Stanford University

Innovation

Do Innovation Subsidies Make Chinese Firms More Innovative?

Authors
Takeo Hoshi
News Type
Commentary
Date
Paragraphs

The following item appears on VoxChina.org, an "independent, non-partisan and non-profit platform initiated by a group of experienced and accomplished economists."

Motivated by the realization that China’s economic growth model that relied on three major factors—cheap labor, capital deepening supported by high savings (depressed consumption), and technology, most of which came from advanced foreign countries—is about to become obsolete, the Chinese government has been trying to encourage innovations by Chinese firms through various subsidy programs (König et al., 2018). Using data from the China Employer Employee Survey (CEES), we study the allocation and impacts of the innovation subsidies in China in a recent NBER working paper (Cheng et al., 2019). We examine what type of firms are more likely to receive the innovation subsidies and if the subsidized firms are more likely to be innovative (measured by the number of patents and the likelihood of introducing new products), productive, and profitable....

Read the full article on VoxChina.

Hero Image
Chinese worker examines panel on machinery VoxChina
All News button
1

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Intelligence Augmentation (IA), Human Machine Interfaces (HMI): Frontier Research and Policies for Navigating the Future Together

-

The diffusion and deployment of technology is not simply shaped by the technology itself. Complementary technologies are often required to derive value from the technology, and other factors such as business models for which the technology solves significant “pain points.” Business organizations that can harness the set of technologies, along with societal factors such as regulations, employment regimes, demographics, social norms, and political dynamics can critically affect how technologies diffuse.

This conference is centered on the technological development, deployment, and diffusion of various forms of human-machine interfaces. In the morning, it examines technologies utilizing AI, IA, and pushing human-machine interfaces to the next level of commercial development (morning session A). It also introduces frontier research in medical fields and focuses on how a design approach has been effective for how medical products and solutions have been developed (morning session B). In the afternoon, it turns to a discussion of policy dynamics and considerations surrounding the use of AI and IA, particularly in broad societal deployments

This conference is a joint production of the Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Center (APARC) Japan Program’s Stanford Silicon Valley - New Japan Project, and Japanese venture community, Mistletoe, Inc.

Agenda

*Agenda subject to change

9:00 - 9:30             Registration

9:30 - 9:40             Welcome Remarks

9:40 - 11:00           Morning Session A: Next Generation Human Machine Interfaces: From Science Fiction to Reality to Industrial Deployment

Presentations followed by discussion:

Ryoichi Togashi, Program Director, Komatsu

Andrew Pedtke, Co-founder and CEO, Lim Innovations

Lochlainn Wilson, CEO, SE4

Moderator: Kenji Kushida, Research Scholar, Stanford University

11:00 - 11:15         Break

11:15 - 12:30         Morning Session B: Bio Design and Medical Technologies, and University-Industry Ecosystems

Presentations followed by discussion:

Atsushi Taira, Chief Growth Officer, Mistletoe, Inc.

Gordon Miller Saul, Executive Director,  Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign

Christoph Leuze, Research Scientist, Stanford Radiological Sciences Lab

Pushkar Apte, Director of Strategic Initiatives, CITRIS and the Banatao Institute, UC Berkeley

Moderator: Kenji Kushida, Research Scholar, Stanford University

12:30 - 13:30        Lunch

1:30 - 15:00          Afternoon Discussion: Regulations, politics, and industry dynamic with considerations of accountability and ethics

Presentations followed by discussion:

Kenji Kushida, Research Scholar, Stanford University

Mei Lin Fung, Co-Founder, People-Centered Internet

Rosanna Guadagno, Director, Information Warfare Working Group, Stanford University

Mike Nelson, Head of Public Policy, CloudFlare

Moderator: Jaclyn Selby, Research Scholar, Stanford University

15:00                    Closing Remarks

RSVP REQUIRED

Limited seating available. Seats will be filled on a first come, first serve basis.

RSVP Deadline: May 20, 2019

RSVP link: http://www.stanford-svnj.org/52119conference

Stanford Silicon Valley-New Japan Project

Japan in the Bay Area: From Competition to Collaboration

-

The Bay Area Council Economic Institute and the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center Japan Program invite you to a forum on the critical transformations underway in Japan’s economy and the unique synergies that connect it to the Bay Area. The program will include a discussion of the high-level findings of a new report by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute on Japan’s economic engagement in the San Francisco/Silicon Valley Bay Area, and the role the region is playing as California and Japan look to expand trade and investment and accelerate innovation. Leading experts and practitioners from both Japan and the Bay Area will join us for this discussion. 

