Sydney Opera House

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I left Hayman Island after the ADC Forum for Sydney and stayed there for overnight for time adjustment.

The weather was beautiful next morning, and I had free time for about half of the day.  So, of course, I headed right away to the Opera House and enjoyed a very relaxing time.

What is amazing about this Opera House is, that the more you take a close look at it, the more you see how it was built with a vision for the future, integrated plans to materialize the vision – not only within its structural design, but also in the contents and wonderful programs that continue to attract people of the world to this day.  In short, this House has a great “magnetic power” that comes only from something produced with long term perspectives.

On the other hand, it seems to me that the national policies of Japan lack such dynamic, big concepts based on the understandings of current and future standpoint of itself in the global settings as I sense in this Opera House.  After all, our national policies are essentially nothing but the output of the “small town community” mindset traditionally nurtured within each ministries, which, as Tatsuru UCHIDA put it, is the reason why “Japan tends inherently to be a follower/responder rather than leader in the world affairs ” (Ref.1 in Japanese).

I decided to spend rest of my time at Bondi Beach, and had lunch at an Italian restaurant run by a young Jewish fellow from Israel.  I enjoyed talking about various things with him.  By the way, Bondi Beach is also famous for its Life Saving Club as well as the Icebergs.

Now, I will pick up my baggage at the hotel, go to the airport, and fly to Singapore.

Again On “2010 ACCJ Person of the Year”

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I was elected as the 2010 ACCJ Person of the Year in the end of 2010, and gave an acceptance speech this February at The Tokyo American Club luncheon.  The text of the speech is uploaded on my web site for your reference.

Recently, someone told me that Mr. Richard Smart posted an article about me, which, I think, was based on my speech at the luncheon, on the Tokyo Weekender titled “Kiyoshi Kurokawa, The Maverick”

Well, it is true that I speak my mind outspokenly although it may irritate some people, so it is quite natural for Mr. Smart to think that way.  However, I have never doubted that I might be wrong.  My point is that the Japanese society is a too insular minded, closed “Vertical Society.”

I know that many people will have hard feelings when truths are spoken and I don’t think we can do much about it.   However, it is very important that we speak what we truly feel.

You all know how the Japanese media coverage took the side of the government, trying to make things look better in their news coverage after the events of 3.11.  I think the credibility of Japanese journalism has fallen down sharply by their behavior of currying favor with power.  And now it is clear to the whole world that this attitude of flattering to power is not limited to the Japanese government, Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA), or Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).
 
Where is Japan headed to?  I am a bit worried.

August 6th: Hiroshima, Fukushima and Global Health Summer Course

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DSC_6649
August 6th is the date of the A-Bombing of Hiroshima.

The ceremony in Hiroshima took place, as always, in the stifling heat of summer, and I have to wonder how the words offered up by Prime Minister Kan were heard by the people of Hiroshima, the people of Fukushima and the Tohoku victims.

What kind of country will Japan become?  I feel like we have been trapped in a 5-month-long nightmare.  The situation surrounding the Fukushima cleanup and its ultimate disposition is still murky.  In addition, nothing has been clarified for Tohoku in terms of how to handle the current situation on the ground, plans for the future and what will be the ultimate role of the state.  Moreover, attention seems to be more focused on what are essentially tempests in a teapot with resistance being exhibited by the old guard, generic scandals and Ministry of Trade, Economics and Industry personnel matters.  There is a growing sense that Japan is becoming a pitiful excuse for a country.

A feeling of gloom and doom is hanging over everyone because the world at large may again be on the edge of an economic collapse. Just what exactly should Japan do under such ominous circumstances?

Many people attribute the current political state of affairs to the (Japanese) public at large, but it is actually more of a push back to the tyranny of the “Cartels of the Mind.” Universities and the media (which seems to just cast ‘talent shows’ and ‘dining spots’) also bear a heavy burden.  I have repeatedly made the point in this blog, that we in Japan have been almost exclusively focused on economic growth with industries being unable to function in the globalized world of the past 20 years. I recently wrote about some of these same points in the official journals of the New Komeito and Liberal Democratic Party.

