Yoko Ishikura

Before the keynote addresses and special session, I would like to introduce some data. This slide shows Innovative Capacity, which consists of five different indices by country in 2004. This table is based on data compiled by the World Economic Forum (both quantitative data and the results of an Executive Opinion Survey). As it is the 2004 version, the original data are from a year or two earlier, and they are not the most up-to-date. I want to introduce the table as one measure of innovative capacity.

Let us look at the ranking of Japan by five different indices. Japan is ranked No. 3 in the Scientists and Engineers Index, but is not included in the Top 10 of the Innovation Policy Index. It is ranked No. 1 in the Cluster Index and No. 2 in the Operations and Strategy Index. It is ranked No. 5 in the Linkage Index, as well.

Based on this table, I would like to propose two questions to the keynote speakers:

1. How has the situation changed from the year 2004, when this table was compiled?
2. This table shows the rankings by country and is based on the premise that innovation is to be promoted at the national level. When it comes to recent issues such as global warming and energy, however, the issues are global in scale and scope. How have the U.S. and　Japan responded to these global issues?

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