TEDxTokyo 2013

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Already into its 5th year, this year’s TEDxTokyo was held in Hikarie building of Shibuya. I have been involved in this initiative from the beginning, and I have watched as this event has steadily garnered more and more attention. The number of young volunteers has been increasing year by year, and so has the number of sponsors, making for a invigorating day.

As with every other year, Patrick was the host, and he livened up the day with his nimble and witty talk.

Each talk or presentation was interesting and informative, and they added up to a wonderful program which can be viewed online. On a personal note, I believe that the audience was greatly inspired by the talk of Shigeru Ban (1– in Japanese -, 2, 3), an architect with whom I go back a long way and whose dynamism and energy still commands my respect. Each speakers shared their own life ‘story’, and I think this is what made the event a profoundly moving one.

And in a manner reminiscent of the TED talks held at Long Beach (home to TED since 2008), the end of each talk was met with a hearty applause from the crowd, and the standing ovations in particular speaks volumes about the response to each of the speeches.

With evening came the rain. As the TED event wrapped up, I excused myself and headed for Juntendo University in order to pay a visit to Professor Tomino at the reception for the Japanese Society for Nephrology, an event he organized as chairman. I was also able to meet David Harris after a long time. I remember him from Sydney in 1997 as a capable Secretary-General who helped organize a successful World Congress of Nephrology. It was a chance to catch up with old friends from my original field of expertise after a long time.

 

San Francisco

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On the morning of April 12, I gave a speech at the University of Tokyo Entrance Ceremony, met and talked with President Hamada and others, then headed to Narita Airport. The American College of Physicians (ACP) annual general conference was to be held in San Francisco, and I was to give speeches at the sessions, 'Meet the Professor' with a theme 'Why Fukushima Happened: What You Can Do from Tomorrow,' an hour long.

I attended the annual conference in 2011 but could not attend the one in 2012 because of my activities at the National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission.

I arrived in San Francisco on the 12th, rested a while at the hotel and then went to the Moscone Center where the conference was held. This is my third time in California this year. The sky was a bright, clear blue and the weather was as beautiful as ever.

At my session, there were around 150 people in attendance, more than I had expected, with a lively question and answer session afterwards. Everyone had their own opinions and very high awareness. Mona Khanna, who I met at the annual convention in 2011, also participated. She has visited the Tohoku region last year and must have been concerned about the areas affected by the disaster.

In the evening, there was the Japan Chapter reception. Governor Kobayashi and many Fellows and members, as well as ACP board directors and chairmen attended, and it was a very friendly gathering. I would like to express my gratitude to Professor Maeda to host this reception.

The next day was the last day of the convention and I dined with six people at Scala’s Bistro near Union Square. It was six o’clock on a Saturday evening and the Bistro was already fully packed.

Some will travel to Napa tomorrow. I will return to Narita on Sunday morning of the ACP.

 

Los Angeles, UCLA and Reunion with Paul Terasaki

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After travelling approximately 24 hours from Abu Dhabi via London, I arrived in Los Angeles at 3 P.M. on March 20. I went directly to the hotel, rested a while, had a look around and had dinner.

The next day, I met with some exchange students studying at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs at the hotel. Afterwards, I went to UCLA to have a meeting with Vice-Provost for International Studies Cindy Fan and others for various appointments. In the evening, I attended the GOLD reception, which I also attended last year in Tokyo.

On the 22nd, I had a meeting with UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, and gave a lecture titled ‘Global Agenda in Post Fukushima’ in a small hall in the Royce Hall. The hall was filled up to its maximum of around 120 people. One of my mentors during my time in the U.S., Professor Charles Kleeman (in Japanese) was kind enough to come to the lecture with his wife.

Afterwards, I returned to the GOLD Conference to give my speech. On this day, Mr. Nakamura, the founder of Kopernik, gave the Opening Keynote speech, and I gave the Closing Keynote speech, similar to the format last year. Last year Mrs. Susan Roos, wife of Ambassador Roos of the U.S. was a great partner and gave the Closing Keynote speech.

