Kiyoshi Kurokawa's blog （en）

L’Oreal-UNESCO Women in Science Award Ceremony

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Leaving Beaune, I headed to Paris by TVG.  The purpose of my visit is to participate in 2010 L’Oreal-UNESCO ‘Women in Science’ award ceremony.   The five Laureates one from five regions of the world were equally wonderful.  Drs. Elizabeth Blackburn and Ada Yonath, the winner of 2008 in biology and life sciences, were Nobel Laureates of 2009, and  naturally everyone associated with L’Oreal UNESCO award was happy about the good news.No matter how many times I return here, Paris always show her great charm.  The weather was a bit cold but clear.  After being interviewed as the member of the jury I went out to enjoy light lunch with Mr. Watanabe and Mr. Sakashita of UNESCO at ‘il Vino – Enrico Bernardo’.

The awarding ceremony at UNESCO is always in style.  The event opened with the welcome speeches by Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO who assumed the office after Mr. Matsuura, and by Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones, Chairman of L’Oreal (top photo) followed by introduction of 15 international fellows.  Ms Christine Ockrent (top photo, center), a journalist well known in France and US again hosted the ceremony in her own lively rhythm.  She is married to current Foreign Minister of French Government and also a co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Dr Bernard Kouchner .

Photo1: Dr. Cruz (to her right is Professor Gunter Blobel, Chair of the jury)

The laureate of this year from Asia is Dr. Cruz of the Philippines (photo 1).  She succeeded in isolating conotoxin, quite a neurotoxin, from local shellfish known to be poisonous.  The process somewhat reminds us of the isolation of tetrodotoxin from blowfish or ‘Fugu”.  I am delighted to see such scientist being selected for the prize.

Acceptance speech by each winner, thought short, was filled with moving stories of their career and family. 

Below is a snap shot of 4 Japanese women working at UNESCO and myself during the reception in UNESCO.

Photo2: With four Japanese women working at UNESCO

‘Japan as Developing Country in Environment Business’; The Truth Revealed at Last?

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Have you read ‘The special’ in March 1st issue of Nikkei Business Magazine?  (Why is it that you are charged fee to read this on Internet and how long?)

The opening article of this issue is ‘This week’s focus’ featuring President Masamitsu Sakurai of Rikoh and Chairman of Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives).  He has been sending out keen critical messages on a insular mind-set of business sector. Thus, I sense the editor’s will in combining this article with ‘The Special’ of this issue.  It’s a good choice.

‘The Special’ features from page 22 to 39, with a title, exactly - ‘Japan As Developing Country In Environment’.  Japan’s business sector has been for long, too inwardly and technology focused, thus trapped in ‘excessive belief in its technologies’ that it has not  effectively captured the market in the world flying with global clean energy movements..  Especially mega corporations are too much obsessed with the logic of itself that they are neglecting the world trend - does not have ‘first hand experience’ of how the global world is moving ahead to siege the opportunities.  When they discuss issues, what they mention is only ‘reasons for difficulties; why things cannot be done’.

For a long time, Japan was regarded as the leader in Environment Technology.  Energy efficiency, water treatment, battery etc…. But how are they performing in global marketplace?
 

Although we may have many advanced technologies, we can’t think in a  'global, vertical, way' nor do we have ‘know-hows’ to develop vertically to capture growing global market.  Japanese manufacturing sectors, particularly electronics industry, have been ironically called as ‘Galapago-nized’ (Ref.1) thus, developing most advanced manufacruting precision and technology, but failed to lead the global marketplace effectively with profit-making business models.  Most Japanese have poor connections to people of the world, and many executives do not have reasonable command of spoken English.  Large number of big corporations are led by executives and leaders who are rising within their own hierarchial organization structure with ‘Sakoku (national isolation)’ mind-set, clinging to the memory of past ‘success’.  All these are the result of being content with domestic business, and being aversive of taking any (even calculated) risks going abroad I would say.  What lies in 10-20 years ahead of young people who strive to be hired by those companies?  Maybe it is reflected in the middle manger level ‘human resource’ of these companies.

Many examples exist of not being able to see ‘things’ in a big picture, cannot conceive and  tell ‘stories’  (in Japanese). Technologies are of little use if not used as a part of attractive stories.

