TED2011

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I have been supporting TEDxTokyo (Ref.1,2,3) for two years. 

Now, I am here to participate in TED2011, the home program of the TEDxTokyo.  I flew Los Angeles, where I lived for almost 13 years, and drove for Long Beach.  The weather in late February is fine, but rather cold, and the temperature going down as far as below 50F at night. 

The day 2 is over now, and so far, I would say the program is quite full and nicely organized. It is my overall impression that I will enjoy most of them pretty much.

As I went on attending the various sessions, I must say that a good speech must have a good, moving story.  Furthermore, the host Curators were supporting the speakers in their good hands, and this contributed much in making the presentations so wonderful.  I admit wholeheartedly that there are so many fantastic, talented, powerful people in the world. 

My friends Partick Newell and William Saito whom I work with for TEDxTokyo are here with me.  Mario Tokoro and Kenichiro Mogi of Sony, Ken Okuyama, and about 10 other people from Japan are in the audience.

You can follow the events via Twitter（#TED、#TED2011）. Photos are uploaded at this link.

We are now at the end of the day 2.

 

Health Summit -2

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We held Health Summit (in Japanese) on Saturday February 26th、the day after Global Health Forum 2011. It was an event that was also held in the years 2008 and 2010.

The program for this year was slightly different from the past because it also introduced a collaborative work with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Unfortunately we had less participation of the members of the Diet than last year because many of the legislators of the Democratic Party of Japan (DJP, the ruling party) and other parties were back at their home constituencies for the nationwide local election.

Please refer to the HGPI website (in Japanese) for program and main speakers of this Summit.

A full report is in preparation, so I will let you know once it is available.

Now is the time to change the naming of ‘Medical Policy’ to ‘Health Policy’.

From San Diego ? Delivering a Keynote Lecture at the First ‘Cell Society Clinical Annual Meeting’

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On February 17th, I left Narita for San Diego via San Francisco.  I was to give a keynote lecture at the Cell Society Clinical Annual Meeting.  I checked in at the Estancia Hotel at La Jolla where the meeting was to take place.  It actually was quite a comfortable Hotel.

The weather, however, was not at all like South California; cold, dim, and we even had a rainfall.  This is a rare situation, but it’s no use complaining.  The weather recovered, however, during the afternoon of the second day. 

The objective of this gathering was quite clear; to discuss exclusively on the current status of adult Stem Cell usage in clinical settings.  We didn’t focus much on basic research; rather, on what was happening in each field ? including correspondences with the investigation authorities.  I enjoyed the presentations: many of the presenters are people with whom I rarely have opportunites to see in my regular academic activities. I felt as if I was being introduced to a new frontier

As we learned about various knowledge gained in various fields, we gradually came to see all kinds of possibilities that adult ‘Stem Cells’ have for clinical fields.  I think there is a great potential especially in the field related to orthopedics or cosmetic surgery.  Considering that we are in the aging society, there would be need other than authentic healthcare.

From such broader perspectives, I felt that my keynote lecture was adequate for the occasion.  I said a few words on Watson (Ref.1, 2), too.   (I noticed that Dr. Yoko Ishikura also commented on Watson in her blog).  Many of the participants congratulated me for the speech.  I was very happy to know that they liked it.

Moreover, I strongly felt that in the context of the progress of 20th Century medicine, this meeting, by itself, established a very unique standpoint.  It suggested us the possibility of a totally different perspective and framework of science.  I would like to talk more on this issue at some other occasion.

From 9:30pm.  I had some wine with a few Japanese students studying at UCSD and other universities, and also people from CONNECT, at the hotel until very late at night.  Photos are here.  I always enjoy exchanging views with young people from Japan. They are always full of energy.  I want them to become globally active, and am looking forward to seeing that happen.

So, again, I was exposed to more things to think about.

Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology；　The Graduate School is Opening its Doors to the World

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Photos (1, 2)

As I have mentioned to you several times here, the government of Japan is creating a new Graduate School in Okinawa that is open to the world.