In the evening, I dined with UCLA Chancellor Block and others at Scarpetta, a restaurant in the Montage Hotel, one of the premier hotels in Beverly Hills. Also attending were Ms. Irene Hirano, wife of former U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye who passed away recently, UN Ambassador Nishida, President Sakurai of the Japan Society, and Mr. Ralph Shapiro, who are all supporters of the UCLA Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies. I am also one of the members, but was absent from the twentieth anniversary event last year because I was in the middle of my duties for the National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (NAIIC).

The next day was also a conference at the Montage Hotel. Afterwards, there was a reception in the top floor penthouse of Professor Paul Terasaki. Dr. Terasaki has made enormous contributions in the fields of human organ transplant histocompatibility and transplant outcomes. As I am a nephrologist, I have treated patients who have received organ transplants, and he was one of my friends during my time at UCLA. After achieving great success through the histocompatibility research, he gave a generous donation to UCLA, established the Japan Study Research Center, and is living a good retirement life. It is enviable.

As always, the sky was a bright, clear blue, and it felt nostalgic to be back in Los Angeles. I visited the Getty Museum and prepared for my trip home the next day.

It was a busy but relaxing four days.

 

HGPI Health Summit, then to Rio de Janeiro

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After returning from my Paris – Boston trip, I was in Tokyo for one week and was quite busy. On the 22nd, the Health Summit (1)of the Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) was held. Both the panellists and audience were outstanding and was a great success. I received many kind words of thanks and support from many individuals. The panel was excellent, perhaps due to our focus on the challenges facing Japan two years after the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami and Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. Reconstruction Minister Takumi Nemoto gave a greeting, and the wife of Ambassador Roos sat on the Gender Equality panel. Please see the HGPI website to learn more about the Health Summit. Reports will be uploaded shortly.

On the 24th Sunday, I took a thirty-hour flight to mid-summer Rio de Janeiro. For the past ten years, I have been deeply involved with the “InterAcademy Panel” as Vice-President and President of the Science Council of Japan (SCJ), and I was asked by SCJ and IAP to serve on the panel at the general conference.

This time I flew via Dubai, flying twelve hours from Narita to Dubai, stopping over there for two hours, and then flying to Rio de Janeiro for fifteen hours. Both flights were Emirates and were very convenient. I slept from time to time, watched a few movies and had a restful trip.

Rio was very hot, around 30 to 35C, but I was almost always inside the conference rooms and I was able to enjoy my time meeting with many friends. The main theme of the conference was “Grand Challenges and Integrated Innovation: Science for Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development”. I went to the conference venue for the last afternoon session of Feb 25th. Peter Singer of Grand Challenges Canada lead the session.

The next morning, I took a wonderful hour long stroll along the Copacabana beach. I spent the day attending the conferences, had dinner with Chairman Onishi of the Science Council of Japan and some others, and at two in the morning, took the Emirates flight back the route which I came.

With the multitude of changes occurring throughout the world, academia must not fall short of being highly aware of its role as an important actor. On this note, the closed session on the report by the Royal Society, “Science as an Open Enterprise 2012,” in which the Editor-in-Chief of Nature, Philip Campbell was a panelist (and also one of the commission members of the report), was excellent. The high awareness and active approach of British scientists, who continuously publish pioneering reports on new topics, is outstanding. The British government takes the same approach, for example, see the “Stern Report”.

By the way, this time n the flights, the movies which I thought were particularly good were “Chasing Mavericks” (US) and “All About My Wife” (Korea). Although it was business class, the screen was large and there was a good line up of movies. I have already seen academy nominated films such as “Lincoln” (congratulations on winning the Academy Award for Best Actor) some time ago.

However, I was disappointed that I could not take the “shower in midair”, since I did not ride first class on any of the flights between Narita and Dubai.

 

The “N Program”: Physicians of the Global Age

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As the year started, there was a gathering of physicians who have undergone clinical training in the United States, hold U.S. licenses and board-certified in internal medicine and who have even undergone further sub-specialty training. These physicians underwent three years of clinical training in US through the “N Program” (mostly consisting of internal medicine but also including pediatric medicine) established by Dr. Nishimoto with the support of Tokyo Marine Nichido Fire and hosted primarily in the Beth Israel Hospital in New York City (NYC). Many continue onto further special training, eg, infectious diseases, cardiology, hemotology and oncology, and kidney disease, among others.

