Sometimes, we had to wait 10 minutes in order to connect to the internet.

When we started, the internet connection was really poor. Like heads and tails of a coin, Joi was in charge of the US side, and I was in charge of the Japanese side, and that is how we function. The biggest element is that Joi Ito and I co-founded this company. How did you manage to impose your brand, and your model, in such an American start-up environment? It is very important to understand that Digital Garage managed to be one of the leading contributors of this US-based start-up community in San Francisco, and now in New York. We would like to collaborate with other businesses to create innovation. We have about 1 trillion records from eCommerce. To provide data, we have lots of information from Tabelog. 100 years ago there was something called Bauhaus and we want to make an open innovation lab version of that.Īs the eighth most innovative company in the world, according to Forbes, how does Kakaku represent today the future of your business?įor connecting data science businesses, Kakaku will be very important to the technology segment. We are looking at the 2020 Olympics as a platform to enable innovation. The Expo ‘70 in Osaka and the previous Tokyo Olympics have led to the exposure of many new technologies, new things, and new systems. We are preparing to establish this DG Lab, focusing on five elements: blockchain, AR/VR, AI, security, and biotech. Of course, the 2020 Olympics are coming up. I have spoken with him about the things to come in the next seven years. How is it part of your spirit to be international and create bridges with the US?Īs you know, Joichi Ito, our co-founder, is the director of the MIT Media Lab. Digital Garage really embodies the spirit of internationalization. One other important aspect of us being here in Japan is to talk about Abenomics and its impact on global mindsets. In our culture, our DNA, there is always the spirit and the idea of questioning common sense. Another thing that is in our DNA is a saying by Timothy Leary: “Think for yourself and question authority.” Common sense during World War II, during the Industrial Revolution, of 10 years ago, and common sense now, are all different. We have the “First Penguin Spirit” in our DNA, the mindset of taking risks and creatively challenging oneself. We have been providing service and support for those companies that look ahead. Then, we predict the next technologies that will come. For example, like what we have done with, we see ahead. There are many examples in the real world that did well on PCs, did not do well on cell phones, but then did well on smart phones. Providing the right service for advertisement and the right service for payment is in our DNA. One is to organize the advertisement, and the other one is to provide service for payment. We have tried a lot of ways, and then realized there are only two ways to monetize in the internet world. How did you manage to reach such an impressive performance? With net sales reaching nearly 40 billion yen, that is nearly four times the amount of five years ago. It has always part of your DNA at Digital Garage to create the future of the internet business. Maybe in 10 years, when our teenagers become our generation, then maybe we will be able to realize that kind of environment. We cannot just copy the surface, or the structure of it, but we have to have the spirit in order to realize the real Silicon Valley. We have to change and establish the societal mentality. However, we rather have to encourage those who stick out. We say the nail that sticks out will be hammered. In Japanese society, we tend to discourage people from standing out. Instead of the current scholarly and record-oriented way, we should have more respect for entrepreneurship and regulation. In order to realize that kind of environment, first, we have to change our education here. In Japan, if we were to do the same thing, we have to have the same kind of environment. Recently, the population has diversified. When I first visited the United States’ Silicon Valley, there were only Americans doing business.

What do you think is missing today to create a “Silicon Valley” in Japan?

Expo nails