A couple of days ago, I introduced the “Global Health Human Resource Training Seminar — Global Health Summer Program 2011” (Ref. 1).

The morning of Saturday August 6th marked the end of the two-week course.  Four different teams gave presentations on the topic for this year which was policy proposals aimed at the eradication of polio throughout the world in the expansive Fukutake Lecture Hall at the University of Tokyo Hongo campus. Everyone presented well-thought-out and unique proposals and it was extremely difficult to score the presentations. A combination of the various proposals present by each of the four groups might actually make for a good project in the future.

I actually took to my bed during this two-day period, because I had an absolutely awful cold, but I woke in the morning and finally felt able to put in an appearance.

It was definitely well worth the effort, because the participants have given a lot of thought to the wheres and whys of the task at hand.  Many of them commented that they had never really given any thought to such problems before and this activity allows them to greatly expand their horizons and way of thinking.

I went to lunch with the students and many individuals who supported their activities.  Many commented that they were starting to think about their next career path from a different perspective.  It is always a pleasure to interact with those individuals who will be responsible for leading us into the future.

This event marked the gathering of a group of approximately 20 passionate and driven students, some of whom have studied in the United States and France while others have gotten real life experience in places like Africa.  I really enjoyed interacting and getting to know such students who are looking to build a global career.

I left early to get home, pack my bags, and head off to Narita to depart for Qatar.  I will be participating in the unveiling of the Academic Health System Initiative.  This undertaking is quite something particularly in the heat of the summer and at the beginning of Ramadan.

I will report back later on how things go in Qatar.

My Opinion Pieces in the New Komeito and Liberal Democratic Party of Japan Papers

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Last month, a dialogue with the Tetsuo Sato, former Minister of the Environment and current acting Secretariat General of the New Komeito and myself took place on the topic of “Japan Overcoming Crises and Making a Contribution to the Rest of the World ? The Lessons of Our Nuclear Disaster as a Resource for the Common International Good” (in Japanese).  This article appeared in New Komeito which is the official monthly journal of the New Komeito Party.  This debate took place one month after the earthquake on April 13th.  I hope you will forgive me for the delay in posting this information because, frankly, it completely slipped my mind.

The following topics were covered:

  • The real face of Japan
  • Leadership that is weak at the time of crises
  • A blueprint for disaster recovery
  • Japan in the world today

I wrote frankly about “political leadership (p. 3) of the current Democratic Party of Japan administration.

In this journal, a dialogue with the Kazuhisa Ogawa, an expert on Japan’s self-defense force, and another with Masayuki Yamanouchi, a historian and a great scholar appeared in the issues before and after mine.

A three-part series was published in the official weekly paper of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan in July.  The series was entitled “Contemplating the State of the Nation” and my theme was Social Welfare.  The titles of the articles (all in Japanese) are listed below:

However, when I talked with the editor on the phone and expressed my reservations that these three expansive themes would be extremely difficult to adequately cover over three installments in the available space with the end result being essentially being meaningless, the editor responded that he had gotten the exact same response from a number of people.

I did address these topics broadly over the three installments, and I was able to say what I wanted to say.

The final installation came out today and I, quite by chance, was in the offices of a senior Liberal Democratic Diet member in the afternoon.  He took a look at the article and offered up some comments.

The article did contain some rather critical comments in regards to the Liberal Democratic Party which is to be expected.

Today, more than ever, politicians have a huge responsibility in a Japan which is currently in a precarious position.

 

Discussion With CSIS: Health Policy and Restructuring Japan After ‘3.11’

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As I have mentioned earlier this year on my web site, we, the Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI), are collaborating with CSIS, a well known Think Tank of the United States, on health policy issues.

The topics for our collaboration for this time are: 1. Payment System of Hospitals and 2. Application of ICT.

Since we now have drafts of the reports on the two themes, I came to Washington DC to jointly present interim reports and discuss the issues with the invited specialists from outside.

I arrived at Dulles airport from Narita at 10:40am, and headed directly from the airport to CSIS.  We discussed over lunch on the ‘recommendation for the restructuring of Japan’ which CSIS started to develop after ‘3.11’.

This theme is very complicated, to say the least, and there is no end in our discussion.

