【REPORT】The 3rd Executive Innovation Roundtable

2026/08/31

The Executive Innovation Committee (hereinafter referred to as “EIC”) held the Executive Innovation Roundtable 3 on August 3, 2026. We will communicate the situation with a report and a digest video. Please watch the digest video by playing the YouTube video in the blue frame below.

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A Clarion Call for “Rebooting Japan” Echoing from the Sacred Groves of Kanda Myojin

Shedding the armor of central command, grassroots vision weaves the future—Kanda Myojin, a sacred site embodying a thousand years of history. On this day, in the solemn atmosphere of the “Reiwa-no-Ma” hall, a passionate dialogue filled the air around the next “operating system (OS)” for Japanese innovation. This is no mere meeting record. It is a quiet prologue to a paradigm shift, where leaders from diverse backgrounds—industry, government, academia, and civil society—shed the heavy armor of their respective organizational statuses to confront the wall of stagnation as active individual agents.

Reflected in the Mirror of History: The True Nature of the “Unfreedom” That Binds Us

The opening dialogue of the roundtable began with a journey back in time, led by economic historian Tetsuji Okazaki and Ayako Hirono. It addressed the spell of the “1940s Regime” in which we have unconsciously and for too long remained imprisoned. From the wartime state-controlled economy to the post-war high-growth era, Japan’s progress was sustained by an incredibly close, yet rigid, cooperative system—one where the government picked specific strategic sectors and private enterprises dutifully followed.

Yet, in today’s world where frontiers have vanished, it is a supreme irony that our over-adaptation to past “success stories” has become the very cause of our current stagnation. Referencing the concept of “herd behavior,” Hiroaki Nihara warned of the peril where everyone simply aligns with whatever decisions are handed down from above. What is required of the government today is not to act as a “commander,” but to transform into an “enabler” that establishes the necessary conditions and environment for the private sector to take risks and challenge frontiers of its own volition.

Dissolving Silos: The Vital Role of “Connectors” Linking Diverse Knowledge

Echoing from various corners of the roundtable was a deep sense of urgency regarding the walls dividing organizations and disciplines—the chronic pathology of “siloization.” Are universities, corporations, and government administrations, in their excessive reverence for homogeneity within their respective vertical divisions, unconsciously and systematically excluding the “eccentrics” and “outliers” who should be the very source of our innovation?

The key to breaking through this deadlock is the emergence of “connectors” who span organizational boundaries to link disparate dots. This crucial task must not be left to mere good intentions or volunteerism. It should be established as a new, socially valued “profession” requiring high levels of expertise and “transversal competency”.

These are the tastemakers who translate creative sensibilities into viable businesses, the leaders who weave “shared narratives” balancing economic rationality with social value, and the facilitators who cultivate spaces for serendipitous encounters amidst the creative chaos where life and work blend. Only when they flexibly cross sector boundaries will Japan’s innovation ecosystem truly begin to breathe.

Celebrating Failure: The Courage to Entrust “Slack” and “Play” to the Next Generation

Perhaps the point that resonated most deeply during the day’s dialogue was the attitude toward “failure,” illustrated by the case of space exploration. While SpaceX is cheered even when a launch fails, fostering a culture that extracts learning from setbacks, Japan tends to severely condemn even a single temporary stall. Innovation inherently demands “play” and “slack”—elements that cannot be measured by the rigid yardstick of efficiency—for it is precisely within what appears useless that intrinsic value lies hidden.

Furthermore, the challenge we must confront with the utmost sincerity today is passing the baton to the younger generation. Reflecting on history, where past wars forcibly cleared out senior leadership, there was a shared realization that modern Japan has a responsibility to intentionally welcome youthful sensibilities and build a stage where they can pursue their raw passions with absolute devotion.

In Conclusion: Toward a Community of Disciplined Challengers

In closing the discussion, the chairperson Noboru Konno once again emphasized the critical importance of the concept of “Ba” (shared context in motion). Kanda Myojin itself, a place where tradition and innovation seamlessly coexist, serves as a perfect symbol for the new form of Japanese innovation.

We have arrived at a moment where we must ground innovation not as a mere “aspiration,” but as an organizational “discipline.” Just as Japanese enterprises once integrated “Quality Control (QC)” into their operational DNA, we must now master Innovation Management Systems (IMS) as our new common language to once again win the trust of the global market.

As Hiroshi Komiyama (EIC Executive Advisor) profoundly observed, “To talk takes but a day, but to move things takes years. Yet, it is always the grassroots movement on the ground that transforms society.” Bringing home the dialogues from Kanda Myojin, we must each take a small first step within our respective organizations. When this individual sense of ownership chains together and builds into a massive wave, the “Rebooting of Japan” will, in its truest sense, be realized.

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