It is obvious that it was not just electrics industry that had these problems, but the problems strangely seem to be prevailing in many established large companies, often hanged on to the business as usual, missing the chance of big change.

We do see some good signs though, but they are too small and lack speed, the fact pointed out repeatedly in my blog postings.  The traditional career path in Japan of ‘single track’ is the barrier of change.

What is important is to send messages to Japanese citizens firmly and repeatedly. This is the mission of media so that the necessary policies’ could be implemented with wider public support.  We must realize that ‘Kurofune’ (blackships led by Commodore Perry to open up Japan some 150 years ago) will not come any more’ (Ref.1).

I have posted several reports on nuclear power plant project won by Korea. Further, rapid growth of Korean companies such as Sumsung, LG, Hyundai, Posco, as well as more recent outstanding performance of Korean athletes in Vancouver Olympic are also impressive.  At this timing, came the Toyota problem.

Oh, Japan, cheer up and do your best! Japanese business leaders, buckle up!  The same goes for university leaders, too.

The basis of a nation is nurturing/education of human resource and human capital.  What kind of education?  This is another story for preparation of ever flattening global world..

Recently, there are reports and some sense among many Japanese establishments to learn lessons from Korea as well as China which I am happy to see.  “Always to be a humble learner’ is a wisdom from ancient time.

Toyota Problems; Are They Unique to Toyota?

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Recalls of Toyota cars spread and accelerated its speed in late January.  This is such a regretfully serious problem not only for Toyota but Japan as a nation because the corporate ‘Toyota’  is an iconic company which represents Japanese technology and quality of manufacturing, a company which represents Japan to the world and is deeply trusted by the world.

To be frank with you, I would rather refrain from commenting further on the Toyota problems since I have brought them up in my web-site twice already (Ref.1).  I think the problem is deeply rooted and can be identified in any Japanese mega corporate; and in their background you will find characteristics such as ‘Tate Shakai (Hierarchical Society)’, ‘Male chauvinistic society’, ‘Seniority-based promotions’, ‘Difficulty in sliding sideways (difficulty in changing job)’, ‘Permanent employment and big severance package’, or ‘Monozukuri shinko (Faith in manufacturing)’ – elements which reflect traditional Japanese ‘Common Sense’.

The Economist magazine points this out in its most recent issue （Ref.1） .  It is the same as what I repeatedly point out – the wrong responses of Japan (which are commonly seen in many cases) to this flattening global society.

Not only Toyota but many other big companies embrace the same problems which you see as illustrated in this Economist article.

I urge people in business sector to buckle up, too.  Political leadership faces big issues, but business sector clearly needs a drastic reform as well.  It might be a beginning of 'The Third Lost Decade', I fear.  I don’t think we have much time left for CHANGE.

Toyota’s Problems and Sufferings: Eyes to See From Outside, Hearts to Sense Outside

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Although Toyota announced the recall of a huge number of its cars, problems are still likely to continue for a while.  The news coverage has been pretty in U.S. including the news of President Toyoda’s possible visit to the U.S. very soon.  Toyota hearings expected at the U.S. Congress, responses of the US legislators, reports and articles,…… there are plenty of overseas media coverage open to public in this internet age – news coverage in Japan are not the only source of information to us.  All you have to do is just ‘Google’ Toyota.  It is important to follow news from various aspects.  Especially, in this case, it is about the leading company of Japan and the problems were identified mainly at overseas, mainly US, the largest market of Toyota.  Relying only on Japanese media will be misleading.  Quite many good source of information is available via internet, the media of web age, including internet newspapers and magazines.

I would say that the newspaper most read by business persons of the world is Financial Times  (circulation of 420 thousands is pretty modest compared to that of major Japanese newspapers, but its impact to the world is incomparably huge compared to Japanese newspapers), and a weekly magazine most read by business persons of the world is The Economist. What do you think?  Articles in Financial Times and The Economist report news of the wide world, they do not particularly take U.S. side, is often critical to U.K, too, the reports they write are high quality, and their views are well balanced as well as objective.  These characters are what you might call ‘the British style’, but I feel that many articles are indeed the ‘works of professionals’, i.e. they grasp good timing, and has very good focus.  Personally I am a fan of these two and have them in my ‘Kindle’.

