Japan ranks 114th among 185 countries for ease entrepreneurs have in starting businesses.

“We want to transform Japanese corporations and Japanese society, because after Sony and Honda, no big companies have been born except retailers,” said Idei.  “The concept of patient risk money doesn’t exist.”

Idei discusses everything from the difficulty Japanese entrepreneurs have in finding investors to Nikolai Kondratiev’s obscure theories on technology cycles. He also said he had no regrets about his much-criticized stewardship of one of Japan’s most iconic companies.  Former Head of Sony Helps Young Japanese Entrepreneurs