However, I enjoy discussing. Health care system issue is a huge problem and it takes a tremendous amount of time to achieve any reforms.  We are searching for realistic policies and the ways to apply those policies in order to bring about the desired changes in the existing systems.
 
It seems to me that the key is how to use the ‘3.11’ as a chance agent to restructure current social system.  Of course, we must develop good and deep understanding in the broad range of the public, and the process of how we do this is very important.

Japan has huge burdens; aging society, chronic diseases burden, expansion of income disparity, stagnating economy, and on top of that we are at the brink of bankruptcy.  We have hardly any time left for reforms.  If we do not turn this great crisis of ‘3.11’ to an oppoutunity for big chance , I seriously think that Japan could collapse.

 

An Interview with NBR

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My opinions on the response of Japan to the 3.11 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster and the Fukushima nuclear disaster have been posted on the NBR website. This interview is entitled “Moving Forward: Relief Efforts, Health System Reforms, and Japan’s Role in Global Aid”.

Among the things that I discuss in the this interview is the establishment of an independent, international task force, to examine Fukushima nuclear disaster, which also serves to halt the loss of confidence and damaging rumor mongering in Japan.  The establishment of such task force is critically important, thus the government must take immediate action, and adopt a stance designed to learn from the mistakes of the past and share those lessons learned with the rest of the world.

I just want to ask you, dear readers, what message did you take away from this interview?

Interviews of a number of other friends (ref.1)and acquaintance have also been posted, and I encourage you to take a look.  Not an awful lot of news in English gets out of Japan, so many in the general public overseas look upon Japan with uncertainty because they are unsure of what is going on. 

However, we are in an age of new tools and venues for communication.  I, myself, have decided to try to send out at least half of my messages on Twitter in English.

 

 

An Invitation to a Dialogue with Professor Ikujiro Nonaka

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The University of California (UC) is system of universities with 10 campuses located throughout the state of California and it is one of the leading university systems in the United States. The schools in Berkeley and Los Angeles have the largest numbers of Japanese alumni. 

How would you like to attend a conversation between myself and Professor Ikujiro Nonaka on the topic of “Japanese Innovation in the Aftermath of the Recent Disaster ? What Will It Take?” sponsored by the joint secretariat of the UCLA Japan Alumni Association and UC Berkeley Japan Alumni. This Dialogue will be held on July 1st from 6:30 pm at the Tokyo 21c Club.

You do not need to be a member of the UC alumni association.  I would really love to have a chance to meet and talk with everyone and anyone who follows this blog.

***************

The 4th Berkeley Arena of Wisdom

“Japanese Innovation in the Aftermath of the Recent Disaster ? What Will It Take?”

UC Berkeley Japan Alumni Chairman: Ikujiro Nonaka

UCLA Japan Alumni Chairman: Kiyoshi Kurokawa

 

■ Date: July 1st, 2011 (Fri) 6:３0 PM to 9：30 PM

■ Location: Tokyo 21c Club （Shin-Marunouchi Bldg 10F)

■ Fee: UCB・UCLA members 3,000 yen （Food included but beverages separate）

            UCB・UCLA non-members 4,000 yen （Food included but beverages separate）

Professors Nonaka and Kurokawa will both participate in the reception to be held after the seminar. （Drinks are to be paid for at the time of receipt.）

■ The language of the Dialogue will be Japanese in principle with an accompanying PowerPoint presentation in English (however, questions in English are more than welcomed).

■ RSVP (deadline for registration): Please fill out the registration form by June 28th.

***************

 

A summary of this upcoming event.

●    The 4th Berkeley Arena of Wisdom will be jointly sponsored by the UCLA and Berkeley Alumni Associations.

●    We asked the alumni chairmen to host Kiyoshi Kurokawa who is a past Professor of Medicine at UCLA and Ikujiro Nonaka who is the Fuji-Xerox Professor of Knowledge at Berkeley and these two individuals are internationally recognized scholars in the area of innovation.

●    We will be able to become better acquainted with SECI model as proposed by Professor Nonaka, based on spirals formed by tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge if there are substantial contributions to the creation of science and technology policies through the use of state funds on one hand and innovation by well-positioned corporations which are sitting on a wealth of R&D. 

