manufacturing. Japan is home to six of the top ten largest vehicle manufacturers in the world and global Japanese motor vehicle companies include Honda, Toyota, Suzuki, Lexus, Nissan, Mazda and Mitsubishi. As I learnt in this research the automobile industry in Japan is without doubt the most influential in terms of modern cultural imagery.

Robotics

There are many variations of Japanese robotics. Some different types of robots are: Humanoid Entertainment Robots, Androids, Animal Robots, Social Robots and Guard Robots as this list proves, Japans Robotics industry is more important in Japan than any other country in the world. Japan employs over a quarter of a million industrial robot workers. In the next 15 years, Japan estimates that number to jump to over one million and they expect revenue for robotics to be near $70 billion by 2025. I looked more into Human robots and the most famous robot of all, Asimo who is manufactured by Honda. Introduced on 21 October 2000, ASIMO was designed to be a multi-functional mobile assistant. With aspirations of helping those who lack full mobility, ASIMO is frequently used in demonstrations across the world to encourage the study of science and mathematics, I found this interesting as the robot is used to educate as my money design is aiming to do.