In the three years since it was privatized in 1998, we have worked to position the G-Mark system at the forefront of the expansion of design infrastructure in Japan. In bringing the G-Mark to a leading role in the reform of existing design sectors and revitalizing design business in order to introduce lifestyles under which more people can enjoy good design, we have continuously faced the struggle and challenge of establishing a sense of design that foresees where the new era is leading. The submissions and screening procedures in 2000 alone clearly indicate that this concept has come into its own.
The changes to the privatized G-Mark system promoted primarily by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion have significantly modified every aspect of the pre-privatized system from organizational restructuring to rethinking the system's basic concept; modifying its scope; changing the items, content and methods involved in screening and even restructuring Judges. This is not limited solely to the inclusion of Judges in the publicly held screenings for the Grand Prize. The final stage of the entire screening process through Gold Prize screening in each category is now open to the public, paving the way for an open G-Mark that provides the public with a behind-the-scenes view after the actual screening takes place.
As the whole of Japanese society shifts toward an information technology base, the G-Mark system introduced primary online application submission (a surprising 80% of applications were submitted online this year) in fiscal 2000, allowing Judges to individually screen submissions online. These innovations will lead to an enhanced digital data bank and the effective extension of the Japanese G-Mark to the rest of the world.
Consideration of how far the impact of design will extend is a significant preventative measure in moving the G-Mark toward the future, and the New Territory Design Category established this year expands the Theme (Universal/Ecology/Interaction) Prizes conferred in the past. This new category recognizes the creation of value in three broad design pillars--design in cutting-edge sectors such as information technology and biomedicine; design expansion in terms of materials, products, space, environment, systems and social value in existing categories; and innovative design strategies for renewing those local and traditional industries that have traditionally been successful. Although manufacturers and designers are not yet sufficiently aware of, or have a thorough understanding of, this new category and we saw some confusion among those submitting applications this year, the New Territory Design Category will surely come to represent an extensive share of design and establish itself as the foundation of the G-Mark system in the future.

 
Grand Prize "A-POC" and Gold Prize Screening

In deference to the reports by individual Judges on the details of the screening in each category, I will focus here on the Grand Prize screening.
A total of eight products--the "Fast Skin" swimsuit, the "Nagomi Unirich" unit bath, the "Civic" passenger car, the Okamura "8110HZ, GZ" stools, the Kodak "CR800 computed radiography system", the "Aura 500" wind generator, the "Mimehand II" animated sign language software, and "A-POC"--were featured as Grand Prize nominees at the public screening. This year's screening was, however, particularly complicated due to the fact that each of these products was superior in its own way and a simultaneous lack of uniform standards that would allow these items to be compared.
Unfortunately, the limited confines of this essay make descriptions of each item impossible. Suffice it to say that the six Judges recommended three of the eight nominated items for the Grand Prize, with recommendations breaking down to two for one nominee, one for another and the remaining three for "A-POC," which was ultimately selected for the Grand Prize.
The final Grand Prize selection this year is, I believe, ideal in terms of keeping with the policy, as held over the four years of G-Mark Grand Prize conferment, of selecting a product that holds the key to next-generation design and breaks through established design sectors. "A-POC" obviously incorporates customer participation, vertical integration from production to sales and total reform in various aspects of design based on multi-faceted customer response, while also lending itself to praise in terms of innovative production techniques that offer a resolution to the issue in industry today of fulfilling the contradictory terms of having to elicit individual response and achieve results from mass production. We can even expect unique and favorable business prospects for Japan in terms of international competitiveness in the apparel industry, which will bring new advantageous methods to light in this age of intense competition. It must, however, be added that all of these effects depend entirely on whether the lack of "A-POC" product finish is integrated into business design with the proper synergy. In this sense, G-Mark support of "A-POC" through its Grand Prize is extremely symbolic as a first step toward these lofty prospects.

 
Toward a Heisei Genroku: Design as Key to Infrastructure of Mature Society

Since its privatization, the G-Mark has doggedly pursued a concept - driven reform with the goal of establishing design infrastructure for the aesthetically pleasing in Japan. Ultimately, however, we are working toward good design that will form the foundation for the truly mature society in Japan that is beginning to emerge and the realization of the social development and effects of daily culture that design has always bolstered.
The Genroku Period had an enormous impact, forming its foundation, on the Edo culture that shocked later generations around the world. Although the phrase Showa Genroku has been used in the distant past, the idea of cultural maturity without an aesthetic is oxymoron. In this sense and against the background of today's graying society, the creation of a Heisei Renaissance that realizes a social maturity accompanied by an aesthetic, as well as long-term peace, economic prosperity and independent self-sufficient lifestyles, is entirely possible. We have entered an age in which design plays a leading role. In this light, a new Japanese identity must be established and the curtain raised on the 21st century if we are to bring about this Heisei Genroku. It is, I believe, the G-Mark system that is equipped to head up the cast of design players.