It has been a while since the last post. Innovation 25 is in its final stages.

20070503002It has been a while since the last post. I came back from Province and Egypt via Paris. Now is the best season in Paris. The horse chestnut leaves were so beautiful.

To complete the final report of Innovation 25, my staff and I have worked almost every night for two weeks, including weekends. For the cabinet approval of the ministers, each ministry and agency is busy with many things it has to do. This is difficult, but everyone has worked so hard and they are excellent, I always think we can use their talent for something else too. I have worked with them though at home, so in recent nights I have only slept for two to three hours. I sometimes send emails and give some instructions in the dead of the night.

Innovation 25 has been frequently covered by the media, so you may see this report from time to time. My Interview and the summary of the interim report of Innovation 25 are both in the Japan Journal, the English public relations magazine of the Cabinet Office. The English translation of this interim report is on the homepage of Innovation 25. I heard when Sanae Takaichi, Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs, Science and Technology Policy, Innovation, Gender Equality, Social Affairs and Food Safety, visited Germany during the Golden Week holidays (in early May), she was asked about this report and it drew increasing attention. Prime Minister Sinzo Abe also made remarks regarding its high-visibility. It is regrettable that until now, the Japanese government never had the idea to communicate Japanese policies to the world.

The world only feels ten percent of Japan’s presence. This is typical and cannot be excused, and is evidenced by Japan’s closed-minded mentality. Conversely, UK shows its presence perhaps ten times more beyond that of its substance. Please think about this. This is a part of significant, important and basic national strategy. Japan only responds after others put pressure on it to take action. Japan has little sense of grand vision, so it cannot develop a strategy, and therefore Japan gambles on tactics. Don’t you think you have heard this before?