Contact: Susan Parini, Japan Society of Northern California Program Officer 415-986-4383 or
Siejen Yin-Stevenson, Assistant Director, US-Asia Technology Management Center 650-724-0096
The Innovation in Japan – U.S. Business and Technology Awards program
<http://www.usjinnovate.org> today announces the winner of the second annual
Intrapreneur – Japan Award and also announces a Special Award for “Outstanding
Accomplishment in Japan – U.S. Collaboration in Innovation.”
This program, known also as the Japan – U.S. Innovation Awards, each year recognizes
one Japanese and one U.S. company in each of three award categories: Emerging
Leader, Intrapreneur, and World Changer. Intrapreneur Awards are given for a
significant innovation that has occurred through entrepreneurial risk-taking within a
large firm. This year, the Awards have additionally chosen to make an extraordinary
presentation of a Special Award for “Outstanding Accomplishment in Japan – U.S.
Collaboration in Innovation.”
The Intrapreneur – Japan Award this year goes to East Japan Railway Company
(JR East) <http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/> for the Suica paperless ticketing and
payment services system. First introduced in 2001 with a contactless prepaid card
for commuter and passenger trains in eastern Japan, the Suica system – now available
on mobile phones and accepted by many service providers – has revolutionized
public transportation in Japan. Suica is coming to be used for other electronic cash
applications, as well. No winner was named in the Intrapreneur – U.S. Award category
this year.
The Special Award for “Outstanding Accomplishment in Japan – U.S. Collaboration
in Innovation” is given to Xerox Corporation <http://www.xerox.com/> in
recognition of its unique 50-years of R&D collaboration with Fuji Xerox, a Japanese
company which was established as a 50-50 joint venture between Rank Xerox and
Fuji Photo Film in 1962. The R&D efficiency which Xerox has achieved through its
collaboration with Fuji Xerox is one of the essential elements that enabled Xerox’s
strategic transformation from a copier-focused hardware company to become the
world’s leader in business process and document management services.
The Awards will be presented at the Japan – U.S. Innovation Awards Day Symposium
on June 29, 2012, from 1:30 – 6:30 pm at Stanford University; for details and to
register see <http://www.usjinnovate.org>.
Accepting the Intrapreneur – Japan Award on behalf of JR East will be Dr. Akio
Shiibashi, Executive Vice President and Representative Director of JR East Mechatronics
Co., Ltd., stated, “Suica reflects JR-East’s customer-oriented mindset, and so it has grown
into a ‘social infrastructure’ in this decade. Suica still has potential for further growth,
as we expand to provide services worldwide not only by ourselves but with the help of
many supporting customers.”
With regard to the Special Award, Dr. Sophie Vandebroek, Chief Technology Officer
for Xerox Corporation and President of the Xerox Innovation Group, stated, “Fuji
Xerox is the world’s longest running joint venture between a Japanese and an American
company. FX has proved to be a phenomenal success for Xerox, for Fuji Film and most
importantly for our customers. Our strong 50-year joint research and development
relationship has produced a long line of award-winning products and solutions that have
strengthened the Xerox Brand and delighted customers around the globe.”
The Japan – U.S. Innovation Awards program and the Awards Day Symposium are
organized by the Japan Society of Northern California <http://www.usajapan.org> in
cooperation with the Stanford University US-Asia Technology Management Center
<http://asia.stanford.edu>. The selection process is carried out by a distinguished 40-
person Innovation Advisory Council (IAC) composed of venture capitalists, academic
experts and business persons in Japan and the U.S. under the governance of a Steering
Committee chaired by Allen Miner, Chairman and CEO of Sunbridge Corporation; see
<http://www.usjinnovate.org/innovation-advisory-council-membership-2012/>.
Steering Committee member Hiroshi Menjo, Managing Partner of Netservice Ventures
Group, writes about Intrapreneur Award – Japan Winner JR East: “How a railroad
company could innovate in this drastic way is a tremendous story. Sony was developing
near field communications (NFC) technology, but they were struggling to identify
suitable applications. It was JR East, who insisted on deploying this emerging
technology for their passenger pass-through gates. In spite of many naysayers within
the company, a small group of engineers overcame a number of challenges to make this
happen. This sends a strong message to both Japan and the US, where there are many
big incumbents.” US-Asia Technology Management Center Director Dr. Richard
Dasher, also a Steering Committee member, writes about the Special Award: “As the
50th anniversary of this partnership, 2012 marks a uniquely appropriate occasion to
honor Xerox for integrating the benefits of U.S. – Japan cooperation into their overall
corporate strategy. Few R&D collaborations ever yield substantial benefits to the
parent companies, but with over 100 new products and services coming from this
cooperation in the last three years, Xerox is providing us with a true best-case example
of continuing open innovation.“
