Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship played a critical role in transforming Japan’s  telecommunications sector. Between the mid-1990s and mid-2000s, in a sector long dominated by a stable set of large actors with well-established patterns of interaction, entrepreneurs introduced new technologies, new business models, and new norms of  interaction.

The subsequent transformation of Japan’s telecommunications sector was dramatic, providing consumers with not only fast and sophisticated services but also low prices and an entire new ecosystem of mobile content—a considerable departure from Japan’s long track record of being known as producer- rather than consumer-oriented, with consumers enjoying high-end services and products, but at high prices.

Yet, these transformative entrepreneurs were not acting in a vacuum. Regulatory shifts in telecommunications were critical in providing opportunities for entrepreneurs, while simultaneously protecting them from large incumbent firms. These regulatory shifts were driven by the political dynamics of the 1990s as Japan struggled through its post-bubble economic malaise and political changes.

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Prior to March 11, 2011, many observers had all but written Japan's economy off; after all, it was said, Japan produced only 10 percent of global manufacturing output. Four days later, the world realized that a good portion of that 10 percent sits at a critical upstream spot in the global supply chain, in many products that we not only like (such as the iPad) but also need (e.g., fine chemicals for lithium-ion batteries, silicon wafers, or microcontrollers). In some cases, more than half of global output in critical input materials was located in the Tohoku region. Remarkably, by May 2011, most of the factories not located in the radiation zone had repaired the earthquake damage and resumed operations. 

This presentation explores Japan's role in producing components and materials that are critical in global manufacturing, and then zooms in to analyze the speedy efforts at reconstruction by Japanese business after the Tohoku disaster. It argues that Japan is unlikely to relinquish its leading role in supplying critical components due to this shock, precisely because these "New Japan" companies are competitive, nimble, and fast.

Ulrike Schaede studies Japan’s corporate strategy, business organization, management, financial markets, and regulation. Her book Choose and Focus: Japanese Business Strategies for the 21st Century (Cornell UP, 2008) argues that Japan’s business organization has undergone a strategic inflection so fundamental that our knowledge of Japanese business practices from the 1980s and 1990s is no longer adequate. Her current research looks at “New Japan” companies that have assumed global supply chain leadership in materials and components. She also works on projects regarding corporate restructuring, changing human resource practices, and entrepreneurship in Japan.

Schaede holds an MA from Bonn University, and a PhD from the Philipps-Universtät in Marburg, Germany. She is trilingual and has spent a total of more than eight years of research and study in Japan. She has been a visiting scholar at the research institutes of the Bank of Japan, Japan's Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and at the Development Bank of Japan. Before joining the University of California, San Diego in 1994, Schaede held academic positions in Germany (Philipps-Universtät Marburg) and Japan (Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo), and she was a visiting professor at the business schools of UC Berkeley and Harvard.

The U.S.-North Korean “Leap Day” deal of February 29 was thrown into question by the North’s recent announcement of a satellite launch between April 12 and 16 to celebrate the centenary of Kim il Sung’s birth. As the opening of the launch window nears, an intense international brouunfolds with, amazingly, the US, Russia, China, Japan, and South Korea on the same page, dead set against a launch; and an isolated North Korea defiantly planning to celebrate the centenary with a satellite launch on or by April 15. In this presentation, the three speakers will provide a brief background of the successes and failures of North Korea’s previous satellite launches (score: 0 for 3 by Western count, 2 for 2 by DPRK count) and what has been learned from these; an expected timeline of activities of the countdown; and a guide and comparison of the new Sohae Western launch complex to the older Tonghae Eastern launch complex.

About the speakers:

Lewis Franklin is a long-time CISAC Affiliate, joining CISAC in 1992 as a Visiting Scholar after retiring as a TRW vice president, and previously vice president and co-founder of ESL, a defense intelligence company. Upon retirement he was awarded the CIA's Gold Medal for career-long contributions to foreign weapons assessment and national technical means capabilities. At CISAC his work focused on technical intelligence related problems, including wmd proliferation, export controls, defense conversion, and especially conversion of retired ICBMs for low-cost space launches.

Nick Hansen is a CISAC Affiliate. He graduated with a BA in Geography from Syracuse University in 1964.  His career in national intelligence spans 43 years first as an Army imagery analyst, and then in industry with GTE-EDL, ESL/TRW, Tera Research as a cofounder Vice Pres. and then again at ESL (now TRW/Northrop-Grumman) as a Director. He has also served in an SES position at the Navy's NIOC-Suitland, MD, as an image technology expert associated with Pennsylvania State University.  He has been twice nominated for the NRO's Pioneer award for innovative imagery uses and techniques development and is an expert in foreign weapons systems and test ranges. 

Allison Puccioni is an expert in remotely-sensed imagery and geospatial intelligence at IHS Janes. She was honored for her innovative intelligence in response to Sept. 11, and has been recognized by the Department of Defense and international armed forces for her outstanding strategic and tactical analysis. 

In this session of the Shorenstein APARC Corporate Affiliate Visiting Fellows Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

Yasunori Kakemizu, "Strategy of CATV in the Competitive TV Market: Open vs. Closed Models"

After prospering for more than a half-century in the United States, the cable industry is taking on a new competitor, Over-The-Top providers (OTT). OTT providers are a product of the information technology revolution that emerged from the invention of Internet protocol of the late 20th century. In his research presentation, Kakemizu tries to answer the question: What is the strategy of the cable industry in the United States and what will happen to it in the near future? Kakemizu analyzes the current threat and opportunity facing cable television companies, focusing on the strategies against OTT, such as Netflix and Hulu.

Hideaki Koda, "Driving the Electric Vehicle Forward: Reshaping Car Sharing with EV and ICT"

Should the all-electric vehicle challenge the traditional car head-on in the mainstream market? The answer may be "no" if you look back on the history of disruptive innovations. An innovative technology at its dawn often succeeds first in a smaller, untapped market where its strengths shine and its weaknesses are shadowed (or even turned into strengths). It then enters the mainstream market over time by achieving more maturity, as typically shown in the computer market. Then where is the market for the electric vehicle? It might be car sharing, which is thought to be a potentially large market. Koda discusses how to combine electric vehicles and car sharing with information and communications technology (e.g. Big Data processing) to achieve a win-win solution for all by taking advantage of the unique characteristics of the electric vehicle.  

Haiming Li, "Competing Strategies for China's Large Commercial Banks"

Competing strategies are critical to China's large commercial banks, as they determine future direction of development for these banks. Research shows that following five strategies, namely a strategy for lead changes, a strategy for globalization, a strategy for diversification, a strategy for systematic risk management, as well as a strategy for establishing a decision-making support system, need to be adapted. Coordinated implementation of these strategies will enhance the competitiveness of China's large commercial banks both home and abroad.

Yoshimasa Waseda, "Nantotechnolgoy for Fuel Cells: The Impact and Analysis of the Status Using Patent Information"

Judging from the need to reduce increasing dangers of future global climate change, clean energy has become more important and is a key issue for future development. Fuel cells are a candidate for achieving clean energy in the future although they currently have some disadvantages. Many researchers study the application of nanotechnology for fuel cells to solve these disadvantages using the unique phenomena of nanomaterials. In this presentation, Waseda discusses the impact of nanotechnology for fuel cells and analyzes the status of each region using patent information.