●    Japan will be unable to rebuild in the wake of the recent  disaster without innovation. The secretariat of the alumni association aims to expand the Berkeley Arena of Wisdom through this talk on Japanese innovation in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami by the two guests. 

●    The two speakers have made their views known in the media on the overwhelming scale of the local disaster and problems surrounding leadership. The events surrounding the Fukushima nuclear reactor have made it clear that the concepts of “phronesis” as espoused by Professor Nonaka and "out-of-the-box" thinking by Professor Kurokawa as extremely relevant to the issues related to leadership in a knowledge-based society.

●    The two speakers plan on keeping their remarks brief with each speaker talking for about 30 minutes while raising and commenting on important issues. The hope is that the talk can develop into a deep discussion with attendees (however, all should be warned that given Professor Kurokawa’s love of a good debate who knows what could develop!!)

●    The language of the Talk will be in Japanese (but we may switch to English on occasion to accommodate inquiries from attendees).

●    A reception with food will be held after the seminar which will allow time for attendees to talk and get to know each other.  However, drinks are not included and should be paid for at the time of receipt. 

●    All funds collected for the seminar will be donated to disaster relief for the victims of the Tohoku Earthquake.

Kuala Lumpur – Pacific Science Congress

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I had the honor of being appointed eight years ago to the Presidency of the Pacific Science Association (PSA) and we held the 2007 Pacific Science Congress in Okinawa and then the 2009 Inter-Congress in Tahiti (Ref 1, 2, 3).  I have already, as you may know, talked about these gatherings on this site.

The Pacific Science Congress also has a committee within the Japan Science Council and belongs to the International Council of Science (ICSU).  This organization has a long and illustrious history of 98 years.

The Congress was held this year in Kuala Lumpur from June 14th to June 17th, and as the Immediate Past-President, I was invited to give a Keynote address.  I departed on the 13th for Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia is a country that is vibrant and growing and it is pouring its energies into policies designed to promote education along with scientific and technological innovation.  Many local researchers who receive backing from the government were in attendance at the conference making for a really excellent gathering.

The title of my Keynote address was “Age of Uncertainty: Have We Become Wiser?” and my objective was to be as stimulating and thought provoking as possible.  Of course, many in the audience also expressed their support, concern and condolences regarding the recent tsunami and the subsequent events in Fukushima.

Everyone present seemed to find my address interesting and it prompted numerous questions from the audience.  The next day I even sat down for a live TV interview that lasted approximately 25 minutes. I was pleased to find out that Greg-san from Nagasaki University observed on his blog that the spirt in the room during my address heightened.

The Japan Science Council’s Hatai Medal was awarded this year to Professor Katsumi Tsukamoto (Ref. 1) for his research on the origin and migration of Pacific eels.  Professor Tsukamoto picked up his award in the company of his wife and I want to offer him my heartfelt congratulations on receiving this honor. 

I also was able to meet up with Dr. Robert Underwood (left photo below) who is the President of the University of Guam and had served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2003.  He talked about the far-flung Pacific Islands including the problems they grapple with in the areas of education and health care as well as their unique relationship with the United States from an extremely interesting perspective. He extended an invitation to me to visit Guam and I think that I would like to take him up on his offer sometime within the next year.  The Congress was an overall enjoyable experience which allowed me to see many old friends, make some new ones and meet young up-and-coming researchers.

With underwood Group photo 

I have previously talked about the Global Science and Innovation Advisory Council (GSIAC) which operates under the Malaysian Prime Minister, and I also had the opportunity to meet for around an hour with Dr. Zakri, who is the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor, and his staff. The members were truly an impressive lot and I was honored to be able to participate in this confab.

The next Inter-Congress meeting is scheduled to be held two years from now at the University of the South Pacific (Fiji).  How about joining us then??

 

 

Transparency of Information is the Basis of Trust: What is PM Kan’s Cabinet Doing?

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Ever since the Fukushima nuclear power plant breakdown, I have been pointing out in my web site that openness and transparency of information is the basis of trust for any organizations, be it government or enterprises. And in the case of Fukushima I regret to say that this openness and transparency lacked to a fatal degree especially in the initial stage.
 
