The Stanford Silicon Valley - New Japan Project Aims to Create a Sustained Platform for Interactions Between Silicon Valley and Japan
A production of the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center Japan Program at Stanford University
This project was completed in 2019. For further research updates, please see pages of individual researchers.
Motivation
Silicon Valley continues to attract attention as the core of global innovation, delivering disruptions to firms, sectors and economies around the world. The economic ecosystem of Silicon Valley is unique, growing out of a specific historical context, making it difficult to duplicate anywhere else. The key challenge is therefore not simply to try to duplicate the ecosystem, but to figure out how large firms, fast-growing large startups, and emerging startups can “harness” the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Entrepreneurship is critical, for example, but so is the symbiosis with larger firms. From the perspectives of individual, firms, regions, and national governments around the world, what do we need to know to be able to successfully harness the region as an innovation engine?
Over the past few years, Silicon Valley has witnessed a new wave of Japanese startups (entrepreneurs, successful startups from Japan). It has also witnessed renewed attention by major Japanese large firms. This trend has occurred within the context of increased importance of innovation and entrepreneurship in Japan. Silicon Valley is also seeing a greater maturing of interpersonal networks of Japanese, although they are not yet at the levels of some other prominent local network groups. The need for greater university-business ties between Japanese businesses and U.S. universities is also clear.
Our mission is to provide the intellectual background, analytical perspectives, and create knowledge and research while becoming a platform for dense interpersonal relations to enable Silicon Valley to benefit from Japan, and for Japan to better harness Silicon Valley.
Project components
Public forum series with networking
Research and Publications
Policy Research and Implementation
Outreach Symposia and Activities
Core members
Kenji E. Kushida, (Project Leader) Research Scholar, Japan Program, Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford University