Morinosuke Kawaguchi is proud to be a geek. His office is full
of brightly colored mobile phones, his packed book shelves are
guarded by Anime figurines and his hands are constantly clicking
and playing with toys designed for children. His latest English
book, Geeky-Girly Innovation: A Japanese Subculturalist’s Guide
to Technology and Design, takes readers on a tour of Japan’s
Otaku sub-culture telling the story of why Japanese products are
the way they are and how companies can tap into this
idiosyncratic world to stay ahead. Morinosuke’s off-the wall
ideas may be just what Japan needs to kick-start a creative
revolution. “In Japan we are always looking for what we don’t
have,” he says “It looks like we don’t have any culture but
actually we have a lot. It was only when I started analyzing
products from around the world, that I understood what it meant
to be Japanese.” Morinosuke’s work examining products removes
much of the cultural baggage that comes with studying foreign
countries. In the way a good playe