For Japanese readers who do not read much English, I recommend ‘JBPress’ , an On-line Press.  I read ‘Toyota Slips Up’ and ‘Toyota　Losing Its Shine’  in The Economist 2009 December 10 issue and was a bit concerned when I found President Akio Toyoda’s comment saying that he thought ‘Toyota is already at a dangerous point’ after he read ‘How the Mighty Falls’ by Jim Collins.  A large part of these articles in The Economist is available in Japanese at JBPress.

The Financial Times also has some coverage on Toyota issue recently, and some of them are translated into Japanese, again at JBPress.  (These articles include ‘Toyota By Itself Invited The Fall Of Its Reputation’ , ‘Staggering Sons Of Toyota’, ‘Toyota Messes Up With Customer Service, Its Damage Control Is Not Working’, ‘Safety Crises Threatens Toyota; The Price It Has To Pay For Going Too Far in Spreading Its Market Share’ ）  I feel that these two newspaper and magazine are musts for business persons.

What happened to Toyota – a company known for its technological excellence?  Mr. Reizen who is sending out messages from U.S. gives us good insights into the brake and accelerator of electric car.  (this web-site is run by Mr. Ryu Murakami).  His information made several things clear to me.  In this new system of electric control, the mechanism of brakes and accelerators are very different from traditional ones.  However, this is no excuse to end users, i.e. the drivers.  Brakes and accelerators are particularly important components for drivers, and if anything goes wrong with them, it may directly cause accidents which will risk the lives of drivers or other persons in the car, or people involved in the accident. Automobile makers are responsible for being strategically prepared to provide cutting edge technologies, create market value of their products, and build good customer satisfaction/social relations.

In other words, the point is whether you are capable of telling customer-oriented ‘stories’ of cars, of driving.  It’s not just about developing great technologies.  Securing good control of parts that directly connect to safety of human life must be a top priority.

The press meeting of Toyota was, as I have written in my previous column, a big problem.  What kind of attitude/meeting is good to the eyes of the public?  To answer this question, a team of professionals is critically needed.  All Toyota members, I expect a lot from you.  Please keep on working hard.

‘Getting Health Reform Right; A Guide to Improving Performance and Equity‘： A monumental work.

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Health Reform is without doubt a great issue in any nation of the world.  In Japan and the United States, too, it is counted as one of the most pressing challenges in national political agendas.

In each country, there exist complicated elements – social, political, economical, cultural – unique  to each society and country, but on the other hand, medicine and health care technologies are developing faster in speed.  There is no such health system which fits to every society and country.  Developed nations are struggling on how to reform existing system, which is one of the greatest challenges for policy makers of today.   In the world where information spread with no time, the gap between expectation and perception of the society and actual reality of the health care as they see receive continues to widen.

Large numbers of books on health care system are available including those which illustrate the reform carried out in many countries.  Any universal model does not exist, so each ‘leaders/experts’ must learn as much as possible and speak from better perspective, not only from the value of one’s position.  As I often point out in this web-site and elsewhere (Ref.1, 2), it seems that too many leaders/experts in Japan speak only from their limited personal experiences or positions, thus tend to be less objective and not much perspectives, visions for a bigger picture or longer time frame.

This is one of weak points of ‘Tate shakai (Hierarchical society)’ of Japan where the great majority of people pursue their careers in a linear style (i.e. within the same organization and often seniority-based) within Japan.

Several days ago, ‘How to Realize Health Care Reform’was published from Nihon Keizai Shinbun sha.  This is the translation of ‘Getting Health Reform Right; A Guide to Improving Performance and Equity‘（2nd edition, 2008） by Professors of Harvard School of Public Health, Drs Marc Roberts, William Hsiao, Peter Berman, and Michael Reich.  Japanese students who were taught by the authors translated it.  Please search for this book at Amazon.

What makes this book unique from other books of the same theme is that the authors have rich experiences in many countries, understand the difference of social backgrounds of each country; they write not only about policies but also analyses of five ‘Controllers’, i.e. ‘Finance, Expense, Organization, Rules, Actions’, and discuss ethical, political aspects (of the policy) as well as the processes that explain how reform is possible.  The content is very rich and outstanding

The book also provides the analysis of issues and situations pertinent to Japan, how to make reform possible, how policies being developed and advanced on what basis…   Everything is so well thought-out; they encourage us to see the health policy from overall perspectives, stimulate our practical thinking.

