Internet Evangelism as National Revival

“SoftBank’s CEO and founder was drawn irresistibly to historical analogies. He often compared himself to the nineteenth-century samurai warrior and reformer Ryoma Sakamoto, whose rebellion swept away the old feudal order in Japan, paving the way for the restoration of the Emperor’s authority in 1868. In the decades that followed, Japan rapidly modernized, spawning thousands of new businesses and spurring its ascent as the leading economic power in Asia. Masa’s internet evangelism was, however, more than about making Japan great again; it was a bid to revive animal spirits in a Japanese economy still semi-comatose after the collapse of the real-estate bubble.”

“Almost a year earlier, when dot-com stocks began their dizzying ascent, a group of young Japanese had formed the Bit Valley Association, an attempt to create a community of tech-minded entrepreneurs to interact with, help and inspire each other. Their model was Silicon Valley in California. Every month, the group held a networking event, where analysts, bankers, investors, salesmen and traders turned up, each eager for tips on hot internet stocks. On this occasion, the gathering was held at Velfarre disco in Roppongi, ‘the district that never sleeps’.[2](private://read/01jg9b8njt7zc5haz30afb9n29/#pro_2)”