yet2.com's Tokyo Office - The 2nd Floor
I spend a lot of time in Asia, in particular Japan. yet2.com has had an office there for 10 years.
Why? 1) Because so much of the worlds technology and patents are created there; 2) Because so many of the worlds largest companies (buyers of patents and technology) are there and 3) Because it’s a great launching pad into to; Korea, Taiwan and broader China.
I made my first trip to Japan promoting Open Innovation and patent liquidity, in 1999. Since 2000 we have had the same team on the ground – managed by Fujii-san. I was in Japan in December and I was there again last week. Here are a few observations from my trip;
1) The economy is recovering – slowly – but it is happening.
2) Unemployment is still to high.
3) Patent acquisition budgets are growing – and turning back on
4) There is a surprisingly large pipeline of new technologies / product about to be launched.
5) Location based technologies and human/machine interface technologies are of high interest, among others.
6) There is a great 4 mile run around the Royal Palace that is perfect for jet lag.
Makino-san, Fujii-san, Me, Takeuchi-san on Friday 1/29/10
Thanks and welcome home Ben. Much has been made in the U.S. press about green technologies being the next nationally competitive race, akin to the space race kicked off by Sputnik. Do you observe any evidence that our friends in Japan subscribe to this meme? As you say, from their vantage point I suspect they have an informed opinion.
Don