I would sincerely like to express my deep appreciation and respect to the four Professors of Harvard University who had written such a wonderful book as well as those who planned and carried out the publication of its Japanese translation.  It was my pleasure and honor to be asked to write a ‘recommendation’（in Japanese ） in this book.

This is a book that I recommend strongly to anyone who cares about health policy.  The price seems a bit high (4,500 yen), but is well worth it.

Activities of Health Policy Institute and its ‘Surprising’ Evaluation

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Several years ago, I founded with a few friends a think-tank ‘Health Policy Institute, Japan (HPIJ)’ and have since been working with my colleagues who share the same vision.

As you may see in our web site, the Institute, as an independent, non-profit, non-partisan private think-tank, we have focused on three areas;  to provide platforms, basic data, and issues for policy discussion, to facilitate the participation of civil society groups and patients in the policy making process, to nurture leadership of the civil society, and Global Health.  I am happy to say that people with talents and commitments on our common goals have joined and are working with us, including young people who work with us as part of their career.  In short, our activities could be described as an effort to encourage Japan’s shift to civil society hence promoting the change of Japan of global world to a responsible civil nation.

We gather at a breakfast meeting once in every two months that function as an opportunity for communication with the members and supporters of our Institute.  It has become a custom for me to greet and speak to the participants at this meeting every January.  Each and every one of the members are committed to improve health care system in their own way.  So, this time, for a change, I suggested my session be primarily ‘Q&A’, but asked the audience to raise questions based not on their jobs and positions but from objective critical observation of their positions.  It might have been a bit difficult for them because this suggestion came up without prior notice.  However, I would like to stress the importance of making it a habit of seeing things objectively and from higher/broader perspective, outside from your background, expertise and position – especially in policy making.  I recommend that you always try to see objectively as much as possible as I stated in ‘Japan as seen from outside’ and elsewhere, and to think and comment on ‘A part of a big picture’.  I have written on this in a book review also. (3rd paragraph, in Japanese)

HPIJ just organized our annual ‘Health Policy Summit 2010’, a two days’ conference on February 10 and 11.  I will report about this in detail soon, but it was a very lively conference with presence of cabinet members of DPJ (Democratic Party of Japan; the administration party);  AKIRA NAGATSUMA, Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, YUKIO EDANO, Minister of State for Government Reform (was appointed just February 10th), MOTOHISA FURUKAWA, Senior Vice Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy, Science and Technology Policy, and Government Reform, and Parliamentary Secretaries including KEISUKE TSUMURA, in charge of Science and Technology Policy.  Representatives from DPJ legislators Ms YOKO KOMIYAMA, Dr MITSURU SAKURAI, and Dr SATOSHI UMEMURA.  Representatives from LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) legislators were Mr JIRO KAWASAKI (former Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) and Mr HIROSHIGE SEKO.  From New Komeito, another polictal party, include former Vice Minister FUKUSHIMA of Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.  Large number of people from health care sector, patient organizations, academia, business sector, mass media participated to join in vibrant discussions.

By the way, I would like to report to you a very good news, which came in such a no-better timing of our annual conference.  The University of Pennsylvania publish its annual report on the ‘Think Tanks’ of the world.   Evaluation of Universities is talked about in many occasions in recent years, but this is ranking of ‘Think Tanks’.  For 2009, the top think tank in the world was ‘Brookings Institution’, but in the category of ‘Health Policy’, 1. Harvard University School of Public Health; 2. Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University… the list went on as expected…but in the 10th place our ‘Health Policy Institute of Japan’ ranked-in!  I was so surprised to see this, but at the same time thought that this was the result of everybody’s hard work.  Also the high valuation reflects our daily effort of making our activities visible to broader audience of Japan and the world involving various global partners through our website and other means.  ‘Think Tanks’ of governments may outnumber non-governmental ones in many countries including Japan, so ours was a great result.  For this yet young and small ‘Think Tank’, completely independent from the government, to receive such a high evaluation was certainly a great encouragement to us all.

What’s Going on in Toyota? Something is Terribly Wrong

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Toyota is without doubt Japan’s top enterprise known throughout the world for the high quality of its products and the size of its market capture.  The company earned high reputation for its quality cars and more recently for the development of hybrid engine technologies.  However, recent conducts of Toyota appear to be somewhat strange to me.

