People Power, Japanese Style

Japan has much going for it. We are not a closed country anymore. There are a lot of new business ideas. Japan's gross domestic product is more than half that of the United States. The collective savings of our people are enormous--$13 trillion in financial assets held by individuals. Right now, that money is tied up in conservative savings funds. But over time some of it will be funneled to venture funds and entrepreneurs. That's what we've been missing--inventive, risk-taking individuals willing to invest in new technologies. But they are coming. Shibuya, in the heart of Tokyo, is Japan's version of Silicon Valley. We call it Bit Valley. It is packed with people, including many foreign investors and serious Japanese businessmen eager to start new companies and make their mark on the world. Our frustration with the old system has created a bomb, which will soon explode. When it does, Japan's new economy will be born.

MATSUMOTO IS A FORMER GOLDMAN SACHS PARTNER WHO LAST YEAR FOUNDED MONEX, ONE OF JAPAN'S FIRST ONLINE BROKERAGE COMPANIES.

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