This event is brought to you by the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center Japan Program and the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, in cooperation with the Japan Society of Northern California.

 

Agenda

 

1:00pm          Welcome

     Jim Wunderman, President & CEO, Bay Area Council

     Hon. Tomochika Uyama, Consul General of Japan

     Takeo Hoshi, Director, Shorenstein APARC Japan Program

1:10pm          Introduction of Bay Area Council Economic Institute Report: High-Level Findings

     Sean Randolph, Senior Director, Bay Area Council Economic Institute

1:30pm          Observations and Silicon Valley Overview

     Kenji Kushida, Research Scholar, Stanford University

1:45pm          Panel 1: The Emerging New Japan 

     Kanetaka Maki, Associate Professor, Waseda Business School

     Mio Takaoka, CFO, Medical Note and Partner, Arbor Ventures

     Takeshi Ebihara, Founding GP, Rebright Partners

     Emre Yuasa, Principal, Globis Capital Partners

     Sean Randolph, Senior Director, Bay Area Council Economic Institute (Moderator)

2:45pm          Panel 2: Japanese Companies in Silicon Valley Creating Value in New Ways

     Hiroshi Menjo, Managing Partner, Net Service Ventures

     Tsunehiko Yanagihara, Executive VP, Mitsubishi Corp M-LAB

     Gen Isayama, General Partner & CEO, World Innovation Lab

     Dennis Clark, Managing Director, Honda Innovations

     George Saikalis, SVP & CTO, Hitachi America, Ltd.

     Kenji Kushida, Research Scholar, Stanford University (Moderator)

4:00pm         Closing Remarks 

Bechtel Conference Center
Encina Hall
616 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305

Panel Discussions
Stanford Silicon Valley-New Japan Project

HOW DOES VENTURE CAPITAL WORK AND HOW DO JAPANESE CORPORATIONS LEVERAGE VENTURE CAPITAL?

-

Since its establishment, DNX Ventures (formerly Draper Nexus Ventures) has acted as a bridge between growing Silicon Valley businesses and large Japanese firms. Since 2011, DNX Ventures has created more than 100 partnerships between its portfolio companies and its over 25 large Japanese corporate LPs. During this seminar, Managing Director of DNX Ventures Hiro Rio Maeda will extrapolate from his over 15 years of experience in both corporate venture capital and venture capital and extensive experience working with both startups and large Japanese corporations to discuss the basics of venture capital, and how Japanese corporations leverage venture capital to push forward open innovation initiatives. From a VC perspective: how are decisions about strategic investments made? How does money flow? What ratio of successful investments to non-successful investments do VCs aim for? From a large Japanese corporate perspective: how do large Japanese firms use VC to achieve open innovation goals? What are some of the obstacles to Japanese large firm-startup partnerships, and what are some of the ways to overcome these challenges? Maeda will answer these questions and more, as well as share examples of successful partnerships and large Japanese firms that are successfully harnessing Silicon Valley to further open innovation efforts.  

SPEAKER:

Hiro Rio Maeda, Managing Director, DNX Ventures (formerly Draper Nexus)

BIO:

Hiro Rio Maeda is a Managing Director at venture capital firm DNX Ventures (formerly Draper Nexus). Rio focuses on investing in innovative companies in Cyber Security, mobile, storage, and retail tech area that could work on a global scale. His portfolio companies include Cylance, SafeBreach, JASK, vArmour, AppDome, Ayasdi, Remotium, Klout, Fyde, JoyMode, and Hom.ma. 

Prior to joining DNX Ventures (formerly Draper Nexus), Rio spent six years at Globespan Capital Partners where he had put his resource on both investment and business development of Japan/US portfolio companies. Palo Alto Networks(NYSE: PANW) was a good example portfolio company that he took a lead on taking them to the Japanese market.

Prior to Globespan, Rio spent seven years at Sumitomo Corporation, a Japanese conglomerate trading company in which he had built expertise his international business skill in IT technologies and consumer web services in Tokyo and his capitalist career at Presidio Ventures (Sumitomo’s corporate venture capital arm) in Santa Clara.Japanese conglomerate trading company in which he had built expertise his international business skill in IT technologies and consumer web services in Tokyo and his capitalist career at Presidio Ventures (Sumitomo’s corporate venture capital arm) in Santa Clara.