First, problems in accelerator pedals were reported of Toyota cars in the United States, then followed problems in the brakes of Prius that triggered accidents repeatedly which eventually led to the recall of the huge number of Toyota cars.  I understand that some technical problems were the cause of these events and I say this is a great problem since Toyota is known as the leading company of Japan – a nation characterized by its technology and high quality of products.  The company even received some tough words from the U.S. government.  This already is a great problem by itself, but what worries me (and I think you will agree) is the response of Toyota.

This issue is reported as big news by overseas media, but I feel that the news coverage has been smaller, in fact too small, in Japan.  Can it be that Japanese newspapers have difficulty in handling this news coverage because it might threaten the basic credibility of Japanese industries?  I think Japanese people should investigate this issue more closely and think more seriously.

I hear that this problem was being reported in the United States since 2007 and Europe was aware of this problem for more than 2 years or so.

Recently the executive in charge of the matter appeared in press interview in Japan.  Since the interview was on TV what he said before or after is unknown, but when he said ‘The customer’s senses on brake….’ I thought ‘What a response, ｔhis is a big problem’. It looked like nothing but an interview for ‘making excuses’.  Toyota totally missed the point in question.  Later on February 5th, President Akio Toyoda talked to the press (Although his English was acceptable I think he needed to have ‘the professional’ - I don’t think they have any in the company – prepare draft and coach him).  Everything he said was a late response, not to mention of his comments which were all ‘defensive, excuses, putting the blame on customer’s senses’ etc., etc.  I must say this was a worst example of risk management.

I doubt that some kind of atmosphere which made people refrain from expressing open opinions have been developed over years in the company and the factories..  Toyota’s slogan used to be ‘kaizen’, ‘from bottom-up’, and ‘expect every employee to identify problems and come up with solutions’ - this was their claimed culture.

Particularly when faced with ‘accidents’ or ‘events’, the damage caused tends to grow bigger and bigger along with the passage of time.  ‘Transparency, objectivity, speed, customer (victim) first attitude’ is the basics of risk management.  I wonder what is going on in Toyota…

I am very, very concerned.

From Davos -3

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On 29th, the 3rd　ｄay at Davos, I spent the morning in private meeting with a few VIPs. In the afternoon, I participated as a ‘Discussion Leaders’  in ‘Prepared for a Pandemic?’- a full two hour session with specialists on pandemics, academics, business enterprises, and insurance companies.  It was a highly informative session with discussions covering wide range; lessons from H1V1 since last spring, role of government, arrangements/preparedness of the companies, risks to be considered, insurance, financial loss, employees and their family, impacts on economy etc., etc.  I was impressed to know that the width of some business leaders thinking and also making effort to prepare themselves to the expected risks.  It is such learning and knowledge sharings that makes this sort of discussions with the leaders of diverse sectors enjoyable and meaningful.

I came across Mr. Bill Gates and had an opportunity to talk with him for a minute on several things such as our encounter in Jakarta in 2008.  In the evening at the main hall, I went to watch ‘Business Leadership’, ans‘The US Economic Outlook’ hosted by Charlie Rose, with Lawrence Summers, Director of the White House's National Economic Council for President Obama.  Charlie Rose, was wonderful in his soft ways of raising good focused questions in a very good timing and Summers’ response was also very persuasive and powerful. Please see them for yourself on the web.

In the evening, I stopped by at the reception of Harvard University and exchanged a few words with President Drew Gilpin Faust （President Faust is female - I suppose you know? ) I understand that she will be visiting Japan this March.  Since Minister Sengoku and three other Ministers were scheduled to arrive after midnight, Dr. Heizo Takenaka, Mr. Yoichi Funabashi of Asahi Newspaper, myself, with several others, had an opportunity to get together at a Chinese restaurant and talk about the new Administration, an opportunity we haven’t have had among ourselves for some time.  When I returned to the hotel, I came across Dr. Yunus of Grameen Bank at the lobby -just like we did last year.  I talked about the group of Japanese students who went to Bangladesh (Ref.1, 2, 3) (Ref.2 and 3 are in Japanese) this January and last year. They also had an opportunity to see Dr. Yunus several times at Bangladesh.  This year, Professor Seichiro Yonekura (Ref.1 in Japanese) of Hitotsubashi University, a leading expert on innovation, accompanied them to Bangladesh.  Dr. Yonekura is a wonderful role model as mentor/teacher and I admire his activities as Innovator (=Entrepreneur, Change Agent or ‘a nail that sticks out’) ; the way he supports young people, and make things happen.

