FEATURE

RThe Protruding
Nail

A determined reformer andexponent of innovation, Dr Kiyoshi
Kurokawa will be honored with theClub’s prestigious DistinguishedAchievement Award next month.

Dr Kiyoshi Kurokawa

22 January 2013 iNTOUCH

Kayo Yamawaki

by Nick Narigon

ather than returning to his
privileged life in Tokyo, a spirited
Japanese doctor found himself
struggling to set up a tent somewhereoutside Bismarck, North Dakota. It was
1971, and 34-year-old Kiyoshi Kurokawa
was on his way to start a research job inLos Angeles.
He was heading down a career paththat was to be marked by frequentcollisions with convention. The maxim
he followed then—and still espouses
today—is that limits should be tested andnew ground must always be broken. “Bethe nail that sticks out,” says Kurokawa,referring to the Japanese proverb thatsays that those who stand out will beforced to conform.
The walls of his fourth-floor officeat the National Graduate Institute of
Policy Studies in Roppongi are linedwith shelves of well-worn magazinesand books on a range of subjects, fromenvironmental studies to European art.
A copy of Walter Isaacson’s biography ofthe founder of tech company Apple, SteveJobs, sits in a bookcase; another copy lies
on his desk.
“Steve Jobs, for example, said you
should be a compass [and] navigate
through life,” says Kurokawa. “Everybody
knows what they want to become, butsome people are not realizing it. Life is
not a map, it’s a compass to navigate youwhere you want to go. Don’t settle. Keeplooking. There is no map.”
A spry man of 76, whose youthful looks
belie his age, Kurokawa has spent years
campaigning for reform in educationand government policy. Most recently,

he led an independent inquiry into theFukushima No. 1 nuclear plant crisis that
unfolded in the days and weeks after theearthquake and tsunami of March 2011.
For such work, the Club will bestow
upon Kurokawa its DistinguishedAchievement Award next month. “TheDistinguished Achievement Award is given
to individuals who have made noteworthy
contributions to society,” says Jeff McNeill,a member of the committee that selects theaward recipients. “In particular, the award
recognizes efforts to improve international
relations, as well as the interchange ofculture among countries.”
Previous awardees include renowned
scholars Donald Keene and Edward
Seidensticker, former astronaut Mamoru
Mohri, former sumo champion Konishiki
and Sadako Ogata, who served as theUN High Commissioner for Refugees
for 10 years.
“Dr Kurokawa’s career has been
dedicated to improving the lives ofpeople,” McNeill says. “His tireless efforts
to help promote a safer and healthiersociety in Japan and globally has earned
him numerous recognitions from aroundthe world, including the Order of Purple
from the Japanese government foracademic achievement.”
Accolades, of course, are nothing
new to Kurokawa. He has received theOrder of the Rising Sun, Gold and SilverStar from the Japanese government, andWashington, DC-based Foreign Policy
magazine named him as one of its top
100 global thinkers of 2012.
While grateful for the Club recognition,
Kurokawa is his notoriously humble self

The Protruding Nail 23

FEATURE

Kurokawa teaching at the University of Tokyo (1980s)

when discussing his worthiness. “I don’tknow what to say, just thank you,” hesays. “I ask why is the award given atthe end of the year? Because if I get theaward, I would like to do something forthe organization. What can I do? Maybe
increase membership by campaigning? If
I recruit a new Member, maybe I can geta commission.”
Joking aside, Kurokawa’s penchant forbucking the system didn’t emerge until
he was in his 30s. The eldest son of arespected doctor, he grew up in Tokyo
during the 1940s and ’50s. As such, hisduty was to follow in his father’s footsteps.
So, while his two younger brothers went
into engineering, Kurokawa enrolled inthe University of Tokyo in 1956. Six years
later, he earned his MD from Todai’s
School of Medicine. Specializing ininternal medicine, he became an expert
in the field of nephrology.
Despite speaking little English andbeing virtually broke, in 1969 Kurokawa
took a research position at the Universityof Pennsylvania, where he found thedifferent approach to research to his

