Random Talks

Batteries made from wood. Stone transformed into paper. Coffee turned in biochemicals to absorb odors and protect our skin from UV rays. Bioplastics a

When Jesper Koll peers at Japan’s inner financial mechanisms, people line up to find out what he sees. Consistently ranked as one of the savviest Japa

Fujiyo Ishiguro preaches the mechanics of digital marketing to companies who make great products but can’t create the sales systems needed to retail t

Working to bring a “revolution” to people and companies in this era where change is so fiercely required. Sasaki has been an integral part in the real

For the Deaf, the subtlest of hand movements and aspects can express vast meaning yet convey little to voice-oriented humans. Junto Ohki now stands as

Masashi Kawamura has an idea lab. In that lab, called PARTY, he and several fellow creatives perform the advertising equivalent of alchemy, fusing raw

Sungene Ryang wants to coax a new generation of Asian entrepreneurs and venture businesses into the fray. As an associate partner at visionary global

Could you live in a world without music? Former DJ and record label owner Jakob Lusensky is dedicated to probing our thoughts on that bleak scenario.

“Institutional Investor” has ranked Kathy Matsui the top equity strategist in Japan several times, yet her role as co-head of Asia macro r

Hans Reitz shares a vision with 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus: a planet utterly without poverty. In 2008, the two established t

Here’s an object lesson in quality vs. quantity: Despite Japan’s fervent obsession with overtime, it occupies the bottom rung of labor productivity am

Inspired by the world renowned annual arts event in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, Burning Man has become a global cultural movement with more than

Darian Rodriguez Heyman, Managing Partner, Code Green Agency After five years of service, TEDxPresidio MC Darian Rodriguez Heyman recently stepped dow

An “explorer of all things Japan, from high finance to low-level politics”, Jesper Koll has over two decades of experience at major financ

The man responsible for developing Bandai Co., Ltd.’s wildly popular capsule toys, Shimpei Takahashi, is in love with the idea of ideas. His most nota

Few Westerners have delved deeper into the Japanese consumer’s psyche than Bill Hall. Bill began researching the Japanese market in the early 1970s be