Cool Japan: Nakano Koenji

■Cool Japan: Nakano Koenji 

NHK Cool Japan "Nakano Koenji" edition.

"Live House"

Young musicians and artists choose cities with low rent and low living costs.

At the same time, I don't want to move away from the city center, where information is sourced.

Nakano and Koenji are perfect places.

When people of these kinds of races come together, individuality and culture are born, and they begin to attract many different kinds of people.

This creates a virtuous cycle as it attracts foreigners and the number of accommodations catering to them increases.

Hostels are wall-less, sharing economy-like places, and they also serve as a receptacle for such new values.

"Secondhand clothing store"

There is probably no other town in the world with 150 stores gathered together.

I usually wear second-hand kimonos and I love second-hand clothing, so I thoroughly search for cheap, high-quality items.

The charm of second-hand clothing is the unique items you find there, making them a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Koenji is a town of individuality where mass production doesn't suit it.

You can search there and find a unique item that you like. It's fascinating.

"Restaurants"

I like the friendliness of the many shopping streets.

It's not a chain store, but rather a tightly packed collection of independent shops.

It's full of individuality. This is also the charm of being a one-of-a-kind item.

They offer a wide variety of cuisines from around the world, including Japanese, Western, Chinese and Asian cuisine, and the quality is very high.

We make it even more delicious than the original.

The great thing about Japan is that there are no bad stores, even if they are cheap.

"Broadway"

I'm interested in plastic models. I want to go.

The reason why Nakano and Koenji have such a strong affinity with subculture is because they are close to the city center and have low land prices.

This is largely due to the fact that there are many anime production companies and many young comedians, musicians and other people who are sensitive to subculture live there.

With this in mind, a secondhand bookstore specializing in manga opened in Nakano Broadway in 1980, and at the time it was just a six-story store.

It gradually expanded, and then specialty shops aimed at enthusiasts began to open one after another around the store, until it came to be known as a mecca for subculture.

Its geographical conditions and accumulated history have nurtured this miraculous city.

There are also plans to turn the former Nakano Sun Plaza site into an even larger Otaku City.

The number of inbound otaku will continue to increase.

Just right.

It's not too big a city, but it's not too rural either, and it's compact.

The food, music and art are all high quality,

The warmth of people still remains.

A lovely town with just the right amount of charm.

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Intellectual Property Planning Content Strategy Working Group

■ Intellectual Property Planning Content Strategy Working Group

I served as chair of the Content Strategy Working Group for Intellectual Property Planning .

We introduced the discussions that were considered by the Keidanren Creative Economy Committee.

Keidanren commissioned Human Media, led by his ally Ono Uchie, to conduct a survey that has compiled an overview of the current state of the content industry.

the past 11 years, China has shown outstanding growth of over 20%, while the US, UK and South Korea have all grown by 6%, while Japan has grown by 2%.

Japan's growth forecast is also the lowest among 53 countries.

On the other hand, in terms of IP revenue, 12 out of the top 25 in the world, or half, are from Japanese content.

1st place is Pokemon, 2nd place is Hello Kitty. Anpanman, Mario, Gundam, Dragon Ball, One Piece, etc.

It is an IP powerhouse, but it is not making the most of it.

Keidanren is said to be placing emphasis on manga, anime, games, music, and movies, and is considering taking measures to promote 1. production capabilities, 2. overseas expansion, and 3. inbound tourism.

This should be in line with the intellectual property plan we put together.

it suggests establishing a comprehensive government organization similar to the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA).

The Japan Business Federation once proposed a "Ministry of Information Economy and Society," and this is the same idea. I agree.

However, since the intellectual property plan is a government document, there will be no consensus. We will not make any proposals to the government.

During the discussion, Committee Member Fukui Kensaku made the fundamental point that in addition to the fragmentation of government ministries and agencies being a hindrance, the budget is small and fragmented, and tax measures are weak.

This is due to the weakness of the policy compared to South Korea, which has a government budget, and the United States, which has a private donation-based system.

, added that the government budget is 8 billion yen, which is on par with that of mid-sized European countries, while South Korea and Germany have 30 billion yen and the UK has 10 billion yen. Is this sufficient or insufficient?

since the content policy was launched , but how do you evaluate the government's stance?

WG should not only plan policies but also evaluate and verify them.

Additionally, Commissioner Uchiyama pointed out that the situation and discussions are the same as they were 10 years ago.

It may be that Japan's policies are now playing catch-up.

