Looking for the Japanese Elon Musk

[Samurai_Jerk]

Japan Fund on $10 Billion Quest to Discover the Next Elon Musk

Toshiyuki Shiga is on a $10 billion quest to discover Japan’s top entrepreneurs, who can start companies as globally competitive as Tesla Motors Co. and Apple Inc.

The former chief operating officer of Nissan Motor Co. described the search as an urgent mission for Innovation Network Corp. of Japan, the state-backed investment fund he took over as chairman in June.

Shiga, 62, was brought in to lead INCJ after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited California’s Silicon Valley, where he met Elon Musk and Twitter Inc. co-founder Jack Dorsey. The fund already has dozens of investments from entertainment startups to airlines, Internet companies and water utilities and has been shifting its focus to small manufacturers working on robotics and technology for emerging industries such as driverless cars, Shiga said.

“I want to help create a Japanese version of Elon Musk,” Shiga said. “He’s making electric cars that combine innovations in software and hardware.”

Musk has built a reputation as an innovator and entrepreneur, first as a co-founder of digital-payments provider PayPal and then as leader of Tesla, the maker of electronic sports cars. The 44-year-old also leads rocket maker Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and energy company SolarCity Corp.

Abe’s Call

Shiga has about $10 billion left from the 2 trillion yen ($16.8 billion) set by the economy ministry as the fund’s total capacity. INCJ has agreed to invest about 800 billion yen in 92 deals so far. Among those, 70 are with startup or early-stage companies. The funds biggest stakes are in Japan Display Inc. and Renesas Electronics Corp., display and chip manufacturers it helped rescue.

“Japan needs more funding from venture capitalists who can take risks in order to breed more innovative technologies from this country,” said Koichi Haji, executive research fellow at think-tank NLI Research Institute in Tokyo. “It’s important that state funds back up those private venture capital firms.”

Abe has joined the calls for more support for entrepreneurs as part of a broader effort to move past two decades of stagnant growth and deflation.

[Coligny]

Can we stop with copypasta from the Onion ?

[legion]

Is this like the billions of yen they poured into the quest for "Cool Japan"?

[kurogane]

Racists!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There should be plenty of asocial assburgerians ready to take the challenge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He was bullied as a child!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Russell]

They have Uniqlo. What are they complaining?

[yanpa]

First, they must find someone with a name as ineffable as "Elon Musk". Sounds like something the Avon Lady would try to sell you.

[Mock Cockpit]

The only thing that fucker needs is a swift kick in the yambag for creating Paypal. Give me a Tesla and we'll call it even Elton.

[kurogane]

Paypal not make for happy time? I have never used it but I thought it was a rather well regarded development!!?????

Anybody else sort of smile that they didn't use Son or the other guy or even Horiemon as a more appropriate local example (or are their riches different riches to Musk-Man's riches????)

[Coligny]

Paypal is like having the best STD...



Still burn when you pee...

[kurogane]

Oh, is it one of those Great Ideas that never quite works out the way they promised? I run when anybody mentions payment by Paypal, but that's mostly me being too lazy to figure it out. And that's what bank trasnfers are for anyways.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Anybody else sort of smile that they didn't use Son

Yeah, I wonder why they wouldn't use Son Jeong-ui as an example.

[kurogane]

Anybody else sort of smile that they didn't use Son

Yeah, I wonder why they wouldn't use Son Jeong-ui as an example.

FTFY........

I actually groaned when I saw his Great Leader name there, but I see it's his actual birth name and Masayoshi was an alias, so good for him. Even by the standard of Korean male names that's pretty tinny, but hey, as long as he isn't going midlife Shatanqua Jefferson on us I say they use him as a poster boy, not Perfume Boy. Is there any prejudice against him for being Korean? I've never heard anything. Hell, even that fat cunt Horie would be a better fit; the kids seem to like him, he's served his time, and he'll probably be back eventually anyways. Plus he is so Photoshop friendly it's almost creepy.

Mikitani of Rakuten would be the other one I would nominate.

[matsuki]

If I had a yen for every Takeda....just kidding, but I agree it's odd they used Musk since I think the average J-person probably has never heard of Tesla or paypal, let alone Elon Musk.

Also, add another one to the fuck paypal bandwagon. Was great at first but they got into the habit of freezing accounts for dubious reasons and unfreezing your account (being able to take out money) was notoriously difficult and involved some unreasonable hoop jumping....all the while incoming payments accumulated. (they made a fortune off interest on said frozen account balances...one of which was mine)

[Samurai_Jerk]

If I had a yen for every Takeda....just kidding, but I agree it's odd they used Musk since I think the average J-person probably has never heard of Tesla or paypal, let alone Elon Musk.

Using a local example might be better but this dude's audience isn't your average person. It's people in the business and tech worlds that know exactly who Musk is.

[Coligny]

At least it's not Zuckerbergsteinovitz... The guy who needed to steal someone else idea to comeup with a less redneck version of myspace...
But tesla and Musk could vanish overnight. Nobody would notice... The guy have weapon grade ego, but he's not even a 100th of who Steve Jobs was.

[inflames]

The Tesla showroom in Osaka is actually pretty nice. Plus they're starting to put charging stations around here as well.

Panasonic would probably shit themselves in Tesla went away - they're building a huge battery factory in the US to support Tesla (the fact that Panasonic had some debate over whether or not to build it is a sign Panasonic is fucked).

[legion]

The Tesla showroom in Osaka is actually pretty nice. Plus they're starting to put charging stations around here as well.

