[Series] ~Showa PC Otaku Chronicles~ Part 6: "The Office Computer That Came to the Office" ~The FACOM Era~

This is a slight departure from personal computers, but—.
This time, I would like to talk about the office computer (off-con), an essential presence even for the "Showa otaku."
Although they were distinct from home computers, the arrival and spread of these office computers cannot be overlooked when discussing the history of computing in Japan.
In fact, after I entered the workforce, the first thing I touched at work was an office computer called the Fujitsu FACOM System 80 series.
So, this time, I'd like to change the pace a bit and talk about that "reliable guy" that came to the office back in those days.

The "Future Box" That Appeared in the Office

The early 1980s.
Back then, before word processors had even become widespread, a large box the size of a desk arrived at our company office.
Introduced on the wave of "OA (Office Automation)," the Fujitsu FACOM System 80 series was my first "office computer."

The workplace at the time was dominated by paper and pencils. Calculations were done with calculators, documents were handwritten, and slips were copied using carbon paper.
Before OA progressed, creating contracts involved using a "Japanese typewriter," where you had to manually pick out each character from a type plate containing kanji and kana. If you made one mistake, you had to start over from the beginning. It was a super analog era.

In the midst of all that, this machine from the future called an "office computer" would completely transform office processing within the company.

A "Business Language" Named COBOL

What was installed on the office computer was a programming language called "COBOL."
Unlike FORTRAN or BASIC, COBOL was a programming language developed for business processing, and because it was designed so that even non-engineer office workers could program in it, it is characterized by the adoption of command vocabulary and syntax that aim to be close to natural language, specifically English.

However, while it is easy to read due to its grammar being close to English, the descriptions are incredibly long.
With things like "INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION" and "PROCEDURE DIVISION," the amount of typing is high, and the grammar is unique.
But thanks to that, perhaps it was easier for non-engineer office workers to learn.

The head office systems department was responsible for selecting the FACOM System 80 series. At the time, I was working at a branch office and was assigned to accounting, but since I was the only one at the branch who understood the system, I was quietly building the system by myself alongside my accounting duties. I have a particularly deep memory of the depreciation calculations I was in charge of in accounting; before the office computer arrived, it was done manually with a calculator and took nearly a week of full-time work. I remember making a depreciation system in COBOL because I did it myself and thought, "This is impossible."

The Presence of the FACOM System 80 Series

Fujitsu's FACOM System 80 series was a representative example of what was called an "office computer."
The design was practical and sturdy, the body was ivory, and the operation panel consisted of a keyboard and a monochrome display.
It was also equipped with a line printer and a floppy disk drive. The introduction cost was in the millions of yen.

The Shock of "Automating" Office Work

Accounting, sales, and order processing, which had previously been manual, were being automated with COBOL and FACOM.
Errors decreased, and speed increased. It was truly an era where "the power of computers was changing how we work."

"If you input it, you get a result."
"If you write a program, it processes it automatically."

Thinking back, being able to experience that at the workplace might have been an incredibly luxurious era.

🔹Otaku Point

🧠 COBOL
A business programming language born in 1959. An abbreviation for "Common Business Oriented Language," it was widely used in finance, government, and manufacturing systems. It remained firmly in active use in Japan until the 1990s.

🖥 FACOM System 80 series
A series of office computers developed and sold by Fujitsu in the 1980s. It was developed around the time office automation (OA) began to attract attention, with the concept of "an office system that anyone can easily use, just like handling office equipment."

📠 Continuous forms and dot-impact printers
Printer paper was perforated continuous paper. The printing sound was lively, a constant "clack-clack-clack." Getting scolded because the paper jammed is a fond memory now.

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Part 7: "Hope Named MSX" ~The Illusion of a Unified Standard~

That day, the words "MSX Standard Unified" that I saw at the electronics store storefront showed us the "future."
And that future was, just a little bit, fleeting.

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