Integrated circuits: what's on the cards? A quick flash of the card is all it takes to open ticket barriers in most Tokyo train stations today, and soon we'll be buying out newspapers and breath mints in the same flash way Hashimoto Katsunori examines the present state of the information technology society and the new lifestyles being created by contactless IC cards

THE society we live in today is sometimes called the 'card society.' because of the many different types of cards that are available. Cash cards and credit cards issued by [...]