There was a time when Tokyo felt light years ahead of the world. The flip phone I used in the 2000s was a marvel to every American I showed it to, packed with features far beyond anything on the U.S. market.
But during the smartphone and internet era, Silicon Valley pulled ahead. Tokyo¡¯s edge dulled as the country struggled through its lost decades and lagged in the shift from hardware to software. Now it¡¯s trying something more ambitious than just catching up ¡ª it wants to become the most startup-friendly city in the world.
That push is led by Gov. Yuriko Koike, who has run the world¡¯s largest metropolitan area since 2016. A former defense minister and one of Japan¡¯s most durable political figures, she¡¯s now betting the city¡¯s future on entrepreneurs.
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