171
1967
Joined The Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan, Ltd. After graduation
from The University of Tokyo in Law
1989
Completed AMP, Harvard Business School
1993–1998 Executive Managing Director & Member of The Board
1999–2000 Lecturer, Graduate School for Asia-Pacific Studies, University of
Waseda
2000–2003 Director & Member of The Board, GlaxoSmithKline Japan
2001–2008 Professor, Graduate School of Industrial Management, University of
Kyushu
It Is Innovation for Being Used at the Site
Yoshikawa Perhaps this is what’s called social engineering. In the case of Japan,
even if something is achieved at the level of science or technology, whether or not
that achievement gets introduced into society is a separate problem. There is a huge
social problem. In that regard, I believe that there is still much room for improvement in Japan. I believe that there is also a large role to be played by the state and
the government. For example, a historical example that was successful that I think
of, though maybe somewhat out of the blue, is the Dojunkai Apartments. In the
recovery after the 1923 Kanto Earthquake, the Home Ministry erected about twenty
Dojunkai Apartment buildings in Tokyo and Yokohama. Up until then, collective
housing had consisted of wooden buildings with at most two stories; however, the
collective housing introduced with the Dojunkai Apartments consisted of concrete
structures that were 3 to 4 stories, or, in some cases, even 6–7 stories high. The
Dojunkai Apartments served as the model for post-WWII collective housing, and it
is clear that they represent the prototype of the modern-day apartment complexes.
The Home Ministry played a leading role in carrying out that experimental project.
Because “seeing is believing.” it is extremely important to present a model in a
form that people can see with their eyes. Especially nowadays, I think it’s even more
necessary to make a model. This is true especially in the fields of medicine and caregiving. An easy to understand example would be that even if a caregiver robot were
developed, it is not introduced into an actual caregiving facility. It is because they are
not a part of the medical treatment fee structure. Aside from the case where there is a
unique business manager who wants to experiment with the robot and pays out of his/
her pocket for it, there is no basis for introducing such robots into caregiving facilities. Thus, the state must play a leading role in spreading the use of caregiver robots.
People have been talking about this for 10 years now, but it still isn’t happening.
Even in the field of energy, in which you are interested, there was a certain type
of scheme that was created in order to foster the diffusion of renewables. In the
same manner, the medical and caregiving fields will more than likely require some
sort of public initiative before innovative technologies are adopted for widespread
use. I guess this is what is called social innovation. I believe that there is a lot of
room for progress there.
Interview
1967
Joined The Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan, Ltd. After graduation
from The University of Tokyo in Law
1989
Completed AMP, Harvard Business School
1993–1998 Executive Managing Director & Member of The Board
1999–2000 Lecturer, Graduate School for Asia-Pacific Studies, University of
Waseda
2000–2003 Director & Member of The Board, GlaxoSmithKline Japan
2001–2008 Professor, Graduate School of Industrial Management, University of
Kyushu
It Is Innovation for Being Used at the Site
Yoshikawa Perhaps this is what’s called social engineering. In the case of Japan,
even if something is achieved at the level of science or technology, whether or not
that achievement gets introduced into society is a separate problem. There is a huge
social problem. In that regard, I believe that there is still much room for improvement in Japan. I believe that there is also a large role to be played by the state and
the government. For example, a historical example that was successful that I think
of, though maybe somewhat out of the blue, is the Dojunkai Apartments. In the
recovery after the 1923 Kanto Earthquake, the Home Ministry erected about twenty
Dojunkai Apartment buildings in Tokyo and Yokohama. Up until then, collective
housing had consisted of wooden buildings with at most two stories; however, the
collective housing introduced with the Dojunkai Apartments consisted of concrete
structures that were 3 to 4 stories, or, in some cases, even 6–7 stories high. The
Dojunkai Apartments served as the model for post-WWII collective housing, and it
is clear that they represent the prototype of the modern-day apartment complexes.
The Home Ministry played a leading role in carrying out that experimental project.
Because “seeing is believing.” it is extremely important to present a model in a
form that people can see with their eyes. Especially nowadays, I think it’s even more
necessary to make a model. This is true especially in the fields of medicine and caregiving. An easy to understand example would be that even if a caregiver robot were
developed, it is not introduced into an actual caregiving facility. It is because they are
not a part of the medical treatment fee structure. Aside from the case where there is a
unique business manager who wants to experiment with the robot and pays out of his/
her pocket for it, there is no basis for introducing such robots into caregiving facilities. Thus, the state must play a leading role in spreading the use of caregiver robots.
People have been talking about this for 10 years now, but it still isn’t happening.
Even in the field of energy, in which you are interested, there was a certain type
of scheme that was created in order to foster the diffusion of renewables. In the
same manner, the medical and caregiving fields will more than likely require some
sort of public initiative before innovative technologies are adopted for widespread
use. I guess this is what is called social innovation. I believe that there is a lot of
room for progress there.
Interview