About Me

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I came to the US, to make high-nutrient, disease-immune and easy to grow genetically engineered potato. Initially, I was concentrating on the science side, but eventually started to realize, that it is not only science that needs to be changed but also the 'system' where scientific innovation resides. After completing a doctoral degree in bioengineering and innovation management, I have ventured to study international management and international politics, as a means to study science policy. My eventual goal is to apply the science policy in developing nations, but I am now focusing to apply in Japan, where the country is in deep trouble, not being able to align the country with rapidly spreading globalization.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Innovation and Aid

Is there any way for Japan to aid Africa in a way in which it can compete against China...?
China is becoming dominant, guzzling all the natural resources...Japan has to make "Apple" approach. Start conscientious help, retain it sustainably and gain trust from the aid recipients.

There is so much potential that innovation can be applied to diplomacy...

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Evolution and Innovation

Evolution and Innovation (just wondered as I was looking at plants in Atlanta, as my friend was driving by)

Survival of the fittest is actually a natural method of testing out what is most creative and suitable to live in that environment. The survival of the fittest...the survival of the most creative that suits the living environment...

Perhaps the way nature 'creates' creativity is something we will refer back when we are stuck in coming up with creativity...something similar to biomimetics, but biomimetics of creativity.

--> But then again, we human will try to override the system and try to accelerate the natural process....and realize that the at the end, the natural process is better.

Monday, June 27, 2011

innovation and being financially fit


http://financiallyfit.yahoo.com/finance/article-110926-6907-5-top-5-tips-to-build-wealth-and-success?ywaad=ad0035&nc より転送。。。
1。謙虚さ
2。挫折力
3。自信、アピール力、友人ネットワーク
4。その場力
5。市場の見極め
ということになるのかな。。。
これとイノベーションを組み合わせるとどうなるか。。

Warren Buffett is worth $45 billion. That wealth isn't only a factor of savvy investing and good business — the "Oracle of Omaha" is also known as a penny pincher. Buffett still lives in the same Omaha, Neb., home he bought in 1958 for $31,500.
Follow his frugal formula, and you too may wind up with a lot more money than you ever dreamed.
This week Financially Fit covers five tips to build wealth and success.
1. Live Below Your Means. (謙虚さ)
Being wealthy isn't just a product of your salary or investment prowess; it's learning how to save.
"We can make a lot of money, you can make a little bit of money, but the second you spend all the money is when people get into trouble. Saving is the key to preserving your wealth," says Ed Butowsky, managing partner of Chapwood Capital Investment Management, a firm that manages money for wealthy individuals.
As many Americans realized during the booming real estate market, just because you think you can afford something doesn't mean you should buy it. Keeping an eye on your bottom line will pay dividends over the long term.
2. Bounce Back From Defeat (挫折力)
With nearly 15 million workers unemployed right now in the U.S., it's easy to get discouraged. Don't! Most successful and wealthy people have overcome obstacles and failure along the way. Steve Jobs was ousted from Apple when he was 30. Today, he's a billionaire and a legend. Plus, after getting fired, he created another billion-dollar media company, Pixar.
"Bouncing back from defeat is something all great achievers have. They have this undying belief good things will happen and will continue to happen," says Butowsky.
Take Michael Jordan. "His airness" was cut from his high school basketball team. Motivated by the rejection, Jordan became a star the next season. The rest is history.
3. Self-Promote (自信、アピール力、友人ネットワーク)
Regardless of the profession, the rich and successful tend to have a strong sense of self-worth — key to skillfully navigating an upward career path. Mark Hurd, who was ousted as CEO of Hewlett-Packard in August, couldn't be kept down for long. Using his business skills and connections, in September, Hurd was named president of Oracle. (Hurd and Oracle founder Larry Ellison are known to be close friends.)
4. Have Street Smarts (その場力)
Bernie Madoff lived the high life for decades, scamming unsuspecting clients, with a money-making formula that proved too good to be true. Only afterward did we learn that with a little due diligence, most clients could have easily uncovered the fraud.
But it's not only the swindlers and the con men you have to watch out for. Many times, friends and family take advantage of the rich. Whether it's a handout or an investment idea, Butowsky advises his high net worth clients that in most cases, it's wisest to just say "no." The best way to do that: have someone else do it for you.
"You need to really set up a wall between you and your family," he advises. "If you don't want to give them (family or friends) money ... saying no is probably a good idea."
5. Buy Cheap (市場の見極め)
The rich can afford to splurge, but that doesn't mean they do.
John Paulson, a billionaire hedge fund manager, bought his Hamptons "dream house at a bargain basement price," according to Greg Zuckerman, author of the Paulson-based book, "The Greatest Trade Ever." The story has it that Paulson eyed the home while it was in foreclosure. Finally, on a rain-soaked day, he purchased the home on the Southampton town hall steps. He was the only bidder.
On New York City's Upper East Side, Michael's— The Consignment Shop for Women— has been a bargain-hunting destination for more than 60 years. "We have a good percentage of women who can afford to shop on Madison Avenue but really like the idea of saving that money," says proprietor Tammy Gates.
From Chanel to Gucci and Louis Vuitton, the store specializes in high-end designer merchandise for a reasonable price. Speaking of her clientele, Gates says, "they're wealthy for a reason. They recognize that bargains keep people wealthy. Paying top dollar when you don't have to doesn't make sense."
This article is part of a series related to being Financially Fit

