In Japan there is one 'Samurai Startup Island'
Business incubators are no longer just a feature of Silicon Valley. With a vivacity worthy of such a cause they are also springing up in Japan. In a country that is looking for, with 'Abenomics', new ways to grow, even the micro-economy – and not just the macro-economy – is changing. Long praised for its manufacturing and export prowess and long criticized for its social inertia – an education system founded on compliance and rules, a reverence for length of service rather than meritocratic innovation – Japan is shedding its skin.
'Samurai Start-up Island' is a start-up at the service of start-ups: it offers a variety of services to eager young entrepreneurs, from (free) legal advice, to low-cost office space, coffee machines ( it is important to stay awake) and even beds for those who want to spend the night innovating.
Some of the top universities have started setting up business incubators and offering courses on how to launch a start-up. Says Mitsuru Izumo, the founder of Euglena Corp, a biotechnology start-up now valued at $1 billion: “This is the beginning of something that could rejuvenate Japan. If we don't unchain the youth, Japan will become too weak to weather another blow like Fukushima. Entrepreneurship is Japan's last chance”. And Robert Eberhart, a management professor at Santa Clara University in California who has studied start-ups in Japan and Silicon Valley, adds: "Now, I think there is more entrepreneurship buzzing in Japan than in the US."
http://www.theage.com.au/business/world-business/japans-young-guns-beat-the-drum-for-innovation-20131226-2zxxz.html
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