On Friday, after finishing all my lectures at APU, I headed to JR Beppu Station and traveled directly to Okayama City via the Sonic and the Sanyo Bulle-train. There, I gave a lecture on AI and innovation at the “Kibi Keiseikai,” an organization composed of executives from medium-sized and small businesses in Okayama City, as well as neighboring cities such as Kurashiki and Soja. This opportunity arose about a year ago when I met Mr. Matsuoka, the CEO of Nash Co., Ltd. (known for the high-end denim suit brand “inBlue”), at a seminar I organized in Fukuyama. He was the chairman of the Association at the time and recommended me as a speaker for this meeting. There were many young company CEOs in their 30s and 40s, and I had the chance to talk with many of them at the post-lecture gathering—it was incredibly inspiring!
Lately, Okayama has been a “hot” area for me. Of course, it goes without saying that this is a key part of the “Setouchi Greater Economic Zone” and the “Setouchi Ecosystem”—concepts I’ve been strongly promoting in recent years—but beyond that, I have various connections to the area. It’s the hometown of the head priest at Kaigan-ji Temple in Tadotsu Town, where my family and I stayed for over a year and were kindly taken care of; a close researcher friend I used to hang out with a lot during my time at UC Berkeley is a professor in the Faculty of Engineering at Okayama University; and I was even invited to give a lecture at a unique and interesting temple in the City. So, after talking to a rep. from the Okayama Prefecture Industrial Promotion Foundation, I decided to register as an “expert” there. To everyone in Okayama, I look forward to the buzz we’re gonna make!
金曜日は、APUでの講義が全て終わってからJR別府駅へ向かい、その足でソニック号と山陽新幹線にて岡山市入り。岡山市や隣の倉敷市や総社市などの中堅・中小企業経営者で構成される「吉備継成会」にて、AIとイノベーションの講演を行ってきました。きっかけは1年ほど前に福山にて私が主催したセミナーで株式会社ナッシュ（高級デニムスーツブランドの「inBlue」で有名）社長の松岡さんと知り合い、当時の会長であった彼が今回の例会の講師に推薦して下さったことでした。30-40代の若手の社長さんが多く、懇親会でもたくさんお話させて頂き大変刺激を受けました！
岡山はここ最近、私の中でとても「キテル」エリアなんですよね。むろん、ここも私が近年猛プッシュしている「瀬戸内大経済圏」「瀬戸内エコシステム」の重要な一角であるのは当たり前なんですが、それ以外にも、1年以上家族で逗留してお世話になった多度津町の「海岸寺」のご住職の出身地だったり、私がUC Berkeley時代によくつるんだ仲良しの研究者が岡山大の工学部の教授をしていたり、とても尖ったオモロイお寺から講演を頼まれたりと、何かと縁がある。なので、今回知り合った岡山県産業振興財団の方に誘われて専門家登録をすることにしました。岡山の皆さん、今後ともますます宜しくお願い致します！