Pictures are uploaded on Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/harumi.gomi?fref=ts>

Many people have returned to work in Japan, but some have stayed in the U.S. Dr. Kuwama, my junior who I introduced the other day, is one of such people. He has established his own clinic in NYC and has contributed greatly to the teaching of students and physicians in training as a clinical professor. There must have been many Japanese in NYC whom Dr. Kuwama helped.

In the New Year, there was a gathering of medical doctors who have built their careers in such a way. Since the beginning of this “N Program,” I have tried to support Dr. Nishimoto in my own capacity and there has been some 150 medical doctors trained through this program. There were a number of students who I have taught, and meeting them for the first time in a while felt nostalgic. Furthermore, it was possible to see that each person is becoming a good influence and a wonderful role model for others. I believe this is a group of physicians who will be trusted wherever they go in the world.

Underlying this is the American tradition of clinical training, which is built on the continuation of interaction and competition with people of diverse medical schools and universities, and is always open and adjusting previous generations’ training to change with the times and to develop good physicians. This tradition is ingrained into the doctors who are involved with teaching. There is something special about this kind of education, which only people who have received quality education/training would understand.

The foundation of this is high quality training that lies only with people who have gone through themselves in quality education/training, and which you intuitively “give back” to your juniors and students. These are the “good tradition” or 'virtuous cycle' that forms the foundation of education.

In a global world, good traditions can be passed on through this kind of a continuation of open interactive and competitive training. During the three years of this program, I believe that the seniors pass on their shared “good traditions” to their juniors and students. In this way, “N Program graduates” are the “global standard” (in Japanese) and are physicians who have qualities which are universal and applicable anywhere in the world.

This is the state of the world today.

 

A New Year’s Conversation and an Invitation to Two Events

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I would like to wish all my readers a Happy New Year, although we are already deep into the new year, but please bear with me.

Parliamentary power lies with the Abe administration for a second time. Many committees have been newly set up, and each Government Ministry is surely running at full steam, oblivious to the New Year’s holidays in order to come up with supplementary and revised budgets.

As for myself, I too have kept myself somewhat busy.

I have added here a link to my ‘New Year’s Conversation’ with Chief Representative of the Komeito, Mr. Yamaguchi. This conversation was carried on the New Year’s issue of the Komei Newspaper, and although short, I think it is familiar to those who have been visiting my blog after the ‘Fukushima Commission’.

I would also like to invite my readers to participate in two events.

1) First is an event organized by AGOS in Shibuya, Tokyo on the 14th of January that starts at 2p.m where I have been invited to talk. AGOS is a company that supports students who want to study abroad. I will try my best to adopt a discussion approach, so feel free to drop by!

AGOS is an organization supporting studies abroad and is headed by Mr. Yokoyama, who is an alumni of UCLA. Having studied there as an undergraduate, he went on to become the head manager for the college basketball team, a post made famous by the legend John Wooden. His post was a first for any Asian, let alone any Japanese person. Apart from his activities at AGOS, he is also a generous supporter of the H-LAB program, which as you may know makes frequent appearances on this blog.

2) On the 29th of January, starting from 7pm, this time held in Marunouchi, Tokyo, we will begin a series of seminars in the run-up to the TICAD 5 event that will be held in June at Yokohama. The first of the series is ‘Keys to Economic Growth in Africa: Global Health’, and the panel is moderated by Ken Shibusawa of JCIE , with two panelists Mr Sato of Africa Business Partner (in Japanese) and me from the Health and Global Policy Institute(HGPI). I would like to call upon those who are interested in African Development, and even those who are just curious, to take part. Incidentally, I myself have been to Nairobi (1,2) recently, in October.

Today in the morning, the HGPI held a special breakfast meeting to listen to Mr. Jay Singh’s talk. It will be heartening to see the cooperation of Japanese companies and ODA of USA in the near future.

Turns out to have been a busy start to the year.

 

To Dubai: Global Agenda Council of World Economic Forum

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One night after returning from Taipei, I went back to Narita. This time I departed for Dubai.

The airplane I boarded at Narita was the same A380 aircraft that I rode the other day when I returned from Dubai, in "Taking a shower 12,000 meters up in the sky".

This time I flew in business class. Both business and first class were fully booked. Many of the people on board, like myself, are participating in the Global Agenda Council (GAC) of the World Economic Forum (WEF). There were many who I know well, including Dr Yoko Ishikura.