The main buildings are gradually emerging, and the scientists are starting to move into their new offices from their temporary spaces that they’ve worked out of since last year. This year, the institution is commencing the procedure to obtain accreditation as a graduate school.  The recruitment of good researchers is under way, too.

As their web site shows, the content of this institution is truly global.  Of course, it is still far from perfect, and there are a number of issues to be solved (such as things related to the International School, or recruitment of students, etc.), but the bottom line is that this organization, from its inception, opens its doors to the world.  Because of this, I expect a lot.
 
Dr. Sydney Brenner is the first President of this Institute, and Dr. Jonathan Dorfan is the President elect of the Graduate School.  The list of board members is impressive, too, and I feel it a privilege to work with them. 

After the luncheon at the ACCJ I left Tokyo for Okinawa to attend the OIST board meeting.  We had a good discussion on many issues.  You can see the content and photos here.

It is important to create a new university or a graduate school that is open to the world at its foundation .  Although we talk about change, it is extremely difficult to take real action toward those changes.  We have too many people who come up with reasons for not doing something… I think it is the same in any university.  Japan is full of NATOs (“No Action Talk Only”s).   Universities in Japan are too far behind from the  global mainstream (in Japanese) (Ref.1 in English).  I urge people to act before complaining about the university ‘Rankings’.

To youth, I urge you to go abroad.  And I ask all of you to support such inspiring youth (Ref.1).

Ten questions on Japanese from ‘a strange foreigner’

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I have a scholar friend who travels around the world, studies and analyzes ‘innovation’ and its patterns in many countries of the world.  He knows Japan well through his study and work over 30 years and is a friend of Japan. 

We met in Davos and he sent me an email with ’List of 10 Questions’ on ‘Japanese behavior patters’. He thinks I am a ‘strange Japanese’.  I feel honored by his comment.

The list is shown below and I wonder what would be your thoughts and answers?

QUESTIONS / ISSUES
——————————
(1)  “Why is it that most Japanese go to conferences and always stay and sit together in a corner and talk to each other, without including any foreigner into their conversation?
… there are no other country citizens behaving that way !!!
 
(2)  “Why is it that the Japanese participants never dare to raise a question or give some comments in a workshop or at the Q&A session in a conference”?
… other Asians from China, Singapore, Taiwan, India, etc. are very different in this regard !!!
 
(3)  “Why is it that many of my Japanese colleagues and friends have to take a vacation when participating in a conference or think-tank overseas”?
… the Western people consider this to be part of the business activities !!!
 
(4)  “Why is it that most Japanese go to international conferences without a specific objective and measurable results in mind”?
… Most other country participants have very clear targets to meet a certain number of suppliers, customers, etc., in order to end up with specific new business proposals !!!
 
(5)  “Why do most Japanese companies not like to see their employees writing and publishing industry articles or even books with other colleagues in their professional domain, even if they do it in their spare time over the weekend and the evenings”?
… in the Western world we consider this to benefit the company and the employee, as it demonstrates domain expertise vis-a-vis potential customers and peers in the industry !!!
 
(6) “Why do Japanese speakers in international events and conferences only present or ask in Japanese (there are always a few exceptions to the rule)”?
… it is common practice the government officials may speak their own language at an event in their own country, but most of the time, Japanese also do so in international conferences overseas !!!
 
(7)  “Why do all the conference participants or students keep their hands down and lower their heads when the professor or speaker asks a question that everybody is able to answer”?
… there are always a number of Europeans who have good answers or questions, while many Americans will raise their hands even before the question ends, whether or not they have a full or only a partial answer !!!
 
(8)  “Why is it that most Japanese executives only see the differences, risks and threats but never look at the  similarities or opportunities?”
… it always leaves a strong sense of pessimism and no optimism, hence, how can you advance personally or as a nation with such an attitude !!!
 
(9)  “Why is it that most Japanese people and senior executives are scared to call for serious changes in their organizations or even in the nation”?
… without constant changes, you cannot adapt to the ever rapidly changing world around us, hence, you are left behind !!!
 
