From the Desk of Consul General Osumi
2024/6/24
Essay Vol. 10
~In an era of Great Technological Innovation, What Can the Consulate General do for Japanese Businesses?~
~In an era of Great Technological Innovation, What Can the Consulate General do for Japanese Businesses?~
June 24, 2024
Yo Osumi
Consul General of Japan in San Franscicsco
Historically, San Francisco was a trading port and financial center that benefited from the gold rush. But today, the entire Bay Area down to San Jose has transformed into an epicenter of technological innovation. The generative AI that emerged from San Francisco last year shocked the world, and business travelers from Japan marvel at unmanned taxi cabs, even as they have become a familiar sight to us in the city. Flying cars and humanoid robots seem poised to become reality. The market capitalization of companies such as Nvidia and Microsoft has surpassed the GDP of countries such as the U.K. and France on a stand-alone basis, and is approaching that of Japan.Yo Osumi
Consul General of Japan in San Franscicsco
In this era of great technological innovation, Japanese companies are desperately trying to catch up. Although the number of Japanese residents in the region is on the rise, it is difficult to say that Japanese companies or founders in the Bay Area are making waves. And even when thinking beyond the present towards the future, the number of Japanese students studying abroad is declining, and in California, Japanese students make up about 3% of the total, only the 5th most by country. With the COVID-19 Pandemic and the weak yen, Japanese students just aren’t coming back. Japan's share of academic papers published and its share of the most highly cited papers have both declined.
Japan does have its own strengths. The craftsmanship of its artisans has created a sophisticated culture that is respected around the world, which I believe is responsible for Japan's notable soft power. Japanese companies have accumulated knowledge and manufacturing techniques based on real-world experience, an excellent workforce, and a marketplace with a well-adjusted sense of scale. They also have a wealth of experience doing business in Asia.
On the other hand, the Japanese sense of perfectionism has resulted in a harsh attitude toward anything “less than perfect,” an inflexible demerit system, and a strong bias against those who fail. Craftsmen may not approve of more “agile” or “flexible” approaches, where you try new, risky new ideas to improve something iteratively. If you consider the major technological innovation happening in the U.S. and other countries, the fact that we can’t continue to rely on the domestic Japanese market, and that we can’t a grow unless we make inroads into the U.S. and other English-speaking markets, you will see we need the wisdom to “relax” that ideal of perfectionism and to utilize our strengths to compete in foreign markets. I am sure that those in the business sector are working hard to find ways to transform their companies and mobilize, or ways they can scale up to compete globally without confining themselves to the Japanese market.
The Japanese government is striving to make breakthroughs in science, technology, and innovation policy through various initiatives such as the Integrated Innovation Strategy 2024 and the Five-Year Startup Development Plan. In addition, it is important for Japanese people to be exposed to other countries through study-abroad programs to increase their ambition, foster creativity, and challenge their ingrained sense of perfectionism. It is encouraging to see that the Japan-U.S. Joint Statement during Prime Minister Kishida's recent visit to the U.S. announced not only innovation and economic security measures, but also various policies to reverse the declining trend of Japanese students studying abroad, including economic support. The government's Council for Creation of the Future of Education, chaired by the Prime Minister, has set as one of its goals an increase in study tours and study-abroad programs at the high school level, which I believe is a step in the right direction.


At a major cybersecurity conference in San Francisco in May of this year, the concept of “digital solidarity” was brought up. U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken noted that as next-generation infrastructure technologies are transforming the world, and the boundary between the digital and physical realms is shrinking, there is an increased importance placed on technology in diplomacy and in strengthening the systems at diplomatic missions.
The Consulate General will continue to work with partners in the public and private sectors and closely monitor developments in other countries to contribute to Japan's business activities. We have already helped organize a pitch event for visiting Japanese women entrepreneurs and medical professionals. We are also engaging with the Japan Innovation Campus (JIC), which was launched in earnest this year with the aim of helping Japanese entrepreneurs enter the Silicon Valley business ecosystem. Business is an important part of any society and as the Consulate General works in diverse spheres including the political, cultural, consular, and economic, we would like to create synergy in supporting businesess. We hope that businesspeople will support this goal as well. In the area of science and technology, we were able to provide an opportunity for networking among Japanese researchers in the region through the visit of Dr. Yoichiro Matsumoto, Advisor for Science and Technology to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in January this year. We have asked UCSF Associate Professor Kazuhito Morioka to be our Science and Technology Fellow, and we aim to support networking opportunities for Japanese researchers in the region.
The Consulate General will continue to work with partners in the public and private sectors and closely monitor developments in other countries to contribute to Japan's business activities. We have already helped organize a pitch event for visiting Japanese women entrepreneurs and medical professionals. We are also engaging with the Japan Innovation Campus (JIC), which was launched in earnest this year with the aim of helping Japanese entrepreneurs enter the Silicon Valley business ecosystem. Business is an important part of any society and as the Consulate General works in diverse spheres including the political, cultural, consular, and economic, we would like to create synergy in supporting businesess. We hope that businesspeople will support this goal as well. In the area of science and technology, we were able to provide an opportunity for networking among Japanese researchers in the region through the visit of Dr. Yoichiro Matsumoto, Advisor for Science and Technology to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in January this year. We have asked UCSF Associate Professor Kazuhito Morioka to be our Science and Technology Fellow, and we aim to support networking opportunities for Japanese researchers in the region.



Finally, the education of future generations is the most important investment we can make for the long term, and we would like to provide what support we can as a Consulate. I understand some junior and senior high school students have been visiting Japan during school vacations as part of individual school initiatives or sister city exchange programs. The Consulate would like to actively and thoroughly support these students. In order to make even more friends of Japan in the region, it is important to maintain and strengthen the Japanese language programs in local schools, and we would like to work together with everyone involved to ensure that those programs remain robust. The Consulate hopes to play an important role in connecting Japanese Americans, Japanese nationals residing here (both short-term and long-term), and friends of Japan.
Recommended Information
- Essay Vol.1 (2023.11)
- Essay Vol.2 (2023.11)
- Essay Vol.3 (2023.12)
- Essay Vol.4 (2024.01)
- Essay Vol.5 (2024.02)
- Essay Vol.6 (2024.03)
- Essay Vol.7 (2024.04)
- Essay Vol.8 (2024.04)
- Essay Vol.9 (2024.05)
- Essay Vol.11 (2024.07)
- Essay Vol.12 (2024.08)
- Essay Vol.13 (2024.09)
- Essay Vol.14 (2024.10)
- Essay Vol.15 (2024.10)