A group of experts has called on the government to adopt a set of 100 drastic reform steps to protect intellectual property rights as part of efforts to make Japan a world leader in the knowledge-oriented economy by 2010.
A report by the 11-member Intellectual Property Strategic Forum recommends action in seven areas -- universities, education, corporate governance, administration, foreign policy, legislation and jurisdiction.
On foreign policy, the group, led by Toshimitsu Arai, a former chief of the Patent Office, urged the government to immediately take punitive action against China and Southeast Asian nations under the World Trade Organization's rules on intellectual property rights over the production and trade of illegal copies of goods.