It may be worthwhile to use the Korean state-led model and the American private sector-led model as benchmarks. I will abandon the "Japanese model" dream I once had.

The main points of discussion are

1. The impact of AI-generated explosion

2. Platform orientation

3. Building a creator-driven economy

was emphasized.

1. Regarding AI, the Intellectual Property Headquarters led the world in extensive discussions and amended the law, making it OK to train AI without permission, but it is now prohibited if it unfairly infringes on rights.

The reality has finally emerged and the situation has changed. How to operate it is an important issue.

2. Platforms have the power to decide the life or death of content. While there are growing calls to return profits to content and creators, they are also important in terms of providing production opportunities and securing sales channels to the world. We need to be prepared for how to deal with this issue from a policy perspective.

3. Regarding the creator-led economy, compensation as a means of returning compensation is no longer functioning properly, and the key point is how new technologies such as Web3 will function.

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Cool Japan: Udon

■ Cool Japan: Udon 

NHK Cool Japan: "Udon" edition.

Following ramen, the era of udon has come.

It's healthy and has more toppings and soup options than soba.

And in Japan there are many different kinds of udon, from hard to soft, hot to cold.

"Local udon"

Cold noodles are a unique Japanese culture in that they can be made with plenty of water.

There are many different types of udon, including hot and cold noodles.

I'm from Kyoto and I love tanuki.

In Tokyo, tanuki means fried tempura bits, while in Kyoto it means chopped fried tofu and ginger on top of thickened udon noodles. In Osaka, tanuki means kitsune soba.

There is that much diversity within just the tanuki.

Tokyo has a strong soba culture, and udon was just one of the dishes on the menu at soba restaurants. However, about 20 years ago, Sanuki udon became a hit, and udon specialty stores began to appear in Tokyo, and then spread throughout the country.

"world"

Unlike soba or ramen, udon is more like rice or bread and does not have a strong noodle flavor.

This means it can accommodate a variety of flavors and soups.

As people come to understand the appeal of udon, it is now expanding into the world.

I was also surprised by the extremely long lines when I tried to go into an American store of this VTR chain.

in Vietnam, the home of pho , and 50 stores in Indonesia, and the restaurant is expanding throughout Asia.

Since it can be incorporated into the food culture of any country, it is likely to become more and more popular.

"Frozen"

The craftsmanship and relentless pursuit of technology are typical of Cool Japan.

The best thing about it is that you can just thaw it and eat it.

It seems more suitable for freezing than ramen or soba.

Easy and delicious.

It may even spread to the rest of the world.

This program often deals with food, and many of the items featured are imported or foreign products that were developed in Japan, such as ramen, gyoza, curry, and sandwiches.

In comparison, udon is a purely Japanese dish. I'm glad that it's being recognized as such.

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The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

■The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

An unprecedented worldwide hit. We interviewed him before the film's release in Japan.

◯Why is it a hit?

1. Characters ranked 8th in world IP revenue (1st is Pokemon)

2. A fan base spanning 40 years and three generations. (That's why Abe Mario appeared at the closing ceremony of the Rio Olympics.)

3. Visual and musical footage featuring legends Shigeru Miyamoto and Koji Kondo.

4. The evolution of CG technology that can express the world of games. (It's different from the live-action version of Mario in 1993.)

◯What ecosystem will games create?

・Pokemon also comes from the game. The game itself is just under 2 trillion yen, but character merchandise and other products make up a total of 10 trillion yen.

・Nintendo alone has Zelda, Pikmin, Animal Crossing, Kirby, and Splatoon. For PlayStation , there's Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Resident Evil, and many more.

-There are many uses for smartphones, streaming, metaverse, web3, and stage.

◯How widespread is Japanese content?

・Half of the top 25 IPs in the world in terms of revenue are from Japan. Pokemon, Hello Kitty, Anpanman, Gundam, Dragon Ball.

- Popular culture that can be enjoyed by both adults and children, and expression that is not bound by religion or class, in other words, freedom. - Good art and music classes so that anyone can draw, in other words, education. These two are the infrastructure.

◯What are the challenges?

- Securing human resources capable of doing business in the global market and how to deal with international platforms (GAFA and Netflix).

・Demonstrate IP power by making full use of explosive new technologies such as AI, metaverse, and web3.

Will Mario be a hit in Japan?

・Yes I will.

(I said it decisively, but I was nervous until it landed. I'm glad it hit.)

