Japanese companies need to elevate young people and women and promote risk-taking to boost the nation's economy, Sony Corp. Chairman Howard Stringer said Monday.
Companies in Japan, including electronics makers, suffer from a lack of flexibility and need to make it easier for young people and women to contribute and be promoted, the executive said in a speech at an economic conference in Tokyo.
"Lose them, and you lose the future," Stringer said. "People's attitudes have to shift."
Entrepreneurs such as Facebook Inc. founder Mark Zuckerberg, 28, and Akio Morita, who was 25 when he cofounded Sony, demonstrate how young people can drive innovation when they are encouraged to take risks, said Stringer said, who officially stepped down as CEO in April.
Sony took "small" steps to elevate women while Stringer was chief executive officer, he said. The company named Nicole Seligman president of Sony Corp. of America in March, giving her oversight of areas such as legal affairs and communications.
Stringer stepped down as CEO of Tokyo-based Sony in April, making way for Kazuo Hirai to lead Japan's largest exporter of consumer electronics.