TOKYO (Nikkei)--Intel Corp. Chief Executive Officer Craig Barrett emphasized in his keynote speech Monday at the Nikkei Global Information Summit that new information technologies will pave the way for corporate innovations by boosting productivity, competitiveness and growth potential.

Speaking on the first day of the two-day conference, Barrett gave some examples of European and U.S. retailers that have introduced smart tags in their inventory management, and concluded that new technologies create new industries.

The CEO said Japan still has "a lot of room for improvement," especially in the areas of government policies and education, to compete in the global IT market.

NEC Corp. (6701) President Akinobu Kanasugi, however, painted a more positive picture. Cellular phones and digital consumer electronics products are rapidly gaining popularity in Japan, and authentication systems using smart tags are beginning to be commercialized, he said.

As for challenges, Kanasugi pointed out that the introduction of a resident information smart card that contains personal identification data registered at the municipality office has been delayed due to privacy and information security concerns, and that Japan needs to involve itself more in experiments and international standardization efforts.

This year's summit is being held under the theme of "Digital ID Revolution" to encourage discussion of businesses and social changes that are likely to emerge with the advancement of digital identification technologies such as smart tags.

The event, sponsored by Nihon Keizai Shimbun Inc., is being held at Tokyo International Forum.