What are Japan’s “national interests”? Let us define them as the: preservation of the Japanese territories; protection of the lives and property of the Japanese people; prosperity of the Japanese economy, businesses, and people; and dignified preservation of Japanese values, culture and historical perspective; as well as the acquisition and retention of the kind of influence and voice that are needed in the international arena to secure the aforementioned interests for the nation. Having redefined “national interests,” we need to enhance the national power that supports foreign policies and actively practice diplomacy that contributes to the world.

In 2009 Japan lost out to South Korea in the bid for a project to build a nuclear power station in the United Arab Emirates. Lee Myung-bak, the president of South Korean at the time, personally negotiated with Sheikh Mohammed of the UAE by telephone on six occasions and directed the bidding process from the top. China has also begin competing with Japan for bullet trains construction projects in places like Brazil and California. It is essential to take lessons from the strong political will and policy execution systems seen overseas as these involve the government and private sector working together and have led to the countries concerned winning the international competition for orders.

The tennis player Rafael Nadal apparently watched the animated series Dragon Ball every day when he was a child. Lady Gaga is crazy about Hello Kitty. Some countries are implementing economic growth strategies in which the whole country is involved in developing and promoting content and brands. South Korea’s Cool Korea initiative ignited the hanryu (Korean) boom, and also helped South Korean automakers, appliance manufacturers, and so on expand their market shares overseas. Japan also needs to make Cool Japan a national strategy.

In 2011 Google’s acquisition of Motorola’s mobile device division made headlines for the high price that was paid. Apparently, Google was after Motorola’s patents and IP (intellectual property). Japan’s strong technology and content capabilities are essential prerequisites for international competitiveness, but alone are not enough. An IP strategy is crucial for advancing the globalization of its technology and content industries.

SMACS (social, mobile, analytics, cloud, security/sensors) is continuously transforming communications, industry, and education, and even brings major changes to the structure of society. Regarding the adoption of IT in the public sector, Japan has lagged behind other countries for many years, but these last few years have brought dramatic changes. Right now Japan needs to make a big change toward digital standards and rebuild its social structure.

“How can startups be nurtured?” The answer to this question is very simple. All you need are people who want to launch a startup (place and attitude), appropriate education for potential startup launchers (people), the inflow of adequate funding (money), an ecosystem that makes it easy for startups to grow (companies and the government). The notion of “supporting” startups doesn’t actually lead to their emergence. The important thing is to nurture the ecosystem.