The fall of trust in Japan’s government and authority seems clear to the world, and this openness is the risk shared by all Japan Enterprises in this global world.  Unfavorable rumors or misinformation about agricultural produce or industrial products, thus harming credibility of Japan (‘Fuhyo Higai’ in Japanese), basically originates from this mistrust in Japan.

To address this issue, I pointed out as the “Next Step” (Ref.1,2,3) the importance of launching a Commission/Task Force consisting of independent, international members.

I understand that some legislators recognize the importance of such processes, and their number seems to be increasing.
 
At this challenging timing, domestic politics is seemingly occupied by the ‘storm in a cup’, and I fear that the world is gradually spreading the notion that governance of Japan’s authority is really no good.

IAEA issued a report on the result of its investigation of Fukushima pointing out that the transparency of information and speed of briefing was fatally unsatisfactory.  It is no surprise that they say so.

Such tendency of Japan was being observed internationally for some time at many arenas, but it so seems that they thought it, understandably, was a domestic problem.

However, now, people are being more aware of this weakness as they were pointed out in relation to the response of Japanese authorities to Fukushima and the investigation of that followed.

Below are the recent commentaries for your reference.  I think people involved are well aware of these issues.
１．Comments by Bruno Pellaud, former Director General of IAEA (in Japanese)
２．Credibility of Yukiya Amano, Director General, IAEA , questioned (in Japanese)
３．Comments on the weakness of the Government of Japan (in Japanese)

We must swiftly move on to the next “Step” to regain trust.  No matter what we do, it takes a long time to regain the trust once lost.

 

Geneve; Todai President Council at the WEF Head Quarter -1

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The President Council of Todai is held in early June annually.  This year’s meeting, by the invitation of Professor Klaus Schwab, our member and also the Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF, popular as the Davos Meeting), was set at the WEF Head Quarter (HQ) in Geneva.  By the way, last year’s meeting was held in New York City.

As I landed in Geneva via Paris, I found the weather cold and rainy.  After a short break, I headed to Cologny, one of the most prestigious area in Geneva where the WEF HQ is located, and as I gazed at the mountains across the lake, behind the UN and other buildings, I noticed them covered with new snow.  I was told that the weather was very hot only last week, like 30℃/86?.  It was a pity.

I enjoyed reunions with many friends working at the WEF HQ, having lunch together, talking about the agenda.  So many young people from various backgrounds, various nationalities are working here.  There were several Japanese, too.  Most of them, including the Japanese, are here temporarily for some years, as a part of their career paths, but the work presents them opportunities to get in touch with the leaders of the world, making friends, and expanding networks.

The next day was a national holiday here, and most of the places were closed.  However, the reception at the WEF HQ from the evening was full and cheerful with the presence of President Hamada of Todai, the Council members, and OB/OG of Todai working in Geneva and its adjacent areas.  There I met Dr Suwa, introduced several years ago by Dr. Ito.  He is a graduate of Todai, Department of Science, earned Master’s degree at Duke University, PhD at Princeton University, and taught in Rwanda for about 3 years.  Dr Suwa is currently working at the World Meteorological Organization and hopes to return to Rwanda to teach after his term at WMO is over.  I introduced him to President Hamada right away.  I also had the pleasure of greeting HE Suganuma, the Ambassador of Japan to Swiss.  Here in Geneva, many are related to governmental organizations, so I had opportunities to meet many friends (though most of them were much younger than I….)

In the evening, I had dinner with the Council members at the Hotel.  Professor Kobayashi  (Ref.1) the head of Japan team at CERN was of course invited, too.  I was seated next to Mr Bill Emmott and we talked mostly over Fukushima.  I think many of you know him.  He was the head of Tokyo office and then editor of the Economist, and authored many books on Japan (please search at Amazon).  I understand that he is recently writing on Italy.

There were lots of topics to talk about; Japan after 3.11, how journalisms or scientists should be, businesses, politices….. I felt that concerns and attentions to Japan are high after 3.11.

Mr. Emmott told me that he plans to visit Tokyo in June.