A few years before the end of the Edo Period in 1865, prominent samurai Sakamoto Ryoma founded a private navy and the Kameyama Shachu trading company in Nagasaki and led the movement to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate.
Last month, inspired by his effort more than 140 years ago to lead Japan into a new era, Ichiro Asahina, 37, left the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and established the Tokyo policy think tank Aoyama Shachu along with fellow former bureaucrat Hiromichi Endo.
Founded Nov. 15, Ryoma's birthday and the anniversary of his death under the old lunar calendar, the think tank's stated goal is to create a grand strategy for Japan's future.