 
Photo 1-3: ‘Toward an East Asia Community?’ Panel.

Next morning on the 30th, I checked out from the hotel to be at ‘Toward an East Asia Community?’  where Minister of Trade, Economy and Industry (METI), Mr. Naoshima were among the panelists.  The panel was moderated by Dr. Kishore Mahbubani (Ref.1), Dean of Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore.  I was seated at the front raw with my friends, Hiroshi Tasaka-san and President Ninami-san of Lawson (Photo). 

 
Photo 4: From left, Mr. Ninami, Dr. Tasaka, and myself

Then, after listening to the former half of ‘Global Economic Outlook’ in which Minister Sengoku participated as a panelist, I left the venue and headed to Zurich airport to catch my return flight.  Please see this session on the web.  A well known columnist of Financial Times, Mr. Martin Wolf moderated the panel in his keen and insightful style.  In the afternoon, NHK hosted ‘The Great Shift East in the Global Agenda’ moderated by Ms. Aiko Doden, with Vice Minister Furukawa as a panelist.  Report on web  is available, and also TV broadcasts are scheduled on February 6 (Sat), and 13 (Sat) in Tokyo and elsewhere in Japan.

 
Photo 5: With Dr. Takenaka

From Zurich, I returned to Narita via Paris.  I was able to sleep only a bit during the flight, thus  a bit tired.  Somehow a feeling of concern about the future of Japan made me awake.  This theme appears repeatedly in my web-site, and I hear that‘Japan in Transition’ in the afternoon of 30th wrapped up the session in a comment like my view.

The web-site of Davos meeting is apparently quite packed with good information.  Please enjoy according to your interest.  Tons of information, backgrounds, interpretations, and thoughts are introduced and I am sure that they will open up your minds to the world.

From Davos –Part 2

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Cover Photo-Front of Venue covered with snow.

Today is January 28th, a slight snowfall, but pleasantly refreshing. At 7:30 in the morning I moved to the other end of the town of Davos to have conversation over breakfast with about 30 or so of Japanese participants.  I was happy to hear that 70 or so Japanese participants are expected this year.

By the way, reports ‘From Davos’ are posted on the website of Professor Yoko Ishikura  (linked in my blogroll) also, so I recommend that you visit there.  Dr. Ishikura is one of the few Japanese who are highly valued as effective moderator/facilitator in Davos Meetings.  Her hard work and philosophy is clear in her blog, and I feel there is much to learn from her.

By 9 am, I returned back again to the other end of Davos to participate in the session ‘Asian Brainstorming’.  The rather small room was fully packed with people, a large proportion of them were from outside Asia.  Interests in Asia are pretty high these days.  I think that one of the characteristics of Asia is variety: variety in ethnics, nationals, cultures, economies, religions and others.  However, the variety of religions in Asia is not the same as the difference we see in ‘three major religious sectors in one and the same God; Judaism, Christianity, and Islam’ that continue to be one of the major causes of conflicts in our world.  It is no surprise that Asia is attracting attentions from people when we think of its functions as the center of world economic growth especially after the recent global financial crisis.  The discussion in this session was very active whici I enjoyed very much.

After this Asia session, I went to the main venue for some more sessions. Dr. Fareed Zakaria (Ref.1, 2)  (Photo 1) whom I have introduced to you in my past posting, appears as moderator in several sessions, especially political ones.

Photo 1; Dr. Zakaria with President Zuma of South Africa

Mr Bill Clinton, the former President of the United States (Photo2)  is UN special envoy to Haiti.  He is working hard to support Haiti after the recent earthquake and delivered special appeal for help. I learned much from his speech and panelists, various backgrounds of Haiti and its current situation.  Did you know that Haiti has a potential of high economic growth and therefore is a good investment target?  I think such point of view is also important especially in crafting the ways for support of private sector.                  