24 January 2013 iNTOUCH

Kurokawa (third from left) on the panel of the Pacific Health Summit, Seattle (2008)

liking. “In Japan, you are stuck in one
institution and it is seniority based,” hesays. “The US was more fitting to my sortof, I don’t know, psyche.”
Rather than complete assignments as
instructed by his superiors, Kurokawa
was told by his mentor to conduct
independent research and develop hisown hypotheses. He was encouraged tonephrology studies on the other side of
the country, at UCLA. But first, with little
money to spare, Kurokawa rented a truck
and toured the United States for twoweeks. Driving more than 300 kilometers
a day, he would stop off along the way
to camp with his wife, Keiko, and their
young son, Atsushi. “That was a greatexperience, camping,” he says. “[Those“He was the first and last science adviser to two
prime ministers. You have to be charismatic todo that, but, more to the point, you have to saysome pretty tough things.”
voice his own opinions during discussions
and to actively question. “That was very
shocking,” he says. “Even though he was
the professor chair and I was just a fellow,
we were equal. I was told to question
from my expertise. That was an eyeopening experience.”
Once his tenure was up at UPenn,
Kurokawa decided to continue hiswere] the good old days.”
After five years at UCLA and thebirth of his daughter, Tomoko, Kurokawa
realized he had “broken the code,” and it
was too late to return to Tokyo without
having to start his career from squareone. To improve himself and to escape thelife of a researcher, Kurokawa spent two
grueling years obtaining his California

medical license.
With another MD and board
certifications in hand, he took a positionat the University of Southern California,
home to the largest medical center west ofthe Rockies. “It was fortunate because somany friends supported me and helpedme,” he says. “I was offered a job at someother places, but I chose to stay in LA. My
mission was to survive in the US until mykids finished college.”
Returning to UCLA, the newly
promoted professor of medicine boughta large house with a swimming pool in
Encino. He thought he had discovered
happiness. Then, in 1983, the Universityof Tokyo came calling. “At that time, evenin the early 1980s, for the Universityof Tokyo to consider a professor fromabroad, it was still taboo,” Kurokawasays. “But my friend came to my house topersuade me to give it a try.”
With his wife, son and “Valley girl”
daughter in tow, Kurokawa returned tohis alma mater and a home in Tokyo that
Kurokawa says was in “shambles.” His
lab space was minuscule and the course

offerings were slim, but the students
showed promise.
“I began to realize that it was such a joy
to have such bright kids and bright future
doctors to teach,” he says. “I began tothink that education is really my mission.
Awakening students, opening their eyes:that is the reason why I stayed in Japan,
despite this stupid, small house.”
After five years, during which time
Kurokawa expanded the curriculum andestablished an exchange program withHarvard, he was named chair of theuniversity’s Department of Medicine.
Still, many of his reforms were being
stymied in faculty meetings. Frustrated,in 1996 Kurokawa accepted an invitation
to become dean of medicine at Tokai
University, where he encouraged
juniors to study abroad and introduced
technology into the classroom.
Much to his surprise, Kurokawa waselected president of the Science Councilof Japan in 2003. “I never expected thisbecause I was always considered strange
and unorthodox compared to the ordinary
Japanese academics,” he says. “But atthat time, there was a transition with
the Japanese government. Many agencies
were under target of the government,
including the Science Council.”His work building a strong network ofcontacts in the global science community
was rewarded with a position as Japan’s
first science adviser to the government
in 2006. In his new role, Kurokawa
developed Innovation 25, an initiative
designed to stimulate scientific researchand boost economic growth by 2025. Theposition was eventually scrapped twoyears later.
Now an academic fellow at theNational Graduate Institute for Policy
Studies (he is also chair of the Health andGlobal Policy Institute), Kurokawa was in
the media spotlight again following theTohoku disaster in 2011.
In the immediate aftermath, hesmoothed the way for foreign doctors to aid
in the recovery efforts. Later, he turned his
attention to the handling of the situation atTokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCO)
stricken nuclear plant.
“When Fukushima happened, I knew

