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On 21 November, the ‘2024 EICN Tokyo Annual Conference’ hosted by The Economist’s Economist Intelligence Corporate Network (EICN) was held: the theme was ‘Japanese innovation as a catalyst for growth’.
Following a presentation report on global political and economic outlook, TDK CEO Mr. Noboru Saito, House of Representatives member Mr. Tarō Kōno, and Noboru Konno (JIN Tama University Graduate School) took the stage.

I think it was a very meaningful discussion.
Innovation is not just for one company, but is essential for the long-term growth of society as a whole. However, innovation in Japan is currently stagnating. To overcome this, we need entrepreneurship regardless of company size, organizational culture that incorporates failure as feedback, and leadership from the top. Not all companies can innovate, but what is being asked is to break away from old management systems. They have not been able to break away from past patterns of success. DX is essentially about innovating own business from within, but it is still limited to digitizing current businesses.
Start-ups have a role to play in driving innovation, but in Japan, their contribution to GDP is not high. The environment is different from the US. What is required is an innovation ecosystem that goes beyond startup incubation with a view to scaling up, with industry and academia.
The declining birthrate and aging population are clearly reducing Japan’s capacity for innovation. As well as making better use of female and seniors, we need to relax policies and regulations (or introduce new ones) for immigrants and foreign workers.
Overall, I think what Japan needs is ‘conceptualizing capability (Koso-ryoku)’.