AGENDA:

4:15pm: Doors open
4:30pm-5:30pm: Talk and Discussion
5:30pm-6:00pm: Networking

RSVP REQUIRED:

Register to attend at http://www.stanford-svnj.org/22819-public-forum

For more information about the Silicon Valley-New Japan Project please visit: http://www.stanford-svnj.org/

 

Hiro Rio Maeda, Managing Director, DNX Ventures (formerly Draper Nexus)
Seminars
Stanford Silicon Valley-New Japan Project

Innovative Japanese Companies Harnessing Silicon Valley - Part 2

-

This is part 2 of a talk presenting how innovative large Japanese companies are harnessing Silicon Valley. It is a review of the fireside chats and panels presented at the Silicon Valley – New Japan Summit last November at Stanford, which was in Japanese. The talk adds some historical context, and introduces through many of the company cases from the summit, including Panasonic, Fuji Film, Itochu, Rakuten, Obayashi, Nomura Holdings, Sourcenext, Komatsu, SMBC, and Toyota Research Institute.

The current surge of large Japanese companies into Silicon Valley is focused on firms aiming to identify new opportunities to collaborate with the startup ecosystem in order to understand future technological and industry trajectories, to facilitate new forms of “open” innovation within the company, and in some cases to even redefine how to add value to their core offerings. However, given a vast differently economic context from their core operations in Japan, many of the large Japanese firms’ initial forays tend to fall into patterns of “worst practices” that are ineffective. Yet, a small but growing number of innovative Japanese companies are producing novel and valuable collaborations with a variety of Silicon Valley firms, investors, and ecosystem players. The talk will survey a range of strategic options available to Japanese companies, with implications for how to better adapt companies from Japan to Silicon Valley, and more broadly from different political economic systems.

SPEAKER:

Kenji Kushida, Research Scholar, Shorenstein APARC Japan Program and Stanford Silicon Valley-New Japan Project Leader

BIO:

Kenji E. Kushida is the Japan Program Research Scholar at the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University (APARC), Project Leader of the Stanford Silicon Valley – New Japan Project (Stanford SV-NJ), research affiliate of the Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy (BRIE), International Research Fellow at the Canon Institute for Global Studies (CIGS), and Visiting Researcher at National Institute for Research Advancement (NIRA). He holds a PhD in political science from the University of California, Berkeley, an MA in East Asian studies and BAs in economics and East Asian studies, all from Stanford University.

Kushida’s research streams include 1) Information Technology innovation, 2) Silicon Valley’s economic ecosystem, 3) Japan’s political economic transformation since the 1990s, and 4) the Fukushima nuclear disaster. He has published several books and numerous articles in each of these streams, including “The Politics of Commoditization in Global ICT Industries,” “Japan’s Startups Ecosystem,” “Cloud Computing: From Scarcity to Abundance,” and others. His latest business book in Japanese is “The Algorithmic Revolution’s Disruption: a Silicon Valley Vantage on IoT, Fintech, Cloud, and AI” (Asahi Shimbun Shuppan 2016).

He has appeared in media including The New York Times, Washington Post, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Nikkei Business, NHK, PBS NewsHour, and NPR.

He is also a trustee of the Japan ICU Foundation, a fellow of the US-Japan Leadership Program, an alumni of the Trilateral Commission David Rockefeller Fellows, and a member of the Mansfield Foundation Network for the Future.

AGENDA:

4:15pm: Doors open
4:30pm-5:30pm: Talk and Discussion
5:30pm-6:00pm: Networking

RSVP REQUIRED:

Register to attend at http://www.stanford-svnj.org/12819

For more information about the Silicon Valley-New Japan Project please visit: http://www.stanford-svnj.org/

 

Kenji E. Kushida

0
Former Research Scholar, Japan Program
kenji_kushida_2.jpg MA, PhD
Kenji E. Kushida was a research scholar with the Japan Program at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center from 2014 through January 2022. Prior to that at APARC, he was a Takahashi Research Associate in Japanese Studies (2011-14) and a Shorenstein Postdoctoral Fellow (2010-11).
 