Bet it has nothing on this cool prophecy of the future of motoring, and everything else really

[kurogane]

Panasonic would probably shit themselves in Tesla went away

Many is make because also that which is become because of that which is...............

just teasing, but............

Interesting to hear about Paypal. Space Cunt is starting to sound a lot like Gates Cunt. He could save the world from tomorrow, but it won't mean he didn't build a Chevy when he could've built a Volvo. The dorky POS. Once worthless, always worthless. Getting rich first and then apologising just means you were badly raised. SJ's Gates anecdotes considered.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Panasonic would probably shit themselves in Tesla went away

Many is make because also that which is become because of that which is...............

just teasing, but............

Interesting to hear about Paypal. Space Cunt is starting to sound a lot like Gates Cunt. He could save the world from tomorrow, but it won't mean he didn't build a Chevy when he could've built a Volvo. The dorky POS. Once worthless, always worthless. Getting rich first and then apologising just means you were badly raised. SJ's Gates anecdotes considered.

At least the Gates Foundation is working on practical problems like AIDS in Africa and education in America.

[kurogane]

Very true. I have wondered if he didn't have a genuine change of heart after he stepped back and got happy. But we can still blame him for making stuff crappier and creepier rather than better and more beautiful. Not that Apple is any better lately.

Does Musk do anything useful other than the funky electric cars, or is it just that and Space Wank?

[matsuki]

Panasonic would probably shit themselves in Tesla went away

Many is make because also that which is become because of that which is...............

just teasing, but............

Interesting to hear about Paypal. Space Cunt is starting to sound a lot like Gates Cunt. He could save the world from tomorrow, but it won't mean he didn't build a Chevy when he could've built a Volvo. The dorky POS. Once worthless, always worthless. Getting rich first and then apologising just means you were badly raised. SJ's Gates anecdotes considered.

At least the Gates Foundation is working on practical problems like AIDS in Africa and education in America.

I know a few people that work there and knowing only a fraction of what they do, it amazes me how much hate Gates gets.

[wagyl]

it amazes me how much hate Gates gets.

He has money.

That is all it takes to generate hate in some people.

[matsuki]

it amazes me how much hate Gates gets.

He has money.

That is all it takes to generate hate in some people.

Fair enough

You don't get titles like "Bill and Melinda Gates the most generous humans ever" for being assholes with money though.

[kurogane]

I know a few people that work there and knowing only a fraction of what they do, it amazes me how much hate Gates gets.

What amazes me is how much of a pass he gets for buying his absolution, though I agree there's probably some good being done. Whether it was from guilt or a genuine change of heart, it is said to be well run and rather effective for a private charity, which are usually well camouflaged middle class income subsidy programmes, after all.

He has money. That is all it takes to generate hate in some people.

And, surprisingly, worship, awe and amnesia in others. I hope it's not his money that makes me critical of him, but rather his scandalously unethical and illegal business and management practices that squashed vital and valid competition, the shoddy crap he foisted on the market, and his obvious delusions of regal entitlement when called on the carpet by the people that run the system he exploited so successfully for so little public good or return. He was once a vicious, fascistic cunt; just because he might not be anymore doesn't mean he wasn't one once.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Whether it was from guilt or a genuine change of heart

A change of heart might not have been needed. Being a bastard in one area doesn't mean you aren't a great person in others. Some of the worst gangsters love kittens, visit their lonely old grandmas every week, and do good work in their communities.

private charity, which are usually well camouflaged middle class income subsidy programmes, after all.

Do you mean because they provide decent incomes to over-educated upper middle class do-gooders or are you talking about something more sinister?

[kurogane]

Do you mean because they provide decent incomes to over-educated upper middle class do-gooders or are you talking about something more sinister?

Yes? Given that even on a good day only about half the income goes to the purported objective, I would characterise it as innocently insidious. Nice enough people, though, and it is a hell of a racket.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Do you mean because they provide decent incomes to over-educated upper middle class do-gooders or are you talking about something more sinister?

Yes? Given that even on a good day only about half the income goes to the purported objective, I would characterise it as innocently insidious. Nice enough people, though, and it is a hell of a racket.

Not true. A lot of NGOs only spend 10 - 20% of donations on operations with the rest going to programs.

[wagyl]

What they don't seem to realise is that Elon Musk is already Japanese in practice. Allegations of service zangyo:

The filing alleges SpaceX "knowingly caused a violation of the California Labor Code by directing its employees to alter the time records, or 'shave' the time worked by [Stan Saporito] and other [Class action members] in order to avoid paying these employees for all their time worked, including overtime worked and missed meal breaks."

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/10/22 ... _overtime/

[wuchan]

What they don't seem to realise is that Elon Musk is already Japanese in practice. Allegations of service zangyo:

The filing alleges SpaceX "knowingly caused a violation of the California Labor Code by directing its employees to alter the time records, or 'shave' the time worked by [Stan Saporito] and other [Class action members] in order to avoid paying these employees for all their time worked, including overtime worked and missed meal breaks."

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/10/22 ... _overtime/

Tesla is shitty company to work for too.

[Samurai_Jerk]

What they don't seem to realise is that Elon Musk is already Japanese in practice. Allegations of service zangyo:

The filing alleges SpaceX "knowingly caused a violation of the California Labor Code by directing its employees to alter the time records, or 'shave' the time worked by [Stan Saporito] and other [Class action members] in order to avoid paying these employees for all their time worked, including overtime worked and missed meal breaks."

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/10/22 ... _overtime/

Unpaid overtime is as American as mom and apple pie and the military industrial complex.