Japan in the Bay Area: Developing Entrepreneurial Business Partnerships in the New Japan
Kenji Kushida
On February 20, I gave a talk and also moderated a panel at conference organized by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute with the US-Asia Technology Management Center (USATMC), on innovation, startups and technology development in Japan, and the bridge connecting Bay Area/Silicon Valley companies to Japan’s changing ecosystem.
The conference was built on a program organized at Stanford in March 2019 on Japan’s technology, innovation and startup footprint in the Bay Area, and a report released by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute in December 2019 that assesses the changing role of Japanese corporations in the region and how the strategies being pursued here link to transformation strategies being adopted at home.
Speakers:
Dr. Kenji Kushida (Research Scholar, Japan Program, Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center)
Dr. Richard Dasher (Director, US-Asia Technology Management Center)
Dr. Sean Randolph (Senior Director, Bay Area Council Economic Institute)
Tak Onishi, Partner, World Innovation Lab
Akiko Naka (Co-Founder and CEO, Wantedly)
Masayuki Ogata, COO, Freee
Christian Sanz (Co-Founder and CEO, Skycatch)
Neeti Mehta (SVP, Automation Software)
Kevin Kuhn, VP & General Manager, Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas)
Program:
2:30 Registration Opens
3:00 Welcome Remarks: Hon. Toru Maeda, Consul General of Japan
3:15 Presentation: Japan in the Bay Area: Collaboration and Transformation
Dr. Sean Randolph, Senior Director, Bay Area Council Economic Institute
3:30 Panel: Understanding Japan’s Changing Innovation and Startup Ecosystem
Dr. Kenji Kushida, Research Scholar, Japan Program, Shorenstein Center, Stanford (Moderator)
Akiko Naka, Co-Founder & CEO, Wantedly
Masayuki Ogata, COO, Freee
Tak Onishi, Partner, World Innovation Lab
4:40 Break
4:50 Panel: Leveraging Opportunities: Bay Area/Silicon Valley Partnerships in Japan
Dr. Richard Dasher, Director, US-Asia Technology Management Center, Stanford (Moderator)
Christian Sanz, Co-Founder & CEO, Skycatch
Neeti Mehta Shukla, Senior Vice President, Automation Anywhere
Kevin Kuhn, VP & General Manager, Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas)
6:00 Informal Reception
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