Japan "techpreneurs," take note. During our recent Milken Institute Asia Summit held a few weeks back in Singapore, we shared several lessons from the U.S. state of California that Asia, including Japan, can build on if the region is to become a center of global invention and innovation.
As many from Asia who have traveled east to America know, California has been associated with the rewards of risk taking for decades, transforming backyard entrepreneurs into boardroom successes. Those California dreams of tech success have since gone global, capturing the imaginations of would-be tech entrepreneurs everywhere, whether in Bangalore, Tokyo or Silicon Valley.
The recent rapid growth of investment in Asia's tech sector, which according to Tech in Asia has risen from $6 billion to $45 billion in two years, provide a real opportunity. But the key for Japan is not just a rash of investment in research and development, but for policymakers to foster an entrepreneurial ecosystem to create consistent levels of innovation.