Coca-Cola and Innovation

A visit to World Coca-Cola in Atlanta.

Impressive visit.
1.8billion bottles/cans consumed a day in a world, that is impressive.
Annual Revenue of 35.119billion USD in 2010, with net annual income (2010) of 11.809billion USD.
Compare that to...Walmart 421billion USD in 2010, with net annual income (2010) of 16.993billion USD. (of course, those are not the best measures, but just to put in scale)
They now have over 500 different brands of products, in the world.

It all started with a pharmacist (inventor) John Pemberton
Market Visionary (Innovator)...Asa Griggs Candler
Global Expander...Woodruff (helped by WWII to spread the coke brand to the world)

Why doesn't Japan have anything like this company?
Not too capitally intensive, huge mark-up by brand, internationally-recognized....
(I guess only SONY, TOYOTA, HONDA may be the ones that comes to our minds...but they require so much constant innovation)

Coca-cola has to innovate, of course, in the product side too, but probably not as much as in the field of electronics. Granted, the product cycle for coke is shorter, so one may think that they have to constantly innovate, however, they do claim that their original recipe hasn't changed over years (who knows, it's all trade secret). What Coca-cola has to continuously do is to maintain brand-level at the same level as when it was innovated initially. And they are doing that extremely well. They have to be on top of what people might be expecting from the company. They have to always excel the customer's expectations, by providing their blockbuster product...which in recent scientific development, it is inconceivably very easy to find out how to make Coca-cola (but you can't sell many because you lack the brand!) 

(And an unbelievable customer loyalty??...people protested for changing the recipe for 79days...that's just unheard of!)

(Also their global adaptability? Coke is not popular as much in Japan, but instead, they are selling canned-coffee three times as much in Japan compared to coke...a great way to adapt!...I guess the same goes with the guarana approach in Brazil)






Sunday, June 26, 2011

Fourth Day in Atlanta-Active innovation

Fourth Day in Atlanta. Visiting a very old friend of mine, who still has some time before starting the job in Atlanta.

Relaxing days continued up until now, as if I don't have to worry at all about employment. Wake up without the sound of alarm, eat breakfast, accompany in the car to go shopping, eat lunch, exercise, cook dinner, read books and sleep. I guess it is an ideal way to live by? Not having have to worry too much about the future and just live the way one feels the happiest at that time... Everyday runs slow, and my friend and I are concentrating on what is immediately ahead of us, not worried anything about the future.
I guess we are "living in the moment" so to speak...but I guess it is not exactly the same.

