Advisory Interview~ vol.4 Yuka Tanimoto~

The Power of Fantasizing Saves the Earth!? Countdown to the World’s First Space Project

The vol.4 of interview series is Yuka Tanimoto, deputy-editor of Forbes Japan.
At this time, the interview was held in dialogue style by Ms. Tanimoto and Satoru Tsunemachi, CEO of Warpspace. They talked about various topics, like as potential of space industry, environmental issues, anime, and so forth.

Yuka Tanimoto（Advisory of Warpspace : Public Relation）
The deputy editor of Forbes Japan. She worked as a financial anchor at Securities company and Bloomberg TV. Then she graduated the MBA in US in 2004. After graduation, she served as the first woman news caster at Nikkei CNBC. She’s worked for current job since Feb, 2016.
Up to this point, she has interviewed Anthony Charles Lynton Blair, Howard Schultz, Stephen Gary Wozniak, and more than 3,000 people over the world.
She’s also former teacher at Atomi University.

Evolving to Realize the World’s First Optical Telecommunication Network in Outer Space

Tsunemachi： It’s been a while since we met at the advisory board meeting last summer. I always appreciate your support.

Tanimoto： Thank you, and nice to see you today.

Tsunemachi： Well, our business plan is getting more concrete compared to the last time we met. Can I start off from explaining about it?

Tanimoto： Yes please!

Tsunemachi： Last time I’ve told you that we offer telecommunication service to the satellite operators in space. Since then we’ve been working on building the optical data communication network system in space.

Tanimoto： Optical telecommunication!? Sounds great!!

Tsunemachi： There’s a way to communicate called optic space communication. This system works with laser communication, and we’ve adopted this method. In short, we try to connect the things in space by small satellite amounted optic module. Once if it works, we can improve the inefficient data network between space and ground. Moreover, we could could contribute the ground economic activity by empowering the big data analysis of Earth observing.

Let’s say, if the data transaction speed increases, it’d be helpful for maritime or insurance sector, and of course financial sector which requires the insight 1 minute, or even 1 second than anyone else. Besides, satellite data could contribute to increase the productivity in agriculture or fishery.
In fact, oversea market pays attention to this plan, and that makes me feel confidence.

Tanimoto： Great thing is that you made such a progress in short term.

Tsunemachi： We are planning to conduct the demonstration and launch this year. One of them will be done on the ground, so please join us.

I Believe Japan Can Compete and Win in Space Industry

Tsunemachi： What is the point that you want to pay attention about us?

Tanimoto： Well, I have two reasons that I joined as an advisor. First one is that space industry gets me excited, the other is I believe that Japanese company can compete in space industry.

Tsunemachi： I feel happy that you are excited, haha

Tanimoto： I’ve been observing the world in the view of finance sector for a long time. For me, the finance is the backbone of so-called Capitalism, but before and after the financial crisis 2008, finance supremacy and Greedy Capitalism collapsed. At that point, I couldn’t have foreseen the future economy at all though I was curios. Also I thought about what industry will come up in Japan next 10～15 years.

Last 4 years since I’ve joined Forbes Japan, I could understand the change of economy and the time from my own experience through the filter of venture.
However, unfortunately, I couldn’t see the direct contribution to the Japanese society by venture companies compared to the former style large enterprise.

I’d think about, “What gets me interested in?”. Then finally I found, “Space is exactly what it is!!”. Space is still unknown place and mystery for mankind. I got certain that I could be excited in space industry.

Tsunemachi： Could you tell me the reason why you believe Japan can compete and win in Space?

Tanimoto： I suppose that Japan doesn’t regard space from the view of National Security or Military-purpose. On top of that, in terms of Earth economy or Earth ecosystem, we Japanese can find the practical use case in space with much more pure values. Because I think it originates from our mentality, “All things have a spirit”.

We can find Gods in the nature, and think the way of co-prosperity with them. That’s how we see the world, and it helps us in the context, “How to utilize the space”. At the same time, I feel that we don’t regard space as a money tree. The filed that Japan can contribute with our strength and feature is space, I believe. This is the answer to your question.

Tsunemachi： Actually, we’ve been thinking of ourselves in the same way. I often have meeting with foreign companies, because our main targets are. More specifically, when we talk with people in Africa, they are more like friendly we feel. The reason I guess is they have background that used to be occupied by EU countries in the past. So for them, we Japanese are harmless.

Tanimoto： That makes sense.

The Concept that Every Technologies Should be Used to Sustain the Earth is the Most Important

Tsunemachi： Therefore, what you mentioned makes sense to me.
By the way, could you show us your perspective about our future pass?

Tanimoto： The time Japanese economy was in good, cultivating both technologies and human resource was the equation for growth and maturity. Lately, it’s still our strength point, though it’s not reality. That said, competition to raise the market share and profit, is not wise strategy.

Then, what should we do without market competition?
The answer is, Philanthropy. The thing is, how can people on Earth be happy?

We sometimes fail in the global market competition, because we have different perspective of time and cost. But the space is the first field where we can win by making the new rule. Suggesting the unique rule that other Nations don’t, that’s our role and value in space. In a way, Warpspace is responsible for playing the essential role and take initiative, when the paradigm shifts from Capital Supremacy to the new model, I’m not sure what it is though.

Tsunemachi： I can’t argue with that because there’s no boundaries in space. Then, the thing is that “How we utilize our original strength”, isn’t it?

