In Search of Unicorns: An Analysis of Japan\u27s Startup Ecosystem

While Japan previously dominated global consumer markets in innovative electronic products, the economy has failed to live up to this performance since the burst of the asset price bubble in 1992 and the subsequent lost decades. In the modern economy, startup companies have become synonymous with innovation. Most of these companies have emerged from Silicon Valley, as well as other startup hubs around the globe. However, critics have criticized Japan for the limited number of notable startup companies from the country. My thesis seeks to answer the two following questions: First, what is the current state of Japan’s startup ecosystem? Second, what factors contribute to the current startup scene? I seek to answer the two questions by analyzing the six main factors that make up Japan’s startup ecosystem: financial markets, state capital allocation, culture, global expansion, and human capital. In order to avoid any generalizations, my thesis attempts to use data, statistics, and surveys in order to back up most of the claims made throughout the thesis

Research on Organizational Development based on Reflection ： Implications from Practicing “Reflection round table”

本稿の目的は、内省を中核とした組織開発についての解明である。組織開発とはKurt Lewinを源流とする人と組織の変容のための介入、実践である。本稿では実務的有用性に焦点を当て、コンサルタントとして組織内部に深く入り込み、介入し、組織開発を進める過程から得た知見をもとに論を展開する。具体的には、ミドルマネジャーを中核とした組織開発プログラム、「リフレクションラウンドテーブル」の実践を通じ、その構造とともに、内省とは何か、なぜ必要か、併せて内省を通じて個人と組織にどのような変化があったかについて検討した。結果として組織開発にとって、集団で行う内省、「協内省」の重要性が確認できた。また、効果的な組織開発として個人と関係性の変容が相互刺激的、相乗的に作用しながら、５段階で進展していくことが分かった。研究論

Hydrodynamic limit of asymmetric exclusion processes under diffusive scaling in d≥3d\ge 3

We consider the asymmetric exclusion process. We start from a profile which is constant along the drift direction and prove that the density profile, under a diffusive rescaling of time, converges to the solution of a parabolic equation

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SLUDGE PARTICLES IN REMOVAL PROCESS OF RADIOACTIVE CESIUM FROM OCEAN SLUDGE BY DECOMPOSITION SYSTEM WITH CIRCULATION TYPE USING MICRO BUBBLES AND ACTIVATING MICROORGANISMS

ABSTRACT: The Fukushima nuclear accident of March 11, 2011, soil and water had been contaminated by radioactive cesium. Moreover, radioactive cesium was found in the ocean sludge in Tokyo Bay flowing from rivers. Cesium which is adsorbed to the sludge cannot be easily removed. One of the authors developed decomposition and purification system, a circulation-type system by micro bubbles, that is, by creating aerobic state, aerobic bacteria are activated resulting to decomposition and purification of ocean sludge. Based on the hypothesis that radioactive cesium is adsorbed on the surface of the sludge deposition. It is considered cesium can be eluted after decomposing the deposited sludge. Once the cesium is eluted in the water, it can fix to a mineral such as zeolite. Now we need the properties of sludge in removal process by decomposition system with circulation type. In this study, our objects is to check the characteristics of the sludge particle in removal process of radioactive cesium from ocean sludge by decomposition system with circulation type using micro bubbles and activating microorganisms. As the results of this experiments, we had very good purification ratio on total nitrogen and had made 40 times of smaller size on diameter of the particle of sludge

Accurate Calculation of Tree Stem Traits in Forests Using Localized Multi-View Registration

In recent years, there has been a high demand in forestry and forest research for the accurate measurement of tree traits from point clouds captured by terrestrial laser scanners. However, the reliability of the calculated values is not sufficient due to the difficulty of accurate registration of each tree over a large area of forest. To solve this problem, we introduce localized multi-view registration for correcting the registration matrix of each tree stem. In addition, we discuss methods for registering the whole point clouds of a forest by using the registration matrices locally calculated for tree stems. Especially, we discuss a method to align tree stem points that do not have sufficient overlapping points required in registration. The proposed method was applied to actual forest point clouds and diameter at breast height (DBH) was compared to the manually measured DBH. Experimental results showed that the proposed method was effective in reducing registration errors and in calculating tree stem traits with high accuracy

Organizational transformation in unclear stage ： Make the most of “Ten cow’s figure”

2008年の金融危機、その後露呈した大企業の不振や国家の財政危機、環境、資源、食料、紛争など、グローバルにつながったわれわれに現在、数々の難問がのしかかっている。人類は未解決の難問を抱えつつ、益々不透明で不確実な時代に突入しているように見える。そして、激しい質的な変化のなか、組織や組織で働く人々もまた、変化を余儀なくされている。とはいっても闇雲に反応するだけでは未来は覚束ない。変化の方向性や深さ、速度が適正である必要があろう。どちらに向かって変化するのかを定めるには、今自分が何処にいるのか、自己理解が欠かせない。いわゆる自覚が重要である。優れた自覚の方法論として日本には禅がある。今回取り上げる「十牛図」は、十コマの絵柄によって、真の自己への促しを十の境位によって表している、禅門の修行者のための手引きである。本質的な変化、姿形まで変わる、変容を成し遂げるのは至難の業である。変容の道筋について十牛図を援用し、ビジョン共有プロジェクトの事例を元に振り返り、変容の要点を検討した。結果、没頭する、囚われの手放し、遊ぶ、の三点が浮かび上がってきた。査読論

Manipulating flexible parts using a teleoperated system with time delay: An experiment

This paper reports experiments involving the handling of flexible parts (e.g. wires) when using a teleoperated system with time delay. The task is principally a peg-in-hole task involving the wrapping of a wire around two posts on the task-board. It is difficult to estimate the effects of the flexible parts; therefore, on-line teleoperation is indispensable for this class of unpredictable task. We first propose a teleoperation system based on the predictive image display, then describe an experimental teleoperation testbed with a four second transmission time delay. Finally, we report on wire handling operations that were performed to evaluate the performance of this system. Those experiments will contribute to future advanced experiments for the MITI ETS-7 mission