Tuesday, December 18, 2007

YouTube, MySpace and Second Life are new household words in the American internet age—but what about MIXI, 2-Channel, Animal Forest? Digital technology is transforming life in Japan, but who are the leaders, what are the hot new technologies, and what does it all mean for us?

Join leading Japan technology gurus Joi Ito and Chika Watanabe for an opinionated tour of Japanese Web 2.0, mobile devices and other landmarks on Japan’s digital frontier.

Location:
Sony Electronics, 1st floor
1730 N. First Street
San Jose, California
(Attendees may park in the Sony parking lot, but please note that the garage closes at 9:00 pm.)

Time:
6:00 pm Reception & Registration
6:30 pm Panel and Q&A (Panel discussion in English; Q&A in English & Japanese)

Cost:
$15 General Admission
$5 Japan Society Members, JCCNC Members & Students (with student i.d.)
Free for Japan Society student members

Joi Ito is a Japan-based venture capitalist, founder of Digital Garage and Infoseek Japan, CEO of Neoteny, and chairman of Japanese weblog software company Six Apart Japan. An advisor to the Japanese government on IT, privacy & computer security-related issues, Ito has been named one of the “100 Global Leaders of Tomorrow” by the World Economic Forum and a “Leader of the Pack” in high technology by Newsweek magazine.

Chika Watanabe is President of Blueshift Global Partners consultancy and co-founder of the Japanese Technology Professionals Association in Silicon Valley. Watanabe is a specialist in cross-border technology business development. Based in the Valley, she was named one of the top 11 “Alpha Bloggers of Japan” in 2005. She contributes regularly to Japanese media.

Generous support for this program provided by Japan External Trade Organization
In cooperation with the Consulate-General of Japan in San Francisco and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Northern California