Kushida’s research and projects are focused on the following streams: 1) how politics and regulations shape the development and diffusion of Information Technology such as AI; 2) institutional underpinnings of the Silicon Valley ecosystem, 2) Japan's transforming political economy, 3) Japan's startup ecosystem, 4) the role of foreign multinational firms in Japan, 4) Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster. He spearheaded the Silicon Valley - New Japan project that brought together large Japanese firms and the Silicon Valley ecosystem.

He has published several books and numerous articles in each of these streams, including “The Politics of Commoditization in Global ICT Industries,” “Japan’s Startup Ecosystem,” "How Politics and Market Dynamics Trapped Innovations in Japan’s Domestic 'Galapagos' Telecommunications Sector," “Cloud Computing: From Scarcity to Abundance,” and others. His latest business book in Japanese is “The Algorithmic Revolution’s Disruption: a Silicon Valley Vantage on IoT, Fintech, Cloud, and AI” (Asahi Shimbun Shuppan 2016).

Kushida has appeared in media including The New York Times, Washington Post, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Nikkei Business, Diamond Harvard Business Review, NHK, PBS NewsHour, and NPR. He is also a trustee of the Japan ICU Foundation, alumni of the Trilateral Commission David Rockefeller Fellows, and a member of the Mansfield Foundation Network for the Future. Kushida has written two general audience books in Japanese, entitled Biculturalism and the Japanese: Beyond English Linguistic Capabilities (Chuko Shinsho, 2006) and International Schools, an Introduction (Fusosha, 2008).

Kushida holds a PhD in political science from the University of California, Berkeley. He received his MA in East Asian Studies and BAs in economics and East Asian Studies with Honors, all from Stanford University.
Stanford Silicon Valley-New Japan Project

An Insider’s Vantage on 20 years of Japan’s Startup Ecosystem, its Current Challenges, And Attempts to Harness Silicon Valley

-

Hiroaki Yasutake has had a front row seat in the development of Japan’s startup ecosystem for the past 20 years as he joined Rakuten as one of its earliest employees, spending many years at its CTO. In this talk, he will share various insights gained from being an integral part of the rise of Rakuten as it grew rapidly by introducing new services, buying much larger and established companies, and the process by which it made itself a reputable, established company in Japan. He also experienced Rakuten’s famed “English-nization” and the company’s aggressive global push. More broadly, many of his friends, associates and acquaintances fanned out to drive the growth of Japan’s startup ecosystem, which has transformed dramatically in the past two decades, and he will share many of their experiences, along with challenges facing Japan’s stage of the startup ecosystem. Yasutake also co-founded Junify, and he will introduce the business itself, his motivations for moving to Silicon Valley, and his observations of specific efforts by Japanese entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. 

SPEAKER:

Hiroaki Yasutake, Co-founder and CSO, Junify, and former CTO, Rakuten

BIO:

Hiroaki Yasutake joined Rakuten (founded 1997) in its infancy in 1998 as an engineer after briefly working at NTT. At Rakuten, he was in charge of creating various services and served as CTO before departing in 2016. He moved to Silicon Valley and co-founded a new startup, Junify, and currently also assists various large and small Japanese companies about their technology and innovation strategies as external board member and advisor. He graduated from Waseda University’s Graduate School of science research, mathematical sciences, and in 2015, attended the Stanford Executive Program (SEP) at the Graduate School of Business.

AGENDA:

4:15pm: Doors open
4:30pm-5:30pm: Talk and Discussion
5:30pm-6:00pm: Networking

RSVP REQUIRED:

Register to attend at http://www.stanford-svnj.org/112718-public-forum

For more information about the Silicon Valley-New Japan Project please visit: http://www.stanford-svnj.org/
 

PARKING ON CAMPUS:

Please note there is significant construction taking place on campus, which is greatly affecting parking availability and traffic patterns at the university. Please plan accordingly.