(10)  “Why is it that Japan and its citizens will only be able to change or are willing to change when the country will either hit the wall, or will experience a total market crash, or is about to disintegrate completely”?
… a common answer by some of the highest ranked corporate officers, association or some government leaders, whom I spoke to during the “Japan Night” in Davos !!!
 

From Davos -2

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The 2nd day in Davos was another beautiful day.  I attended the Japan breakfast meeting of GAC (Global Agenda Council).  About 20 people were there including the YGL (Young Global Leaders), and since all were Japanese, our discussion was naturally in Japanese. I was the chairman of this breakfast session, and so seeing that some people were new to the Davos meeting, I first talked in English and pointed out that this Council was the only council in which the participants all spoke Japanese (the majority were Japanese and the rest were American who live in Japan).  Perhaps I surprised them.  But afterwards, I was told how they liked my comments because it served as an ice breaker.  Of course, the main topic at this session was the visit of the Prime Minister on the 29th.

In the afternoon, after several sessions, I went to hear the speeches given by President Yudhoyono of Indonesia and President Sarkozy of France.  Recently, Indonesia is experiencing an 8% economic growth under a democratically elected administration.  The current president and his administration are promoting the decentralization of the government, appointing talents in drastic style.  The ASEAN host of this year, President Yudhoyono delivered a wonderful speech.    Great speeches by great leaders always moves our heart.

I participate in the Governors meeting of big chemical industries annually as a guest and this year it was held in the afternoon.  The discussion is always good here, and it was again stimulating with participants like Mr. Kobayashi of Mitsubishi Chemicals, Mr. Ohyagi of Teijin.  I had the honor of making comments on Shale Oil, ‘Global to Local’ and such.  I learned a lot from talking with the top executives of these industries.
 
In the evening, I browsed through the Japan Night, Korea Night, and Indonesia Night.  The Indonesia Night had the best venue, but to my disappointment, there were not many people present, since it was after 10pm. Japan Night had the largest number of participants.  This was good.

However, I understand that the news of the  S&P reducing Japan’s ratings from AA to AA- caused some stir in Japan.  I commented on this topic a year ago in my blog.  Japanese media did not cover the news much when the S&P declined last time, but I wonder how they will behave this time.  I noticed a short comment by the PM being reported…

I went to bed feeling it difficult to fall asleep.

Design Thinking ? A New Movement of the New Age

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A Happy New Year!

I wish for a more active mood to emerge in Japan for the year of 2011. I strongly expect it to happen….

Over the past two to three years, I’ve noticed the phrase, ‘Design Thinking’ has spread gradually through the world.  How people interpret this word may differ according to each individual, but basically I think it stands for the essence of wisdom for how to address the very complicated issues of the world.

As I have mentioned several times in my blog, today, the word ‘Design’ is not confined to the dimension of objects or shapes only. It also refers to the act of presenting practical solutions to complex problems by taking into account various ideas from diverse viewpoints.  In other words, we should understand it as a process of ‘Design Thinking’.

I feel that this phenomenon is observed in many areas.  For instance; a scientific approach by the Open Systems Science of Dr. Mario Tokoro of Sony , Graduate School of Design at Harvard, the D School at Stanford, or the i.School  at the University of Tokyo

Design Thinking often uses the process of presenting figures to summarize and clarify issues.  The IdeasLab of the World Economic Forum may be one of such examples that are based on these concepts.  I recently had an opportunity to participate in meetings at WEF in Dubai; Global Redesign Summit (Ref.1) and Global Risk Response Network  (Ref.1). Nice visual demonstrations were prepared by Design, Innovation Council and the like, meant to clearly suggest the importance of showing and visualizing complex ideas and issues for better understanding.