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FEATURE

that it held global relevance. When it
comes to nuclear power, everybody wants
to know what is happening. In that case,the government usually commissions anindependent commission. Japan neverhas,” Kurokawa says. “It was on the news
everywhere—TEPCO, the Japanese
government, the Japanese press—and you
immediately feel they are not telling thetruth. They are hiding something, no?
When politicians say don’t worry, people
start to worry.”In December 2011, the Fukushima
NuclearAccident
Independent
Investigation Commission, headed byKurokawa, began its examination of thetriple meltdown and the way in which it
was handled. It was Japan’s first-ever such
independent parliamentary inquiry.
“At the opening, I said the sense of
mission is three words: people, future andworld,” says Kurokawa. “I said ‘people’are structured,” says Club Member
Saito. “How do you get over 100 people,strangers, together in one room to workon a common mission that only lasts for
six months? That is completely insane. Itwas Kurokawa’s leadership that got thisthing done.”
Saito says that Kurokawa wasdetermined to protect the impartiality of
the commission and reminded membersthat the inquiry was not a bully pulpit or asoap box for individual agendas. “I think
this panel could have easily underdone
something or overdone something, andto get it done just right, that kind ofleadership is extremely hard to do, inJapan especially,” says Saito.
Delivered to the government last
July, the commission’s 641-page reportdeemed the catastrophe “man-made” andcriticized both the Japanese government
and TEPCO. For example, Kurokawa“When it comes to nuclear power, everybody
wants to know what is happening. In thatcase, the government usually commissions anindependent commission. Japan never has.”because this is a commission of thepeople, by the people and for the people.
And second is ‘future’ because to see thefuture of our nuclear plants we have to
study the past. By studying the past andlooking through the current window, wecan see a better future. And the third is‘world’ because the world is concerned
about this accident. We need to share ourlessons with the rest of the world.”
Without staff, computers or phones atfirst, Kurokawa brought in his longtimefriend and entrepreneur William Saito tohelp jumpstart the commission’s efforts.
He also insisted on total transparency.
Each hearing was streamed online andaccess was granted to all members of themedia, not just the Japan press club.
“We did a lot of groundbreaking
things in how organizations are created,in how things are bought, how things

26 January 2013 iNTOUCH

says, US recommendations on how todeal with operational problems, natural
disasters and even a terrorist attack had
been ignored.
Although the commission has been
disbanded, Kurokawa continues to shareits findings. “My primary mission atthe moment, among many things, is toconvey the message of this report,” says
Kurokawa. “This [report] is the foundationof a functioning democracy. This is thefirst time it is working. This changing
world requires more transparency,accountability. You cannot hide.”
Kurokawa’s work with the commission
has already been recognized. Next month,
he will receive the American Academy
for the Advancement of Science 2012
Scientific Freedom and ResponsibilityAward for his “remarkable stewardship”
of the Fukushima investigation and his

Kurokawa (far right) with fellow researchers at UCLA (1977)“courage in challenging some of themost ingrained conventions of Japanese
governance and society.”
Not a man to stand still for long,
Kurokawa continues to work with young
people and encourage entrepreneurs
through organizations like Impact Japanand TEDxTokyo. He also still campaigns
for global health policy reform andnext month he will lead the Japanesecontingent at the World Economic
Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“You got to realize that the guy is a
medical doctor, right? He knows how
to run organizations; he knows how toplay politics,” Saito says. “He was the firstand last science adviser to two prime
ministers. You have to be charismatic
to do that, but, more to the point, youhave to say some pretty tough things.

You have to be fair and honest about
it. It’s very hard to argue against thesepoints because he’s not doing it out of
any self-interest. He’s not doing it out ofany motives. He just wants to better theplace here.”
Narigon is a Tokyo-based freelance journalist.

Distinguished Achievement Award
Presentation Ceremony
Monday, February 18
6:30–8:30 p.m.
Washington and Lincoln rooms¥1,500 (includes one drink)
Sign up online or at the Member
Services Desk

Kurokawa with Michio Furukawa, the mayor of Kawamata City, Fukushima Prefecture (2011)

The Protruding Nail 27