The International Symposium Transcription
Opening remarks by Dr. Yoshikawa

Dr. Yoshikawa
I would like to say a few words as one of the organizers of this Symposium. I am very
happy that there will be discussion about the creation of an Asian Research Area, a very
challenging but in some ways inevitable subject at this symposium. As often mentioned
elsewhere, I say that innovation is very important in the era of transition from the age ofdevelopment to the age of sustainability. Governments also describe innovation as
being important. Then, what is innovation? I would say it’s change that is taking place inall aspects of social activity. One change activates many things, and that’s the principle
of innovation. However, the era in which change itself has value is over. Changes
pursued by people and organizations need to be aimed at addressing sustainability,
and innovation should direct this change. Current innovation will direct the whole world
toward sustainability. As mentioned elsewhere, problems of sustainability involve global
warming, bio-diversity, or the circulation of materials inside the earth, and these kinds
transfer have been changed by the activities of human beings, and are affecting theecosystem. These problems are actually problems concerning sustainability. Current
innovation should change the activities of human beings so that the earth will survive fora long time. To do so, various things have to change. Companies have to change.
Research activities have to change. Educational activities have to change. People’slives also have to change. And all these changes come at a cost. I call it the cost ofchange. Sometimes this cost of change is very large. For example, if a venturecompany enters into a market where established companies are providing traditional
goods, there will be competition between the venture company and establishedcompanies. The success of the venture company will cause a structural change in theindustry. Therefore the venture company and the established companies usually play asurvival game, and if the survival game is too serious, the cost of change will become
too large. I am not saying that the established companies should lose or withdraw.
There should be some kind of balance between competition and cooperation, because if
such a balance can be reached, the cost of change will be minimized. Unfortunately,
there is no theory to account for this cost of change. This discussion reminds me of an
example of international collaborative research in the 1980s on manufacturing
technology called intelligent manufacturing (IMS), which is still used throughout theworld. When we proposed cooperation among the relevant manufacturing companies,
we were told that manufacturing companies do not cooperate but compete, and that thepromotion of cooperation among manufacturing companies sounded like socialism. We
received serious opposition from the industry. I think they were wrong. I really think thatcooperation is necessary in basic fields in the course of competitive development. Forexample, all manufacturing companies share common knowledge in basic fields suchas Newtonian dynamics, and they should cooperate in building this basic knowledge.
They can compete based on common knowledge. However, if competition is too intense,
the cost of change will increase. Therefore, it is necessary to figure out how to integrate
cooperation into competition and lower the cost of change in all areas, including
industrial research and science and technology during the transition from the age ofdevelopment to the age of sustainability.
I think that the development of regional research areas, including in Europe and North
America, stems from a major trend toward a conscious effort being made to develop
cooperation and collaboration in their regions while admitting competition within theregion. I think that a regional research area will be a very effective method to lower thecost of inevitable change for human beings. I think that the creation of an Asian
Research Area does not merely mean the improvement of regional research. An ARA
will play a key role in solving the problem of minimizing the cost of change as well assaving the well-being of people, which are essential conditions for the survival of humanbeings. I think that the realization of the ARA concepts is an immediate concern forvarious stakeholders including governments, civil society, and industries. I would like toexpress my expectations and praise for those who have developed the ARA concepts
and hope the symposium will produce great success. Thank you very much for yourattention.

2