The Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC) convened the first Stanford Kyoto Trans-Asian Dialogue in Kyoto, Japan, on September 10 and 11, 2009. The Dialogue addressed the critical theme of “Energy, Environment, and Economic Growth in Asia,” and gathered participants from eight countries across the Asia-Pacific region: the United States, Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, and India.

Through the Stanford Kyoto Dialogue, Shorenstein APARC seeks to build a new set of relationships across the Pacific, a network that can benefit all parties through exchange of information, analysis, interpretation, and original thinking. To develop such relationships, Dialogue organizers at Shorenstein APARC identified individuals from both a large number of different countries and a wide range of backgrounds—business, academe, media, and government—along with experts on energy and environmental issues drawn from the greater Stanford community and from countries across Asia.

Asia and the United States share deep concerns about energy—its generation, its sustainability, and its impact on the environment and the global economy. In confronting these concerns, the Stanford Kyoto Dialogue sought to facilitate not only new discovery but also the transfer of accumulated wisdom among the distinguished participants. The discussion was off-the-record, so that participants could freely express their views and engage in lively debate, but we present here a brief synopsis of each session.

(excerpt) In our excitement over China’s ascent, we have forgotten to update our view of corporate Japan. This is understandable, because remnants of the “Old Japan” persist, and we have not yet trained ourselves to look for the “New Japan.” But the reality is that the old keiretsu no longer exist; main banks as bailout leaders have been supplemented by new laws and actors, such as equity funds; 80% of listed Japanese firms have switched to performance promotion and pay; the manufacturing industries have globalized to a point where subcontractor relations have been turned upside down; and global competition and discount mavericks have broken open the retail industry. The most important change of all is that in many industries the household names of Old Japan are no longer among the key players.

The unifying thread behind these myriad changes is the last decade’s transformation from diversification to focus. Instead of each firm like Panasonic (formerly Matsu- shita) producing all products, from toasters to semiconductors, they are focusing on “fewer, but better.” The gestation period is still underway, but the core transformation has already occurred.