We arrived in the early morning and checked in Jumeira Al Qasr. This time, the WEF-GAC seems to have increased the number of participants by around 20 percent. With over 80 Councils, there are more than before　and many new innovations were put into place to ensure everything was running smoothly. This increase signifies the growing number of issues which the world is facing.

There are separate Councils for around ten countries, one of which is Japan. I am chair of the Japan Council and the people on this council are mostly Japanese. Several meetings have already been held in Tokyo, so the issues on the table were relatively hashed out even before we started. However, in recent years, there seems to be few positive messages about Japan to communicate and consequently there were few visitors. Nevertheless, it is my role to greet the people who stop by, and therefore I spent much of my time at the Japan Council. Sadly, there weren’t many people who visited. It seems that the attention given to Japan and the expectations for the country are lacking and lukewarm.

However, the nuclear accident at Fukushima is a different story. Regarding the National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (NAIIC), we received many questions, mostly on the individual level.

In these past two or three years, I have talked often with the chairs of the China Council and the Korea Council but as both councils had new chairs this time, it was a very important moment and we discussed and shared many things. Both were quite frank and highly aware of the need for greater exchange on multiple levels. We were able to have many fruitful discussions.

Just as I was thinking that it is a time of change for leaders in both China and South Korea, the news broke that the Japanese Lower House will be dissolved. It is quite a time.

As I was talking with the South Korean chair, Dr Guen Lee, it became clear that his father is someone whom I know well. Dr Guen Lee is the son of Professor Lee (Ho-Wang), the former chairman of the Korean Academy of Sciences (KAS). I have a photograph together with the father on this blog. It was meeting Professor Lee that brought me to Professor Ju and has fostered the continuing, inspiring advances in Japanese and Korean medical history (1, 2, 3) .

At the top is a photograph taken with Dr Guen Lee at the banquet on the 26th floor of the famous Burj Al Arab.

When I returned to Japan, I received an email from Dr Lee saying that his father was delighted. The coincidences that can occur in the network of people is a fascinating thing.

 

To Taipei, a Series of Coincidences

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Prof-Kurokawa-CGMH-visit
Prof. Yang 2nd from left. Next to the right between Prof. Yang and me is Prof. Tomino of Juntendo University.

After having spent the first day of GEW, I set off to Taipei on the following morning. A small workshop that I　promised to have with Chang Gung Medical Center was postponed last year due to the disastrous event of 3.11. I　have known Professor Chih-Wei Yang for some time; he is currently the coucillor of International Society of　Nephrology and the Dean of Chang Gung College of Medicine. I felt grateful to him for welcoming me at the　airport despite his busy schedule.

The other day, although it was a coincidence, I was consulted by an American friend about the innovative project　‘Biosignatures’(1) which is partnering with Chang Gung Medical Centers, Arizona State University and also Mayo　Clinic. Hence, it was by chance that this was one the topics that came up in the discussion with Professor Yang.

The next day, along with Professor Yang I attended the workshop, which involved presentations by the younger members, and by four o’clock in the afternoon I headed back to Haneda. It was a short stay in Taipei.

I believe that what may seem like an ordinary coincidence such as the one above is in fact not a coincidence, but a result of expanding different kinds of people and establishing relationships of mutual trust along the way. I also believe that the series of coincidences and the unique relationships are based upon trust in the special “attributes” of your own abilities that are not limited to the organization to which you belong and are built throughout your career. In today’s borderless, global world, these are indispensable and most valuable assets.

Creating your own value from a young age involves finding opportunities to develop your “attributes” from your teens, 20s and early 30s by interacting with the world’s professionals, and it is important to have a strong sense of your own objectives and the efforts required to fulfill that your own goal.

I think that finding your own unique value, being humble, and setting your own position in this world will help you build a successful career.

After I return, in the following evening of November 11, I am setting off to Dubai from Narita.

 

Meeting the Prime Ministers of Malaysia and Norway in two Consecutive Days

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The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mohd Najib Abdul Razak(1) set up a ‘Global Advisory Board of Science and Innovation’ and I was also invited as a committee member.

