Creative Cures
Twelve innovators share their solutions at the ACCJ’s Healthcare x Digital Pitch Day Event.
Unified and Secure
As artificial intelligence sweeps the world, there is growing concern. Cisco is ensuring that it is powerful, efficient, and safe.
Your Own Private AI
As AI evolves, businesses are turning to custom LLMs to unlock corporate resources.
Synthetic Savants
Since the introduction of consumer-facing artificial intelligence applications such as ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, generative AI has transformed how people work around the world. How might it impact specific industries in the years to come?
Strengthening Cyber Risk Management
ACCJ member Ted Sato shares how his new cybersecurity book, written in collaboration with Keidanren, came about and discusses the issues it addresses.
Investing in Biotech
To help Japan capture a market forecast to grow to up to $4 trillion by 2040, METI has created an $8 billion fund to support biomanufacturing, a field that encompasses technologies which leverage genetic technology to maximize the ability of microorganisms to produce substances.
Setting the Stage for Green Transformation
If renewable energy production is not doubled by 2030, power outages and energy system disruptions could become everyday affairs. To help the international community rise to what may be this generation’s greatest challenge, and to showcase some of the technologies that will assist the world in meeting it, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) organized Tokyo GX (Green Transformation) Week. The 10-day event ran from September 26 to October 7.
Home-Grown Unicorns
There are 488 unicorns in the United States and 170 in China. Japan is home to just 11. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is on a mission to narrow this gap. In June, Japan’s Cabinet Office approved the Grand Design and Action Plan for a New Form of Capitalism: Investing in People, Technology, and Startups. The plan includes the formulation of a five-year roadmap for nurturing Japan’s startup ecosystem.
Deepening Africa–Japan Business Ties
While the number of Japanese companies active in Africa has doubled over the past decade to more than 900, Japan continues to lag the European Union, the United States, China, and India. The Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry (METI) is focused on encouraging Japanese businesses to support sustainable growth in Africa through projects that address vital social needs, leverage digital transformation, provide technical skills training, and boost renewable power generation.
Sushi Singularity
Is this a glimpse of the future of food? Japanese scientists and companies are developing 3D food printers to produce sushi, *wagyu*, and a host of other foods. They say the technology holds great promise for personalizing food to meet nutritional needs, reducing food waste, and even providing something to eat during extended space travel. “I think there’s huge potential. Food itself will probably change,” said Yamagata University’s Hidemitsu Furukawa.
State of Mind
For millions of people around the world who were already struggling with mental health issues, the past two-and-a-half years of the coronavirus pandemic have been a further trial. Isolation, a sudden shortage of opportunities to interact with friends or family in person, additional stresses in the workplace or the home, new financial worries, and difficulty in accessing appropriate mental healthcare have taken their toll, experts in the field told The ACCJ Journal.
From Disaster to Tech Hub
Soon after the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) began coordinating a wide range of efforts to revitalize this former disaster zone. METI’s revitalization initiatives were raised to a new level with the launch of the Fukushima Innovation Coast Framework in May 2017. Here’s how things are developing five years on.
The Case of the Missing Startups
University and government venture funds play a much larger role in Japan than they do in Western countries. Yet we see fewer biotechnology startups here compared with, say, the United States, which is home to eight of the top 10 highest-funded ventures. Why?
Innovation Destination
As a super-aging society with a population of more than 100 million, Japan has the potential to become a destination for healthcare innovation. Its citizens have easy and equal access to quality healthcare services, with pharmaceuticals and medical devices playing important roles in improving quality of life. But there are technological obstacles to overcome. The US medical device industry is leading the effort to develop a data platform in Japan which will enable traceability in healthcare.
Hidden Treasure
The Japanese government calls it a “digital cliff”—a projected shortfall of 450,000 engineers, programmers, and other tech workers needed by 2030 to undertake the country’s digital transformation. Harnessing the largely untapped potential of Japanese women—who are drastically underrepresented in science, engineering, and computer programming jobs and college degrees—could help narrow that gap.
RTO Diplomacy
As the pace of digitalization quickens and technology plays an increasingly important role in our lives, maintaining global leadership in science, technology, and innovation is critical. To do so, the United States Foreign Service has created a new position—regional technology officer (RTO)—which will focus on enabling the United States to maintain its leadership through transnational approaches to technology policy and development initiatives.
The Power to Innovate
The Japanese public is concerned that domestic pharmaceutical companies have yet to launch a single Covid-19 vaccine. Some may argue that this is due to a low rate of vaccine confidence, as is seen in the national tendency to avoid the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which has, in turn, caused a problem for vaccine development.
Investing in Smart Agriculture
AI gets a lot of attention these days, but its application to farming is not often in the spotlight. Sagri Co., Ltd. uses AI, machine learning, and mapping technologies to solve social problems. I had the opportunity to talk with CEO Shunsuke Tsuboi about the challenges that agricultural technology startups in Japan face when it comes to funding, as well as the benefits of their technology.