Brain power

“I believe there are two reasons for Japan’s decline over the past 30 years,” says Dr. Shigemasa Katayama, chairman of the psychiatry-focused Seijin Hospital in Adachi, Tokyo and promoter of the Endowed Institute for Empowering Gifted Minds. “One is the ‘all-four’ principle, and the other is a lack of investment [in entrepreneurship].”

The ratio of venture capital investment to GDP in the United States is 0.4 percent, while in Japan it’s 0.03 percent

The ratio of venture capital investment to GDP in the United States is 0.4 percent, while in Japan it’s 0.03 percent

The “all-four” principle refers to an educational policy that aims for all students to achieve straight fours on the five-point scale used in Japanese schools by addressing children’s weaknesses rather than developing their strengths. As for the lack of investment, the numbers in “International Comparison of Venture Capital Investment”—a document released jointly by the Cabinet Secretariat and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in March 2021—make for sobering reading. It revealed that the ratio of venture capital investment to GDP in the United States is 0.4 percent, while in Japan it’s 0.03 percent.

Dr. Shigemasa Katayama | Picture Courtesy of Seijin Hospital

“In Japan, there are many people with extraordinary talents who are unable to flourish because of the all-four principle”

Katayama, who spent his childhood in the US and received an education in which talent was identified and nurtured, has sought to stir up what he sees as a stagnant situation. Together with a group of like-minded people, he established the Endowed Institute for Empowering Gifted Minds at the University of Tokyo, the nation’s premier institution for higher education. Launched in April 2020 at the university’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the institute’s focus is on gifted individuals who exhibit high potential in terms of intelligence, creativity, leadership, or proficiency in a specific academic field, but for one reason or other have not been able to fully develop their abilities.

The goal is to bring together such diamonds in the rough to examine their cognitive and psychosocial characteristics, develop ways to support them, and contribute to creating an environment that will help them cultivate their strengths. “In Japan, there are many people with extraordinary talents who are unable to flourish because of the all-four principle,” says Katayama. “That’s such a shame, so we’re trying to figure out a way to discover these gifted people and really make them shine.”

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A class of their own

Katayama argues that if Japan is serious about getting its economy back on a growth track, it’s essential to discover and nurture one or two children or youths with specific talents in every class of 40. For that to happen, he believes a change in focus is needed. Katayama says that while the IT industry has begun adopting a targeted system for hiring and evaluating engineers based on identifying exceptional talent in one field, the practice is yet to be widely recognized by the public, and improvements are urgently needed.

“Entrepreneurs need the ability to persuade investors, employees, and customers of their vision and what they want to create”

“Entrepreneurs need the ability to persuade investors, employees, and customers of their vision and what they want to create”

Katayama also points out that the dominance of traditional career paths in Japanese society means that elite achievers who get “all-five” grades are being underutilized. He cites students at the University of Tokyo, a school that’s notoriously difficult to get into, as an example. The majority of graduates leverage their abilities into careers in government or one of Japan’s leading companies, but Katayama believes that more should be done to encourage them to strike out on their own instead. “What entrepreneurs need is the ability to persuade investors, employees, and customers of their vision and what they want to create,” he says. “That’s exactly what Todai (University of Tokyo) students are good at. Moreover, they’re serious and will work hard to realize their vision. I’d estimate that one out of every five companies started by Todai students will go public.”

Relatively few University of Tokyo graduates over the years have chosen to start their own businesses. This has a significant impact on current students, because they have few role models to look up to. To address that, Katayama plans to establish an incubation center at the university to bring together students who aspire to entrepreneurship, give them practical guidance, and invite investors to support them. His hope is that if more of Japan’s brightest minds were to dedicate themselves to the startup scene, that would have a revitalizing effect on the economy as a whole. “Whether they’ll found the next Google or Sony, I don’t know,” he says. “But I do know that if we invest in students with outstanding talents, and they then go on to set up all kinds of businesses, we’ll be getting a more exciting society in return.”