The Rise and Fall of the Wonder Okinawa Digital Archive: Comparing Japanese and American Conceptualizations of Digital Archives

This paper examines the development of what once was Japan's largest local digital archive, Wonder Okinawa, created in 2003. It collected a diverse view of Okinawa's cultural properties as a treasure house for future generations. It was created under the banner of establishing an Okinawan "brand" to promote tourism, and to nurture human resources, so that Okinawa could foster a hub of IT industries. In the early 2000s, the national government envisioned digital archives as part of its scheme to become a highly networked society, as the means to address social problems, such as the low birthrate, graying population, and shrinking workforce. The digital archive project spearheaded the government's effort. However, the $13.5 millon project was dismantled less than a decade after its spectacular debut. The paper analyzes the causes of the failure and explores some key differences between the conceptual model of digital archives in Japan and North America.