This time the event took place in Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru from 1st to 3rd of November. I departed Narita in the morning of October 31st. From Kuala Lumpur Airport it took roughly an hour and a half to arrive to the hotel, and in the evening I attended the reception.

On the following day, November 1st, I had a conference at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Kuala Lumpur. Other than the Prime Minister, several cabinet ministers had attended, and updates were given on issues including food security, nutrition and environment. We exchanged various ideas and engaged in debates concerning reflection on policy, and instructions were given based on the discussion. Part of the conference focused especially on the site visit to ‘Iskandar; Malaysia Smart City Framework’ centralizing in Johor Bahr. Unfortunately I had to excuse myself from the site visit on the second and third day, and after day1, I left Kuala Lumpur and got back to Narita on the 2nd, early in the morning.

After returning home and taking a short break, I met Norway’s Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg(1) at noon, and we had a meal together. I was the only representative from Japan and we exchanged opinions concerning various risks and government responses based on our reports, which included the National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission's (NAIIC) report on Fukushima nuclear power plants and the report by Norway’s independent committee on the mass shooting in Norway from last summer.

NAIIC’s report on Fukushima’s nuclear power plants seems to be widely read in  the world and I am delighted that there are many people who are interested in exchanging opinions on this matter, including those who hold important posts in the government.

Prime Minister Stoltenberg also made suggestions regarding exchange of opinions on ‘Global Health.’ In this particular field, Norway is known for showing great interest in global health and support for organizations such as GAVI(1) and the Prime Minister is also very keen on promoting such program. We spoke that HGPI which I am part of, recently organized a conference in collaboration with GAVI, and the mechanisms of financing global health programs as I previously discussed in early September at the Kavli Science Forum in Oslo. There, the Prime Minister emphasized the mission of Norway.

Time went by very quickly and afterwards we had interviews from Norway’s TV station and Kyodo news.

In the evening I was invited to the reception of Prime Minister Stoltenberg. Reconstruction Minister Hirano also attended the event, together with number of parties concerned and we all enjoyed seafood dishes such as salmon of Norway.

Meeting two different Prime Ministers in two consecutive days was an experience I could not have imagined. 

 

My Comments on Dr. Yamanaka’s Nobel Prize

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It is wonderful that Shinya Yamanaka was recently awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. In October, I met Dr. Yamanaka when he attended the STS Forum in Kyoto. I have touched upon this briefly in a　previous blog post.

It is an amazing achievement with a very significant impact and the world had been waiting with high expectations. The first report was published only in 2006, so it goes to show how large an impact Dr. Yamanaka’s findings on the iPS had. I am truly overjoyed.

Regarding the Nobel Prize, I have written about it many times on this site, and this time I was asked by many newspapers to give my comments. I continue to hold the same view as I have in the past(in Japanese).

My opinion focuses on the issue that faces Japanese universities and society at large, and is thought to be the norm in Japan- the “vertical society.”

I have explained my views in the following articles:

1.  “The University of Tokyo and the Nobel Prize” (in Japanese)

2.  “Why it is Difficult for the University of Tokyo to Create Nobel Laureates” (in Japanese)

3.  “The Noble Prize and the Academy Awards” (in Japanese)

4.  “Cultivation of the Future Generation is Fundamental to the Nation” (in Japanese)

5.  “Celebrating the 100th Year of the Nobel Prize” (in Japanese)

6.  “Japan’s Challenges for Training Future Scientists” (in Japanese)

7.  “Cultivating the ‘Nail that Sticks Out’ through World Exchange” (in Japanese)

The impact of the research conducted by Dｒ. Yamanaka and others like him is not merely something that can be measured by the “impact factor.” Rather, it has IMPACT on the whole world.

This kind of research is often born out of the rebellious spirit that comes not from the mainstream way of thinking, but from the "crazy ones."(1)

At this time in the twenty-first century, there have been eleven Japanese who have been awarded the Nobel Prize. Out of these eleven, Dr Nanbu (Noble Prize in Physics), Dr. Shimomura (Chemistry), and Dr. Negishi (Chemistry) have built their careers abroad, in the United States. Dr Tonegawa is also a similar case, having worked in San Diego and in Basel.

You must not be afraid to be “the nail that sticks out” or one of the “crazy ones.” For it is the nail that sticks out that changes the world.