traveled to Tohoku for the entrance ceremony, which was a first not only for the GLOBIS Sendai Campus, but for any MBA program offered in the Tohoku region. The Great East Japan Earthquake was a catastrophic disaster. But it also prompted the launch of Tohoku’s first graduate business school. I was greatly looking forward to meeting these prospective “visionary leaders who can create and innovate society” in Sendai. Having changed into montsuki haori hakama (traditional Japanese formal attire), I headed for Tokyo Station.

Modern meets traditional: On the Tokyo Station platform before boarding the train for Sendai, I posed in montsuki haori hakama in front of the connected Super Komachi and Hayabusa trains. The haori hakama is no less stunning design-wise.

Just as the G1 Summit board meeting was about to agree on the venue for next year’s G1 Summit—“So, are we all set on Aomoriya next year?”—Mr. Takuro Tatsumi made a suggestion: “When we held the first G1 Summit at Alts Bandai, we made up our minds to hold the summit every year for at least 10 years. If feasible, how about considering a different venue for each summit for the first 10 years?”

Mr. Hoshino, who for some time had been recommending Okinawa as the next venue, made a strong argument for the Yaeyama Islands. In response, I offered then and there to go and take a look, saying “I’m available from March 28.” Hoshino-san immediately sent an email to his staff overseeing the G1 Summit, and my inspection tour to the Yaeyama Islands in Okinawa was arranged. How speedy is that!

On the afternoon of Thursday, February 7, a day before the start of the G1 Summit, I headed for Fukushima City on the Tohoku Shinkansen. The purpose of my trip was to attend KIBOW Fukushima. It was the third KIBOW session in Fukushima City. Combined with sessions in Iwaki City, we have already hosted KIBOW sessions five times in Fukushima.

This time, Mr. Takuro Tatsumi, Mr. Dai Tamesue and Mr. Allen Miner are supposed to join us. All of them are KIBOW council members.

I just arrived at Fukushima Station. After checking in at the hotel, I put on my KIBOW T-shirt and cap and headed for the KIBOW venue in front of the station. Before long, the venue of KIBOW Fukushima was filled with 100 participants. Now, the session is to begin.
Ms. Sugawara of Radio Fukushima served as the MC for today’s session.

At 7 a.m. on Saturday, February 23, we gathered in a hotel lobby in Sendai to leave for Onagawa. We were to inspect the town in the morning, and to attend the event, KIBOW Onagawa, in the afternoon. The sky was clear. The snow, piled high from the previous evening was glittering, reflecting the sunlight.

The day before yesterday, I was in Fukuoka. After attending a seminar there, I enjoyed dinner with nine staff members of GLOBIS, smacking our lips over fresh seafood from the Genkai Sea. Yesterday, I flew from Fukuoka to Sendai, and participated in a seminar for presidents of universities. After the seminar, I enjoyed dinner with four staff members of GLOBIS. This time, while sipping local sake―Urakasumi―we had abundant seafood from off the Sanriku Coast. Before Fukuoka, I was in Fukushima to attend the G1 Summit after coming home from Davos, where I participated in the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2013. I was literally flying around Japan and the world.

The 5th G1 Summit concluded very successfully. We have had responses from people of all walks of life. Here’s just a few.

Participant Tweets

As always, the event was very fruitful. Thank you. I will contribute what little I can to help change the landscape.
Ross Rowbury (President and CEO, Edelman Japan)

Thank you, Hori-san for the G1 Summit. I have a sure sense that the event, now in its fifth year, has provided significant momentum for change in Japan. For instance, the outcome of the issue concerning online sales of drugs might have been different if not for the support of G1 members.
Genri Goto (President and CEO, Kenko.com)

Monday, February 11. It’s the morning of the fourth day of the G1 Summit, an annual event held over a long weekend in February or March. As participants get together until late at night, their energy level is naturally lower on the morning of the final day. Still, once the day starts, issues are discussed vigorously. This is very characteristic of the G1 Summit.

