KYOTO — Innovation and entrepreneurship will not only revitalize Japan's economy but also help strengthen and build upon Japan-U.S. relations that have become strained by security issues, U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos told senior Kansai business leaders Friday afternoon.
With concern in Tokyo and Washington mounting that the stalemate over the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa is negatively impacting bilateral relations, participants at the two-day Kansai Economic Seminar spent Thursday and Friday morning in discussions that were often highly critical of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's handling of Futenma.
On Friday afternoon, Roos attempted to soothe concerns by concentrating on the role of technological innovation and the creation of startup companies, especially in green technologies, an issue that as a former lawyer in Silicon Valley he feels passionately about.