Photo:  Mr. Clinton speaking on support to Haiti

In the afternoon, I attended ‘Brainstorming’ of ‘Governors of Global Chemical Enterprises (in Japanese)’, a closed session.  I had an honor of being invited to join this session for 4 consecutive years, and have learned much from this experience, especially the thinking of executives of global enterprises. Presence of Japan is strong in this sector as well.  This year, the regular member of this meeting, Chairman Yonekura of Sumitomo Chemical, was absent since he had to leave for Japan after just one day of stay in Davos due to his recent appointment to the next leader of Keidanren.  However, Chairman Kobayashi of Mitsubishi Chemical participates every year, and President Sakakibara of Toray Industries was here two years ago.  My long time friend Sir David King of the United Kingdom, and China’s leader, Mr. Siwei were also present as invited guests.  This year, Dr. Brian Baird, member of the House of Representatives of the United States, joined and made valued comments on policy making process, which was very thought provoking.  After the Brainstorming, I had an opportunity to talk with him person to person for about 20 minutes, which was a great pleasure.  He is a very good man.

By then, I have had traveled from one end of Davos to another end of Davos a few times times today.

I spent the remaining time of the day attending sessions at the main venue.  Those events are reported at the web site of WEF so please visit and enjoy.

Photo; President Lee of Korea

The photo isPresident Lee of Korea　（I have written total of 6 reports: 5 on UAE Nuclear Power Plant and 1 on visit to India on my web site in January. He is moving very actively as the leader of his nation), who will be hosting the G20 this year.  His speech in Hangul delivered a clear message that was well received.

Special Addresses by the First Vice-Premier of China Li Kequiang,  Prime Minister Harper of Canada, host of the G8 this year (though he focused mainly on G20…), and a Panel with the head of 6 countries hosted by Fareed Zakaria etc; each and every one of them was superb.  In the last session, the first question from the audience was raised by Mr Bill Gates.

 
Photo; At Japan Night (from right) Ms. Doden of NHK, President Hasegawa of Takeda Pharmaceutical (was well received at Panel), Mr. Okabe, editor-in-chief of Nikkei.

After these sessions followed ‘Japan Night’ (Photo) which has now become an annual event.  The host of this year was JETRO.  We had a very enjoyable time with quite a number of guests.  I understand that over 70 participants gathered from Japan this year, unheard of in the past.  Korea and China seems to have sent more participants, though…..

 

Davos Annual Meeting -1

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President Sarkozy

On 26th, I left Narita to Davos to attend the World Economic Forum, which has now become an annual event for me.  This time the flight was to Zurich via Frankfurt.  Drs. Jun Murai (Internet) of Keio University, Takeshi Natsuno (iMode)  Heizo Takenaka (Economy)  were on the same plane.  I arrived at the hotel in Davos at about 10:30pm, a bit tired.

Leaders of a number of Asian nations were scheduled to come this year, but I was somewhat concerned about political leaders from Japan since the timing always overlaps with the Diet session, and moreover the ‘politics and economy’ are catching people’s attention especially as a hot topic this year.  But in the end, I was relieved to learn that 3 Ministers may come.

The programs and details of the meeting are available at the web site of WEF.

On 27th, I attended the morning, session ‘Germs and Globalization’ and afternoon, session ‘Arts, Culture and the Digital Age’.  In ‘Arts…..’, I was particularly impressed by the presentation Dr. John Maeda  (Ref.1) (Photos below), a Nisei, former Professor of the Media Lab of MIT, currently the President of Rhodes Island School of Design.  He is highly accomplished and loved by everybody, and appears in many sessions this year’s WEF.

Dr. John Maeda

In the afternoon there was ‘World Economic Forum Brainstorming; Redefining the Global Commons’.   It was quite an interesting theme, but too many participants caused the session to become somewhat not well focused, at least that was the impression I had.  The Ideas Lab of MIT was too packed and I regretfully had to miss the event.

President Nicolas Sarkozy  (Top Photo) gave plenary speech in the evening delivered with a lot of enthusiasm.  After the speech we listened to the piano by Lang Lang , a beautiful performance.

In the evening, I participated in the panel ‘The Rise of Asia’ with Mr. Kuroda, President of Asian Development Bank (ADB) and a few others.  The challenge in these panels (and of course elsewhere and anywhere) is how you connect with people; send out messages with wit, in a short and clear manner.

The meeting of this year was again filled with many new encounters.