Philippines Conference Room
Encina Hall, 3rd Floor
616 Serra Mall
Stanford, CA 94305

Hiroaki Yasutake, Co-founder and CSO, Junify, and former CTO, Rakuten
Seminars
Stanford Silicon Valley-New Japan Project

Break Through: Women in Silicon Valley, Womenomics in Japan Conference Final Report

News Type
News
Date
Paragraphs

On August 9, 2018 the Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Center (APARC) Japan Program hosted a conference, "Break Through: Women in Silicon Valley, Womenomics in Japan." Women thought-leaders and entrepreneurs from Stanford, Silicon Valley, and Japan came together to discuss innovative ideas for narrowing the gender gap, and cultivating interpersonal support networks and collaboration across the pacific. The program combined panel presentations with participatory exercises and startup showcases which afford participants the opportunity to 1) discuss progress and challenges in women's advancement in Silicon Valley and Japan, 2) share practices and organizational features that better enable the hiring and retaining of women, 3) showcase Silicon Valley and Japanese women entrepreneurs and 4) provide tools for branding and building support networks. 

The Break Through conference was supported by the Acceleration Program in Tokyo for Women (APT), a program that aims to shape a new narrative by providing opportunities for women entrepreneurs to build networks, receive mentoring, and become a focal point for dynamism. The program, spearheaded by Tokyo's first female governor, Yuriko Koike, is undertaken by the Tokyo Metropolitan government and supported by Tohmatsu Venture Support. 

The full conference report, now available, outlines the issues and offers an analysis of the themes that were discussed in the presentations, panels and participatory exericses throughout the day. 

Download the Full Report

Hero Image
picture 3
All News button
1

Break Through: Women in Silicon Valley, Womenomics in Japan Final Report

Paragraphs

On August 9, 2018, the Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Center (APARC) hosted a conference, “Break Through: Women in Silicon Valley, Womenomics in Japan" with support from the Acceleration Program in Tokyo for Women (APT). Women thought-leaders and entrepreneurs from Stanford, Silicon Valley, and Japan came together to discuss innovative ideas for narrowing the gender gap, and cultivated interpersonal support networks and collaboration across the Pacific. The report, which is an outcome of the conference, offers an analysis and discussion of the themes and takeaways from the day. 

All Publications button
1
Publication Type
Policy Briefs
Publication Date
Journal Publisher
Japan Program at the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center

Research Handbook on Digital Transformations (Book Chapter)

Paragraphs

The digital transition of the world economy is now entering a phase of broad and deep societal impact. While there is one overall transition, there are many different sectoral transformations, from health and legal services to tax reports and taxi rides, as well as a rising number of transversal trends and policy issues, from widespread precarious employment and privacy concerns to market monopoly and cybercrime. This Research Handbook offers a rich and interdisciplinary synthesis of some of the recent research on the digital transformations currently under way.

This comprehensive study contains chapters covering sectoral and transversal analyses, all of which are specially commissioned and include cutting-edge research. The contributions featured are global, spanning four continents and seven different countries, as well as interdisciplinary, including experts in economics, sociology, law, finance, urban planning and innovation management. The digital transformations discussed are fertile ground for researchers, as established laws and regulations, organizational structures, business models, value networks and workflow routines are contested and displaced by newer alternatives.

This book will be equally pertinent to three constituencies: academic researchers and graduate students, practitioners in various industrial and service sectors and policy makers.

Chapter 17 of this book, The Impact of Digital Technologies on Innovation Policy, was written by Shorenstein APARC Research Scholar Kenji Kushida.

All Publications button
1
Publication Type
Books
Publication Date
Authors
Kenji E. Kushida
External Purchase Links

Reinventing Japan: New Directions in Global Leadership (Book Chapter)

Paragraphs

Highly readable yet deeply researched, this book serves as an essential guide to the many ways in which Japan has risen to become one of the world's most creative and innovative societies.


• Challenges conventional views of Japan as mired in two unproductive "lost decades" by documenting the myriad ways in which the nation has embraced creativity and innovation

• Describes the ways in which Japan has transformed our lives and explains the guiding principles of one of the world's least understood, most vibrantly creative societies

• Explains how Japan, as the world's first non-Western developed nation, can inspire other nations at a time when America's economic and social models are being challenged as never before

• Argues that, in a world that seems to have lost its direction in the face of threats ranging from terrorism to angry populism, Japan can assume greater leadership in preserving global peace and prosperity

Chapter 4 of this book, Departing from Silicon Valley: Japan's New Startup Ecosystem, was written by Shorenstein APARC Research Scholar Kenji Kushida.

All Publications button
1
Publication Type
Books
Publication Date
Authors
Kenji E. Kushida
External Purchase Links
Subscribe to Innovation