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President Gachon : Mr.Kunihiro Tanaka

 2025/08/31

■ President Gachon : Mr.Kunihiro Tanaka

President of Sakura Internet. He has also held many public offices, including as chairman of the Computer Software Association of Japan (SAJ) and chairman of the Japan Data Center Association. He is a graduate of Maizuru National College of Technology and a star of the college. He has succeeded in starting a technology-driven business and is a young leader who is driving the Japanese economy. He is a role model for iU students. Welcome.

The current situation in Japan

With the establishment of the Digital Agency, momentum has finally been created for change. The Digital Agency has two meanings. One is the execution force. The other is the momentum created by the establishment of the Digital Agency. With these two things, digitalization will progress and the number of people using it will increase. Now is the time for a large rate of change.

◆ Impact of COVID-19

Sakura Internet's situation is flat. In terms of the rate of change, Japan has always had a low degree of digitalization. As the lows rise, Sakura Internet itself will not benefit immediately, but the number of users is increasing as regular customers, so in the medium to long term things have improved a lot.

◆Sakura Internet's Challenges and Japan's Challenges

The big story is how a software company can change its current state to become a hardware company and get back to being a software company.

Sakura Internet was a disruptive innovation that arose in the early 1990s. At the time, there were almost no businesses in Japan that sold servers online by installing an open source OS on personal computers. Internet companies focused on the idea of ensuring trust with software, rather than with hardware.

To increase reliability, hardware must be constantly improved, and the tendency to place more importance on hardware than on software is a challenge in Japan, and also for Sakura Internet. We built a data center in Ishikari, Hokkaido, to run our software under the best conditions, but as the hardware gained recognition, it became a business in itself. Our essence is to create good services using the power of software, even if it is cheap.

Japan is a manufacturing nation, so whether they make things or software, they want to deliver it as if it were a contract development project. It's an extension of the analogy of things. Sakura Internet should have had an identity of making software and providing services, but it inevitably becomes about how to strengthen the hardware. How do we turn it into a software- and service-based nation? That is the challenge for Sakura Internet, and for Japan as a whole.

◆Starting a business

I thought about starting a business when I was 18. The purpose of starting a business is twofold: "means" and "ends."

I was running a server at school, which I lent to a friend. The content became popular and traffic increased. As a result, it was becoming a nuisance to have it at school, so I had to remove it. Increasing traffic means that the content has value, so my friend should be able to make a profit and pay the server fee. In fact, my friend asked me if there was any way to keep the site running, even if he was willing to pay for it. That's when I started a business as a "means."

◆School

An important step in my life without which I wouldn't have gotten to where I am today.

School is a place to meet people, things, knowledge, and careers. I hope that in five or ten years, students will look back and say that they would never have encountered these things if they hadn't come to iU .

◆Challenges facing education in Japan

The challenge is to keep looking for issues. How do we count what the school is doing well? As is the case with local governments, in communities where the public sector is stronger in contributing to society than for-profit companies, we often start with issues. However, I think it's a set of two things: developing what you can do and making it possible to do what you can't do. The educational environment will change if we take into account how to develop what the school is doing well.

◆Message for you guys

Always search for what you want to do. It's like a digestive organ. If you look for it, you will find it right away. However, I haven't seen one yet today. Humans can only see what they want to see. Even if they see something or encounter it, they often don't acknowledge it. The focus you have enriches your life. People who are willing to search for what they want to do will find more and more of what they want to do.

Another important thing is that there are things you have to do in order to do what you want to do. You can endure the things you have to do that lead to what you want to do. However, many people don't have anything they want to do, or they are bored doing what they have to do. If you can clearly find what you want to do, you will surely make an effort if it is something you have to do to get there. As a result, even if it doesn't lead to what you want to do, if you have created the next thing you want to do, you can enjoy the things you have to do.

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Cool Japan: Showa Retro

■ Cool Japan: Showa Retro 

NHK Cool Japan "Showa Retro" edition.

"Retro Cafe"

The Showa retro era overlaps with Japan's period of high economic growth.

Before the bubble burst, there was a lot of admiration for the West and the momentum to catch up and surpass it.

And the last of the analog era is Showa retro.

It was a time before the automation and computerization of today, when people were not as wealthy, and still felt the warmth of handmade items.

I think it's these aspects that attract young people who have no knowledge of the Showa era, and that make the area appealing to foreigners as well.

"fair"

This doesn't exist in other countries, does it?

"Ennichi" festivals, which create ties with temples and shrines, are a way to confirm local ties while also being connected to religion, but they are also packed with entertainment.

