Currently, we are looking at around 20,000 people per year, and we expect this to grow to 40,000 people in five years' time.

I see. What kind of companies and investors do you think would be interested in us as we seek a business model that contributes to regional revitalization and the SDGs?

I think that cooperation with the national and local governments will be necessary at some point. Mr. Kawabe, you also serve as a member of the government's Regulatory Reform Promotion Council. Could you give us your opinion on the methods and tips for getting the government involved?

Thank you. I will look into this further in the future.

To be honest, I didn't have any big ideas from the beginning, I was driven by a pure passion to "try to do something using the new technology called the Internet." However, looking back, even though the Internet existed at the time, few people could actually use it. So, I think you could say that simply connecting computers to the Internet was a social significance and a mission.

Although those terms didn't exist at the time, the Internet was a "technology that eliminates information asymmetry" and a "technology that can realize the democratization of media." In terms of information asymmetry, the appearance of Yahoo! Auctions is symbolic, for example. The price of goods, which was previously determined by the seller, is now able to be influenced by the buyer. In terms of the democratization of media, the messages sent by individuals on blogs and social media can now have more influence than mass media. This was unthinkable before the advent of the Internet, and I felt a deep passion for it.

In my case, my motivation has always been that "it's fun to provide some kind of service on the Internet." Yahoo! had the best environment in Japan for creating Internet services, and it was also the place where you could get the most direct feedback from users on the services you provided. So I found creating services interesting, and I was absorbed in my work.

First of all, you need to focus on technology and always think about how that technology will affect society and what will be the norm in 10 years. If you are convinced that "society will be completely different in 10 years," then convert your organization or business to that as soon as possible. Believe in your ideas and forge ahead without hesitation. I think that's one way to change the world.

At first, I was also passionate about the internet environment on PCs and worked in that field. However, one day I heard in Silicon Valley in the US that the internet market for mobile phones would become bigger. When I returned to Japan and investigated, I found that there were certainly signs of this. So I immediately shifted my work to the mobile field. At the time, it was still the era of flip phones and people said, "How can you use the internet on such a small screen?" but in the end, everything changed to mobile.

It all comes down to "trying it online." Nowadays, marketing can be done easily using social media, and you can deliver what you've created directly to users and get a direct response. I mentioned numbers for your business plans earlier, but when it comes to increasing accuracy, it's much faster to actually try things out online than to think about it in your head. It's better to collect data by repeating small experiments and get a real feel for the market. Global platforms are already in place now, so I think utilizing them will be a shortcut to success.

When I was in the Cyber Squad, the only thing we decided together was "what not to do." We could do anything except what we decided not to do. This creates flexibility in the organization. On the other hand, it is very difficult to decide "what to do." That's why I think it's important to draw a clear line and say, "I won't get involved here."

I'm grateful that I was given so much freedom and individuality was respected. Since I was an internal student, there were no exams until university, so I had a lot of time to think about and create interesting things. At the turning point of entering university, students with excellent grades from outside the school came in, so I could make friends with them, be inspired, and try new things. It was a very cultural and interesting atmosphere. On the other hand, I also have some memories of "I'm grateful now, but at the time..."

One of them was when we were stopped from planning the "Aoyama Samba Team" at the school festival in my third year of high school. I formed a samba team with some friends who I got along with, and we played and danced, and paraded around the campus, involving the audience, but because we had not applied for and were not permitted, we were stopped by a teacher halfway through. But that night, all of our friends gathered at Yoyogi Park and danced samba again. Then, my juniors said, "I'm glad I participated," and "It was fun, thank you," and it was at that moment that I first realized the joy of bringing people together to produce something. Although we were stopped at school, we persisted and did it freely at Yoyogi Park. There, we received the highest praise from our friends. This experience may have been the origin of my love for a free world like the Internet.

Something similar happened when I was in college. One of the services offered by the Cyber Team, which I had started, was a service that allowed users to easily create their own personal homepage by simply entering a few pieces of personal data. I brought my computer to the student cafeteria on the Atsugi campus at the time and gave a demonstration of it. A staff member came in and asked, "Does anyone have permission from the university?" and suddenly unplugged the computer, wiping out all the data that hadn't been saved.

That was 25 years ago. We were doing something new, the Internet, so we were probably seen as more suspicious than a samba troupe, or something "shady." At the time, I thought it was so unreasonable, and I realized that there are limits to what you can do within the framework of a university, and that was the trigger for me to decide to go out into the world. It also made me keenly aware of the importance of getting permission before doing something, so now I'm grateful to that staff member. It was unpleasant at the time, but maybe people grow from adversity.

I think there are two main elements to Aogaku Gakuin Mind. The first is the "school spirit" I mentioned earlier. Aoyama Campus is located in Aoyama / Sibuya area, so students have plenty of free time and many of them are cultured. In this environment, I think a major feature of Aogaku is that it fosters a unique mindset that respects cutting-edge atmosphere and individuality.

Another thing is the Christian way of thinking. I was particularly impressed by the words of the Bible, "Ask, and it will be given to you" (Matthew 7:7) and "Suffering produces perseverance, and perseverance produces character, and character produces hope" (Romans 5:3-4). I have repeatedly heard and understood these words, which is why I have been able to overcome adversity and work hard to get to where I am today. The Bible is full of words that support those who are trying hard to succeed, and I feel that they have become a part of me.

When you work hard and succeed, supported by these teachings, you realize that you did not achieve this through your own efforts, but that you have been helped by many things, and you begin to feel grateful. This is when you begin to develop an awareness of being "the salt of the earth and the light of the world" and "living as a servant leader."

In this age of AI, I want people to have many experiences where they are passionate about something. As you can see from using text generation AI, we are now in an age where AI can write safe reports that can get average marks in university. In other words, what will be important from now on is not the ability to come up with safe answers that even AI can do, but to have a unique perspective that "only this person could come up with." The only way to acquire that perspective is to be passionate about something. AI has no concept of "being passionate."

Related to this, another important thing is to make connections with people. No matter how advanced AI becomes, the value of humans connecting with each other and working together to create something will not change. It is important to make close friends that go beyond mutual interests, and even if the relationship is shallow, connecting with people who can inspire each other will be an asset for the future. I hope students will cherish the experience of interacting with many people during their student years and broadening their horizons.

If you can't find anything that you're passionate about, reading a lot of books might help you make new discoveries. In that case, I think it's best to just read as many books as possible. Pick up anything, whether it's a book recommended by your teacher or family, a book that people you follow on social media say is interesting, or a book with high reviews. Even if you don't know if it's interesting or not, just try reading as much as you can. I also recommend listening to audiobooks.

What I expect is that people will not pull the plug on "shady things" based solely on their own values and standards. Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group, whom I respect, has the motto "Be shady," and as a result, he has built up such a large corporate group. If a student does something that is unclear, I would rather listen carefully. And if it is something that is essentially correct and has the potential to create future value, I would like you to be supportive.

Anyway, the answer is "shout on social media." Also, it's important to think carefully about what to shout. If you shout something safe that an AI would think of, people will soon stop taking you seriously. What's important is to shout something that will make people think, "This person is really human," or "This person seems interesting."

Unlike when I was a student, we now live in an age where you can connect with anyone by posting on social media. I really envy you. Your businesses are also very meaningful, so I hope you continue to shout about them in an easy-to-understand and human way.