Recently, designers have more opportunity to work in business sectors.  I think this is partly because of the trend I described above, combined with various technologies to present information in visual ways based on the rapid progress of digital technologies.  Examples of such designers would include Mr. Ken Okuyama (Ref.1 in Japanese), Mr. Issey Miyake (Ref.1 in Japanese), and Mr. Kashiwa Sato　(Ref.1 in Japanese).
　
Because they are all international designers, always thinking about the essences of the human mind, they naturally acquire visions to respond to today’s need to create ‘Open and Demand-driven Innovation’.

We have been organizing the Global Entrepreneurship Week （GEW） since 2009, and bearing in mind the trend described above, for 2010, we invited a group of youths to do a workshop under the theme ‘ Impact Japan : Design Thinking’ (Ref.1).  This triggered the foundation of our institution, Impact Japan.  Nikkei newspaper put an advertisement article on its December 29th morning issue about the Design Thinking activities that originated in GEW Japan.

I feel the wisdoms of the world working to adapt to the new age.  Now, how will Japan do this year?

Mr. Saisho of the Dragon Cherry Blossoms and the ‘Dream Award 2010’ by Watami Co., Ltd.

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On December 21st, I posted a column titled ‘The Dragon Cherry Blossoms (in Japanese) of Dhaka – They Did it Again’, which I wrote on 20th.

The main character of this story, Mr. Saisho, passed the screening of the ‘Dream Award 2010’ (in Japanese) from so many candidates to remain among the 5 finalists, and on 21th, the day after I drafted the above column, the final speech competition took place at Hibiya Public Auditorium.  I heard about this from Mr. Saisho himself because I met him the day before, on 20th near Hibiya, where the event took place.
 
I was told by the organizer that the speech by the wonderful 5 finalists were all very moving, but surprisingly Mr. Saisho won both the ‘Best Watami Dream Award’ and ‘Special Watami Award’ (in Japanese).  Mr. Saisho’s presentation can be seen on the web (in Japanese) within the timeframe of  01:57:55-02:12:33 and the announcement of the winners during 02:19:15-02:25:30.

A transcript of the interview of Mr. Saisho (in Japanese) is on the web, too.

The Dragon Cherry Blossoms is an outstanding project in terms of its scope, the big gap between now and the goal, and the strong ability to take actions to carryout the plans.

The impact of this project is huge because they, together with the youths of the poor village in Bangladesh, actually proved in real life that a big dream can become true.

I sent an e-mail to Mr. Saisho right away to say ‘I am proud of you.  But let’s be careful not to be too flattered by those series of good things that keep happening recently.’  The next day, he sent me a reply: ‘Yes, I will keep telling myself that praise is the biggest trap!’.  Good!

He will leave for Dahka on December 26th.

I wrote an e-mail to him: ‘Have a nice holiday season in Dhaka. Take care’.

The Dragon Cherry Blossoms of Dhaka – They Did it Again!

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This is another entry about Mr. Saisho (in Japanese), a Waseda University student. He’s been on leave from school for two years working in Bangladesh. I’ve written about him several times here.  Mr. Saisho has been working on a great project that brings hope to a poor village in Bangladesh. The project uses e-education to assist and empower youth in preparing for entrance exams for top Bangladesh universities. Preparation for these exams is usually class-driven; Mr Saisho and his colleagues are helping to lesson obstacles for the poorer. 

Two students succeeded in the exam. The news  was reported on the local newspaper under a bold heading.  Japanese media has been covering this news as well.  Mr. Saisho and his friends started this project two yeas ago and later gave it an ambitious name: ‘Grameen Change Maker Program’.

What happened to the other students?  Well, I received a follow up e-mail from Mr. Saisho yesterday.  According to his message, two more students passed the exams.

 "Dr. Kurokawa,

Here is more good news.  Two male students passed the entrance exam to the Teachers College of Comilla University, the 5th best national university in Bangladesh!!!

Below is the summary to date.