Breakout sessions in Part 9 started as early as 8am. Each session was filled with lively and active debate. Breakout Session 9-A titled “Reform of Universities” was joined by: Ms. Masako Egawa, Executive Vice-president of the University of Tokyo ; Mr. Jiro Kokuryo, Dean of the Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University, and Mr. Koji Murata, Dean of the Faculty of Law (and incoming president) of Doshisha University; and moderated by Mr. Ryo Hatoh

The G1 Venture board meeting began at 7 a.m. Board members include Yoshikazu Tanaka of GREE, Daisuke Iwase of LifeNet Insurance Co., Takao Ozawa of YJ Capital Inc., Hiromichi Mizuno of Coller Capital, Takaaki Umezawa of A. T. Kearny Inc., and other powerhouses.

Between the board meetings, I saw off Kenichiro Mogi and others, and greeted more than 10 high school and university students who participated in G1 Youth.

From 8:30 a.m., the fourth breakout session began. Session 4-A “Japanese Internet Firms Break Through to the World.” YJ Capital Inc. COO Takao Ozawa, NHN Japan Corp. President Akira Morikawa, DeNA Co., Ltd. President Isao Moriyasu, and GLOBIS Capital Partners partner Shinichi Takamiya.

LINE is an essential application needed for communicating on smart phones, which demand simple, and faster service. It was Japan’s first global application and has exceeded 100 million users worldwide. (NHN Japan Corp. President Akira Morikawa, known for LINE and another app called “Naver Matome.”)

This is view out of the window on my way to Urabandai, the venue of the G1 Summit from KIBOW Fukushima. As soon as I crossed a pass from Fukushima City and went through a tunnel, I found myself in the midst of a snowstorm. For some reason, we always encounter snowstorms when we have the G1 Summit. We had low visibility, so we quickly changed our plan. Instead of an optional tour to go over the “Nekoma pass”, we decided to enjoy snowboarding on the slopes.


I just arrived at the venue. There is snow as far as the eye can see. This is really suitable for the G1 Summit. Mr. Yamada of ROHTO Pharmaceutical was already there from Osaka. Am waiting for the arrival of Mr. Hoshino of Hoshino Resort, Mr. Umezawa of A.T. Kearney, Acucela President Kubota, who was travelling from the U.S., etc. Japan’s prominent leaders are gathering in Urabandai.

“I am so thrilled that so many of my friends have come together today. This marks the fifth time the G1 Summit has been held. At the outset, I promised to continue holding the Summit for at least 10 years—I am just as committed to that. Indeed, the G1 Summit has been growing more and more with each year, rather than just continuing.”

These were my opening words at the beginning of the 5th G1 Summit. The content of the Summit was truly boosted this time. We even received a video message from Prime Minister Abe. Prominent figures who joined the Summit for the first this time this year included Mr. Shinjiro Koizumi, Ms. Shishu, Tsunku, Mr. Junichiro Kawaguchi, Mr. Hiroshi Senju, Mr. Kosuke Kitajima, and Mr. Atsuya Furuta. Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera joined the panel via video conference amid his busy schedule due to issues related to North Korea and the Senkaku Islands while Minister Masako Mori also addressed us. In addition to the two ministers, one deputy chief cabinet secretary, two vice ministers, five governors and seven mayors participated in the Summit. Altogether, nearly 300 participants and their families gathered in Urabandai in Fukushima Prefecture.

I am now due to leave Davos. What method of transport shall I take? The past two years I chartered a helicopter. It was wonderful to look down at the Alps capped with snow from right above the mountains. They reminded me of the opening scene of The Sound of Music. Before that, I took the train and enjoyed the beautiful scenery from the window. It was like watching a TV program titled See the World by Train. I have never traveled to or from Davos by bus, though.

After contemplating it for a long time, I finally decided to take a train from Davos to Zurich. Although I have to change trains twice, and endure the cold weather each time, I think it is worthwhile to get a view of the landscape. While packing in the hotel room, I felt a sense of fulfillment―I had done all I could during my five-day stay in Davos.