This article really mirrors my own experience in dealing with startups in Japan -- especially those outside of the Tokyo bubble. There's still this pervasive idea that if you're not a member of some multi-corporation conglomeration like Toyota or Sony, that you're not doing "real" business.<p>Probably the quote from the article that hit home the hardest for me was this one:<p>> Many people told me that, in Japan, failures are punished. They also told me that, if you start and fail, you will be personally bankrupt.<p>This is something I've been told many, many times throughout my professional career in Japan. And it's obviously not true -- harder than in the US, for sure -- but definitely not impossible. I see new companies springing up all the time in Japan, and not just what we would think of as startups, but also Entrepreneurial ventures in industries such as manufacturing, finance and trade.<p>Equally refreshing is this view of the old and new Japan coming from a Japanese person. I hear stuff about the new Japanese culture all the time from ExPats in the startup community, but normally this new vs old is the elephant in the room when the Japanese talk about the future of Japanese business (at least in my experience).<p>I still remember when SMAP went to GREE's headquarters and did an interview with Tanaka a few years ago -- "How can you be head of a huge company, you're younger than me!"<p>PS - Other favorite quote from a show about up and coming CEOs in Japan: "How can people be making that much money on the INTERNET?!?!"
Speaking as someone doing a startup in Japan, this is a very enjoyable article.<p>Richard is one of the few writers focused on the new wave of businesses, entrepreneurs and startup accelerators in Japan.
Interesting interview. Although Mr. Hori seems optimistic about the younger generations in Japan (and I would like to agree with him), I still think that the "New Japan" he describes is much, much smaller than he makes it out to be. Overall though, I have seen a lot of positive progress in the entrepreneurial community in Japan over the past couple of years, especially with regards to incubators/accelerators gaining more traction.