Accepted to University of Dhaka, the No.1 National University:
Bhuran Uddian Helal (male)
1,276th of 36,000 applicants

Accepted to Jagannath University, the No.3 National University:
Jaren Akter (female)
2,000th of 70,000 applicants

Accepted to Comilla University (Teachers College), the No.5 National University:
Muhamad Hossian (male)
480th of 40,000 applicants

Accepted to Comilla University (Teachers College), the No.5 National University:
MD Jafor Ahmed (male)
270th of 70,000 applicants

Each student passed with high scores!

Here, people are praising the achievement by calling it a ‘miracle in Hamchar village’

Now, people are curious to know more about the Dragon Cherry Blossoms e-Education method ? to learn the secret of how the village high school students succeeded in passing the university entrance exams with such high scores.

Sincerely,
Atsuyoshi Saisho”

For all those elderly who look down upon our youth, what do you think of this? Youths today are not in as bad of a place as you think. They are actually reliable and know exactly what they are doing.

Just giving them a small nudge from behind, like encouraging them to take a leave of absence from school and go abroad, is enough to make them go and see the new broad world, to find issues, and to challenge the issues bravely.

I advise youths to not be afraid of failures.  Have ambition and courage to challenge high goals. Try, and when you fail, learn your lessons from your failure and try again.  This is the key.  In short, it is ‘No Failure, no success’.

It is this young population that we want and that we are always looking for.  Are they not the human asset – the human resource whom the society, companies, and Japan as a nation need?  They are what we would call the ‘nails that stick out (Deru Kui)’, people who are not restricted to the commonsense of the Japanese society.

This is the reason why I so strongly recommend taking leave of absence from school.   We should give the youth opportunities to be aware of their possibilities.  As I always say, Japan is only a part of the wide world.

For you, readers, I would like to remind you that there are so many ways of helping such youth.  I ask for your warm support.

Another Achievement by the Dragon Cherry Blossoms

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Dragon Cherry Blossoms  (Ref.1, 2, 3) (Ref.2 is in Japanese) is a project in Bangladesh that helps youth in poor villages pursue great dreams. Their goal is high, and thought to have been impossible to achieve.  Mr. Saisyo of Waseda University, who is currently taking a leave of absence from school, is leading this project.

His activities were reported in the November 30th issue of Nikkei newspaper as the special feature titled: ‘Challenge’.

I was in Dubai when the article appeared, but I had already been familiar with the story since Mr. Saisyo informed me.  People may congratulate Waseda University as having done a good job again.  But this is not the University’s work. This is the result of hard work by Mr. Saisyo and his friends.  It would seem that taking a leave of absence from school  (Ref.1) for and going through many struggles might have worked positively toward this achievement.

As you see, encouraging students to not be afraid to challenge is one of the great missions of the universities in this global age. Indeed, these are the future leaders of the world. Such individuals are those who possess the potential to become human capital. They will have great impacts on society and the world.
 
Upon my return to Japan, I received good news from Mr. Saisyo:

“Dear Dr. Kurokawa,

This is Dragon Cherry Blossoms.  I am pleased to report to you that Jellen Acter, an 18 years old female student was accepted to the second best national university in Bandladesh, Jagannath University!!  This is the first case where a female student has passed the exam! 

She scored 2,038th among 70,000 students who sat for the exam!! 

A female student in this village who studied on e-Education qualified for a distinguished university equivalent to Hitotsubashi University in Japan!

This is the 2nd miracle after Heral!!  Wow, 2,038nd of 70,000!

Again, local people are in great excitement. “Unbelievable!” is their common reaction.

Today, a new role model is born in our Islam village, a new hope for the majority of female students whose options are very limited in planning their life.

After Heral, Jellen is the second case in this nation to pass the university entrance exam through study on the e-learning program. 

Jellen Acter, thank you for the revolution!

This is Saisyo reporting from Bangladesh.”

I sense great enthusiasm in his report…..  For more information, please look at his new web site. (in Japanese)

This is one of the great examples of how adults may support youth who are generally regarded as being inwardly focused.  The idea is to help youth see the desires hidden deep in their hearts (Ref.1),  and give encouragement and warm support as they pursue their dreams.

This is the essence of education.