Toshiaki Ikoma
Chair, GIES2007 Organizing Committee
Director-General, Center for Research and Development Strategy (CRDS), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)

I hope that you have gained something from the symposium. Global innovation ecosystem is the title of this conference. We had this conference for the first time in 2006 in Kyoto and it was a new phrase. What is "global innovation ecosystem" all about? That is what we discussed last year. I hope you will look at the website and the GIES 2006 section.

Today, we discussed innovation and what it means. People have different ideas and different definitions. I was rather concerned about how the debate would unfold. What we are looking at is a wider context of creative destruction that leads to social system overhaul and drives society's development. I think that the speakers and panelists had a shared concept and that was why the debate went on so well. There was linkage in the scenario.

However, when we talk about a global innovation ecosystem, we have not talked about global. We just talked about national innovation ecosystems. I was worried it might be an ego-system.

Innovate America seeks to make an already strong America even stronger. China and India are emerging and the United States is at the lead and at the front, and yet in order to prevent weakening, it came up with a very strong strategy.

On the other hand, Innovation 25, is good contrast. Today's children, our future adults, what should we do about them? Health, safety, comfort... how can we establish a Japan that is open to the world? It will be a few years before we see which one was right. Innovation 25 of Japan might be a bit too generous and weak. We must think about putting it in more global perspective. Last year, we discussed exactly that, the global, worldwide issues. This was touched on by Dr. Kurokawa on areas like sustainable energy, food, climate change. How do we solve these global issues? Each country and region must cooperate to address them. The strengths held by each nation must be used to its advantage. It must offer what it is best at doing. On the economic side, we can establish globally-integrated enterprises by pooling the strengths of each country. One example is Apple Computer's iPod. Those examples should be extended for the resolution of social problems. We need a global innovation ecosystem to solve that.

Next year, Japan will be the host for the G-8 summit and this kind of meeting will be held. We will propose to the leaders of the G-8 that they put in their declaration for the establishment of a global innovation ecosystem. We hope to have the support of many of you in this effort. Nippon Keidanren, Science Council of Japan and the Cabinet office are the sponsors of this conference and must come up with a steering committee declaration. I would like to read that at this juncture. You should have a copy of it in draft form already.

 

Shizuo Hoshiba
(Executive Research Fellow, Economic and Social Research Institute, Cabinet Office)

Read statement from GIES2007 Organizing Committee.

Audience applauded in support.

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