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> One of the biggest questions, economists say, is whether Japan, and by extension Asia's newer export-oriented economies, will learn how to foster innovation,

by kijin 15y ago

> One of the biggest questions, economists say, is whether Japan, and by extension Asia's newer export-oriented economies, will learn how to foster innovation, nurturing the Apples, Googles, Facebooks I'm pessimistic that this will happen any time soon in Japan, or any other country in the Far East, or pretty much every country except a select few. That kind of innovation is almost universally looked down upon in those cultures. You're supposed to be employed in a large corporation that makes tangible goods, not sit in front of a screen and churn out intellectual property. Yes, they would love to make a billion dollars, too. But no, the sight of a bunch of college-dropout geeks doing what American startups typically do would be abhorrent enough to drive all investors a thousand kilometers away. You would be a shame to everyone around you. Your parents will not know how to explain themselves to their neighbors. Your high school teachers will deny that they ever taught you. I seriously hope that somebody somewhere will say "F U" to all of that and just build something. Don't even target people in the same country, just sell it directly to everyone around the world. But even then, the sight of you straddling your MacBook in T-shirts and underpants like a hikikomori would be considered a shame to everyone around you. At least until you buy a sports car with your hard-earned foreign currency.

diminish 15y ago
The same factor seems to prevail everywhere from Europe, Russia to Japan. Everyone thinks it would be easy to ignite a Silicon Valley by government will. The truth is that a lot of forces are in place which makes a startup culture a difficult thing to create.
replax 15y ago
While I kind of agree with you, I have to add a few things. Especially concerning the startup culture in Japan. Yes, it is looked down upon by most, however, it exists. Compared to SV or London or Berlin it is fairly small, but it is there. However, the exposure they get is very limited. It seems to be somewhat shut-off, mainly caused by a language barrier. Nearly everything is in Japanese, with little incentive to go international. Also, many people do not understand english well enough to participate in international communities or do not feel the urge to. For example, look at mixi (it's a social network with roughly 15m members in japan, exists for i think 7 years+, mixi.jp), they had a huge userbase before facebook was popular in japan, even before facebook was really popular anywhere. however, their website is still only in japanese and to sign-up, you have to have a japanese cell phone email-address (for account confirmation). They are artificially locking people out and considering that japanese people increasingly go abroad/have friends outside of Japan, they migrate to facebook. Still, mixi does not move. What I think is missing, is obviously the acceptance, as you mentioned, but also the incentive to go international(, unless the service involves billing). It's the internet and not a local sweets shop. By the way, there are also Japanese investors looking for startup and there are websites where they exchange ideas and whatnot, but it is all in Japanese.
- kijin 15y ago
  You're right. Also, I think lack of international exchange feeds back into lack of cultural acceptance. When everyone you know speaks the same language, follows the same cultural norms, etc., there is little incentive to consider the possibility that people who radically differ from you might offer great ideas and alternative lifestyles. A walled garden limits people's imaginations. Unfortunately, many Japanese seem to regard foreigners not as potential colleagues and a reservoir of ideas, but as mere cash cows for exporters to milk, and as "Gaijin" who somehow deserve less respect than the Japanese. The same happens in South Korea. There's an incredible amount of contempt for foreigners and foreign things, mostly among demographics that do not interact regularly with outside cultures. By contrast, in America, YC founders come from all sorts of ethnic backgrounds. It's common to see names that are obviously not English in origin. Diversity is one of the major strengths of a country like America, and one which relatively homogeneous countries like Japan cannot easily replicate. When your CTO is from Poland and your CFO is from India, you are kinda forced to think on a global scale.

by kijin 15y ago

diminish 15y ago

The same factor seems to prevail everywhere from Europe, Russia to Japan. Everyone thinks it would be easy to ignite a Silicon Valley by government will. The truth is that a lot of forces are in place which makes a startup culture a difficult thing to create.

replax 15y ago

While I kind of agree with you, I have to add a few things. Especially concerning the startup culture in Japan. Yes, it is looked down upon by most, however, it exists. Compared to SV or London or Berlin it is fairly small, but it is there. However, the exposure they get is very limited. It seems to be somewhat shut-off, mainly caused by a language barrier. Nearly everything is in Japanese, with little incentive to go international. Also, many people do not understand english well enough to participate in international communities or do not feel the urge to. For example, look at mixi (it's a social network with roughly 15m members in japan, exists for i think 7 years+, mixi.jp), they had a huge userbase before facebook was popular in japan, even before facebook was really popular anywhere. however, their website is still only in japanese and to sign-up, you have to have a japanese cell phone email-address (for account confirmation). They are artificially locking people out and considering that japanese people increasingly go abroad/have friends outside of Japan, they migrate to facebook. Still, mixi does not move. What I think is missing, is obviously the acceptance, as you mentioned, but also the incentive to go international(, unless the service involves billing). It's the internet and not a local sweets shop. By the way, there are also Japanese investors looking for startup and there are websites where they exchange ideas and whatnot, but it is all in Japanese.

kijin 15y ago
You're right. Also, I think lack of international exchange feeds back into lack of cultural acceptance. When everyone you know speaks the same language, follows the same cultural norms, etc., there is little incentive to consider the possibility that people who radically differ from you might offer great ideas and alternative lifestyles. A walled garden limits people's imaginations. Unfortunately, many Japanese seem to regard foreigners not as potential colleagues and a reservoir of ideas, but as mere cash cows for exporters to milk, and as "Gaijin" who somehow deserve less respect than the Japanese. The same happens in South Korea. There's an incredible amount of contempt for foreigners and foreign things, mostly among demographics that do not interact regularly with outside cultures. By contrast, in America, YC founders come from all sorts of ethnic backgrounds. It's common to see names that are obviously not English in origin. Diversity is one of the major strengths of a country like America, and one which relatively homogeneous countries like Japan cannot easily replicate. When your CTO is from Poland and your CFO is from India, you are kinda forced to think on a global scale.