Tanimoto： In my opinion, thinking of space from view of philosophical perspective is also important point. “Why we mankind were born in Earth?”, “Where we are coming from and where to go?”, something like that. And such philosophical questions might be the reasons that we have to show the solutions, or even could be the business model.

The other day, I interviewed The Rothschilds. What they work on is that trying to keep the invisible wealth for the coming generation. They develop variety of almost extinct giraffe. Underlying their mind is, to sustain the culture, nature, something we can’t grasp.

“We can rebuild the economy if it collapses. But we can’t revive the culture once it’s extinct. That’s why we take it seriously.“ they said.

It’s about time to face the question, “What should we keep for the next generation?”. On top of that, we should consider Earth-scale about what we keep. Because we can’t keep being optimistic about our environment, climate change, population explosion or more. It’s time for everyone to think not only earth scale, but in view of space.

Various companies have to change the way of thinking and running, not to develop the technology to change the world, but “what kind of technology we need, in order to keep our planet”. What we should do is, that people work in space industry speak up and spread the message to the world.
And if this year is the turning point for Warpspace, your role, responsibility will be more important in 2020s.

Zen, Meditation, Yamato Kotoba Have the Potential to Start New Movement

Tsunemachi： Thank you, we will. Some scholars say, “The way to make the world peaceful is that, Alien show up” lol. But think on the space scale, we could grasp the issues on ground in different way.

Tanimoto： A lot of companies have taken SDGs in their corporate policy or business. But some executives lament, “We can’t make money based on SDGs”. Truth be told, I feel the attitude is old fashioned. It’s not about “whether they make money or not” at all.

All we need to learn more about space or science to improve our literacy, that’s the thing. It also can apply in the space business development. That way, we’ll cultivate our mindset to treat our surrounding, like as nature or others. As long as you don’t have the concept, you’ll never be able to talk about SDGs business. From now on, knowing about space is likely to be the starting point to access to various literacy.

Tsunemachi： Literacy is definitely important. We actually find the difference of science literacy between Japan and overseas.

Tanimoto： It’s still spiritual and unclear, but some people who meditate connect the space, they say. But there’s possibility to be proved scientifically and we could fully understand how it works. At the time, we might be able to understand how “Zen” works.

Also I think languages are important. A friend of mine who is pro-soccer player, improved his skill in Latin country much more significantly than the time he used to play in Japan. Why that happened? The answer was, language.
Let’s take one word “kick”. They have several words which means “kick”, and each of them has the own context. When he understood it conceptually, he could improve his skills.

As another example, “Give up”. We use this word when we can’t find the possibility at all in Japan. But the original meaning is, “Setting issues aside”. Meaning, “When time comes, you can try again”. There’s difference in mindset between us and people who know the original one.

My point is, that we Japanese can go back to our original as well. There should be the strategy of triumphant battle behind our culture and wisdom.
We can find out something in “Yamato Kotoba”.

Tsunemachi： I think that’s true. Our myth is quite Sci-Fi-ish. Japanese are pretty good at imagining the future. We can see it in our anime or manga culture, such as 『Space Battleship Yamato』, 『Phoenix』. Japanese anime give big influence and inspiration to world’s Sci-Fi works. However, we are not good at utilizing such imagination in business or industrial context. This is really wasteful, in my opinion.

Tanimoto： Some countries regard Japan as high mysterious nation.
In fact, this “Mystique” is quite useful. Marie Kondo, who’s called “Konnmari” broke through in US. In my opinion, the reason of movement relies on her personality. When I met her in person, I felt like “she’s a fairy”. Of course there’re different reasons behind that movement, like limit of materialism or something. But tons of people talked about the simple living or minimalism.

So the question is, “What’s the difference?” “ Why Konnmari became such a popular? “ The answer is “Her mystique”, I believe.
There’s no way to use our mystique. Zen is same thing. Both are mysterious, and beyond the comprehension based on the logic, but that’s the thing.

In current information society, it won’t stand out that Japan simply publishes messages. That’s why something incomprehensible or mysterious works and makes movement.

Space Venture Should Take the Lead to Democratize the Space

Tsunemachi： I see. The difference between Western and Japanese industry, is the attitude for the incomprehensible ideas, meaning, ”whether they try to make it happen or not”. From 1950s to 1960s, Japanese didn’t try to make some ideas real, like written in Osamu Tezuka’s works or『Draemon』. But in US and Europe, people did.

Tanimoto： Absolutely. I believe that the power of fantasizing is essential at this time. And we can utilize the imagination to create new business.
Up to today, we’ve been poor at making money based on such kind of idea.
So it’s time to consider “how to maximize the utility of the imagination”.

Tsunemachi： As our policy of space field, it’s just extension of Earth economic activity. The key is “How to create the positive circulation for the Earth in terms of telecommunication”. It’s no need to separate into Space and Earth. That said, the expectations to space industry player like us to make the positive influence is quite high, I feel.

Tanimoto： That is really important factor, isn’t it?
I believe that democratization of space is necessary. And in order to make it real, venture companies need to take the lead for democratization, and gradually, personal use should be common. People utilize the space as industrial field like what they want in the future.
But venture companies have to be the first penguin.

There are relatively a lot of people who hold the big vision and questions in space venture companies. They never forget the romantic ideas. That’s exactly what venture spirit is. And the role to take the lead is responsibility of venture companies. I hope that Warpspace will play an important role to convey the precise information and equality to the people on Earth.