Potentially there is living in the moment in "active form" and "passive form".
We are definitely living in a passive form at this moment; taking things in as they are.
It is easy to be in the passive form, brain-less, less stress on the body, I feel like I can even say that I can be more true to my body...perhaps true to my body over mind.
But I am missing some of the drive in the head..just as it was shown on the Cerebrex commercial just now on TV, when there is no 'movement' forward, I will just regress.
"Not acting on things is not only it is a failure, but also something that loses chances for a success"
--> I should always be actively seeking for self-actualization (Maslow)...the moment you stop trying, you will not only fail but also you will lose chances for subsequent success, just like how your muscles lose strength when you don't use them...if you don't use them, you can't lift 'heavy weights'.

So I guess I have to "live the moment" actively, or if I am to relate to innovation, I have to be innovating daily, hourly, minutely, secondly!! nano-secondly!  Just to get this to be part of be...restart of routenization.





Sunday, June 12, 2011

Commencement Speech

あと4時間弱で大学の送辞をすることになる。
ここ数日は推敲に推敲を重ねることだけの毎日。。。最初に書いたものからバージョン5までにどんどん移り変わっていく自分のスピーチ。

これだけ大勢の人の前でスピーチをするのはすごく久しぶりに感じる。
ただ卒業生の前で話すということなので、そこまで以前の自分と変わったような感じはしないのだが、これは、やはり「自分の夢、総理大臣になる夢」に一歩近づく、避けて通れない道だと認識している。政治家の人は毎日大勢の人の前で、自分の話すことに責任を持ちながら話している。それの一番最初の練習だという認識になる。

少し、できたらいいなと考えていたことが現実になった。
ただ、そのことだけを考えていただけではなかった。ただ、自分は人の心に残る様に、「誠」を通して接して来た結果、140人ぐらいの中の人から選ばれ、残った3人の人の中から選ばれることができた。本当に皆に感謝している。

不安が頭の中をよぎる。
きのうは脂っこいバリトーを食べたからか、緊張からか、夜に何回か目が覚めてしまった。
今朝はあまりおなかの調子がよくない。この緊張をコントロールできるようにならないと、これから大きなことを成し遂げることはできないだろうなと思う。

不安になると、体の中に虫酸が走る。途中で失敗してしまうことより、聴衆に飽きられてしまう方が怖い。笑うと思っていたところで笑わないでしまうところが怖い。 聴衆が自分に対して何か変な偏見をもってしまうことが怖い。この虫酸の走り方。。。テニスのマッチポイントとかにも似ている。やはり場慣れしなければ。心臓の上の方からおへそまで何かがレーダーのようにすーっと動いて行くのを感じる。そして、それがまたあがって来て。。声がうわずる。

これで十分練習したのだろうか、あと1日あったらもといいものができたのではないか。。。そんな無意味が考えだけが頭の中を駆け巡る。

友達は「信じている」「君なら大丈夫」「楽しめば良い」と言ってくれている。
かけがえのないもの。。

がんばろう。


Saturday, May 21, 2011

Just busy...restart

Attending 2011 Bioengineering Entrepreneurship Conference at UCSD.

Personalized Medicine and innovation.

As the cost of sequencing DNA (3.5G gases, only 1.5% code for protein)goes down, roughly following the Moore's Law (# processors in an area for semiconductors), it is now possible to decode 3 full human genome within 1 week for several thousand dollars (before it took 10years and billion dollars). A new paradigm of medicine will arise with personalized medicine where DNA sequence is analyzed while the subject is a baby and where PREVENTIVE medicine is applied, based on the information derived from the sequenced data.

Life Technologies(Frederic Pla, PhD)--> Biology is going to explode in the next decade once again!!

Invivoscribe (Jeffrey Miller, PhD): --> asking the question why to something that doesn't normally match...always have people around you who opposes your ideas, so you will be good at defending your model.
-While you have IP, make sure you do something that are socially responsible...so even after the IP expires, brand itself will remain (Kleenex).
-Strong believer of organic growth of company.

-He transitioned seamlessly from research to research and that prepared him in business (being able to see the key components in research.違う畑のものをどんどん見ていると、その中に共通するものが見えてくる)


-Key elements to success
  -identify opportunity
  - understand market
  - Don't choose something obsolete
  - Kill bad projects early
  - pick team of rivals
  -  Any high tech has to have a good IP
  - ENJOY the business! "I'll pay to do my job!"
  - Don't assume that your technology will always be competitive! (be paranoid!)