When I was a kid, I also went there with excitement.

It's a special space where only children can come at night, wear yukata in the summer, and enjoy food and games that can only be found at festivals.

I'm glad that it still remains even now, when the building is still an apartment building.

I want the important thing, the community ties, to be preserved.

"Showa Pop Songs"

They are all masterpieces. People are just now discovering that there are so many great Japanese songs that have connections to J-POP.

And in those days, everyone watched TV together in the living room.

Everyone was listening to the same song, everyone was facing the same direction and working hard.

That's how we all grew up.

There are no longer any songs that everyone in the country knows.

Portable music players became popular, music went digital, and music changed from "everyone's music" to "personal music."

It's an evolution, but there's also a sad side to it, and I think people are wanting to sing those songs from back then again.

Showa retro is not as old as traditional Japanese culture, but it's not cutting-edge technology either; it's the perfect middle ground between old and new Japan.

Savoring its goodness is a meaningful act of discovering a new Japan.

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President Mr. Usubi Sako

 ■President Mr. Usubi Sako

The former president of Kyoto Seika University, originally from Mali. He studied architecture in China before coming to Kyoto University. He speaks French, English, Chinese, and the Kyoto dialect. Before I became president, I went to the senior president to ask for his advice. Then he asked me to attend M1 with him, and I am doing this as homework.

◆New facility: Kyoto Seika University Meisokan

It will open in February 2022. It is scheduled to be completed in July. It was created based on three keywords: global, liberal arts, and expression. Students will be able to feel these elements through these. For example, what is global? Global lounge. IC3, an exchange hub where you can interact with people from various countries. Writing center, which provides support, especially for international students who have trouble with Japanese, and English support. There are many exhibition spaces and open spaces where students can have discussions.

The name of the room is Discussion Space. Students usually receive information one-sidedly in classrooms, but here it is not the case. I think it would be good if the process of consuming and turning that information into knowledge could take place here. This building was planned with the concept of a place where people can express themselves, encounter the global world, and consume and turn information into knowledge. When I was the president, I launched the Facilities Improvement Association and served as its chairman.

◆Experience of the President

He is the first African-born university president. It was unfortunate that there was no successor until he finished his term. Fewer than 2% of people from other countries hold university president positions in Japan .

While teaching at Kyoto Seika University, I served as dean for two terms before being elected president. I didn't have many difficulties working with everyone. However, Japanese communication has a unique style, so I sometimes felt cultural differences while communicating with others.

◆Kyoto

I've been in Kyoto for 31 years (as of 2022). Kyoto is a very interesting city.

Human scale. A graspable scale. Many things are connected. It has a rich history. But Kyoto also has a unique culture. The way people communicate and relate to each other. It's also a very innovative city, and I love new things.

You would think that a place with such a long history would be good at accepting all kinds of people, but that's not the case. When you come to Kyoto, you have to adapt to the Kyoto way. There are difficult hurdles. I made many mistakes. In terms of language. There was a gap between what was said and what was done. On the other hand, there is also depth to it. The language, the town, the houses. It's a place where there is always something to discover. It's a town that curious people will never get bored of.

◆Schools and Education

The environment surrounding education is changing. Demands on schools are becoming stricter every year. The evaluation of schools is changing. Demands from not only the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, but also parents are changing. Schools have become targets for investment.

On the other hand, I believe that schools should be learner-centered. Kyoto Seika University has a philosophy of respecting people. Students do not receive education one-sidedly, but rather help build the school together. Students develop their character based on the school.

What is required in the field of education today is something like making standardized products. But a school should be like a field. We sow seeds, look forward to seeing what sprouts will emerge, and pour love and water into them. That's what we teachers do. As teachers, we learn a lot from our students. We stay close to our students and always make eye contact. We listen to their opinions while drawing on our own experiences.

Education exists for the benefit of those who receive it. However, today schools are acting as if they exist for the benefit of educators. I want to create an educational environment that eliminates this gap.

◆Message for you guys

There are many uncertainties about the future of this world. In school, we have been taught as if there are answers to everything, but that is not the case. What we must focus on teaching is the ability to question things. When you are stuck on something, ask questions properly. Return to the basics and reset. I want you to be people who are not afraid of change. You create your own future.

★Postscript

Mari's predecessor was the legendary manga artist Keiko Takemiya. It is a university of creative expression and liberal arts. I look up to them as a missing piece of iU and as an organization that produces amazing presidents. I'd love to work on a project together.

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