Blockchain Innovators in Japan: a Conversation with Jun Kawasaki
Back in December, Bitcoin Center Korea decided to take a trip to Japan to check out their cryptocurrency scene. While we were there, we interviewed people who are trying to lead the innovation in the field of cryptocurrencies and blockchain. One of those people that we talked to was Jun Kawasaki, an engineer, philanthropist, and blockchain prophet (kinda). During our conversation we talked about all of his various positions in different companies, and the state of blockchain and cryptocurrency in Japan.
So if you could first tell us a little about about yourself and your organization:
Actually here is a place for social entrepreneurship; this is a school where we teach programming and design for autistic people, especially in virtual reality (i.e. 3D modeling). There is also a school near Waseda University that is teaching blockchain.
In Japan, autism is a disability, so we help and support skills [for those people] through programming. We have been doing it so far for four years. The government has given support for us setting up and operating the schools. I’m also doing some other projects using my experience from system solutions. One project is Commons OS. It is a blockchain-based protocol country management system.
Could you briefly explain what Commons OS is?
We think in the future, our world is going to be a networked, decentralized social world. The world is going to change in favor of decentralization; in 2045, there will be over 100 new countries according to French philosopher Jacques Attali. He has a book called A Brief History of the Future, and he says that the world is going to change in waves [example of these changes is the 100 new countries], and the next wave is hyperdemocracy. I think that the blockchain makes the revolution toward hyperdemocracy possible.
We want to create new country systems focused on an “empathy-based economy.” which focuses on ESG: environment, society, and government, and in this system the most important part is empathy. One example of these new country systems being created is by Patri Friedman (Milton Friedman’s grandson) and Peter Thiel (Co-founder of PayPal) creating floating island-countries.
Our goal is: through the government, all solutions are through the blockchain to make it very cheap and safe. We are targeting the global market in such places as Japan, Mozambique, Taipei, and the Philippines.
In Japan, we already have a client: the Kansan city local government, in the middle of Japan near Osaka. We are supporting ICOs there and providing an e-governance system for the local government, creating local currency and total management system.
Information management is very slow, so Japan is going to start the My Number system, it’s like a social ID. We actually only just started a national ID system just last year.
Where did you get the idea for starting Commons OS?
The idea originally come from Estonia. Actually my company is based in Estonia because it is very new and has the highest level of e-governance system; many countries are interested in their system. I’m actually an e-resident of Estonia (laughs).
Can you tell us a little bit about the Commons OS team?
We have 5 members, and all of our members are not doing Commons OS full-time; one of our members works for PwC, this member works for Fujitsu, and one from Starbase, and more.
So on your website, you mention that you have divided your planning in four different stages. Why did you choose the specific goals?
We chose these processes and goals to make it very easy to understand for investors. Our goal is to create a social operation system that is cheap that everyone can use for country management. We also want to provide an energy and telecom system. There are other cases of this such as Vertcoin; they are trying to create social and governance systems through the blockchain.
Do you see Vertcoin as a competitor?
Actually no. we introduced our project to their developer team, and we both had mutual interests in each others’ systems. Now we are trying to create a Vertcoin node because that is one of our role-model cases.
BITNATION can be a competitor, but actually I think not really, because BITNATION wants to create a new nation; a blockchain country that anyone can join. Our solution is to just provide a blockchain management system for each small community, and our solution is totally open-source so everyone can use it.
With other countries such as the UAE committing to these “social technologies”, one must ask: why would they want this if it could possibly diminish their power?
I don’t know, but they are the kings now. They [Dubai] do not effect the global ecosystem, that means that they can be independent from the global economic system, and they understand what blockchain is and what are blockchain solutions.
We also analyzed the changes of standard currencies in the world: in the 19th century, it was the pound; currently it has been the dollar, but next currency could be Bitcoin or Ethereum or some other digital currency. That means that the trust of currency is changing positions.
Also, let me add on religion; I created a new religion.
Oh really? What is it?
The religion’s name is 01.foundation. Our doctrine has only one line: “0=1”, and it is a Zen mind: everything is the same, but everything is different, and everything is one, but everything is separate. Our god is blockchain (laughs).
In this religion, we provide one service: “Yaoyorozu.” It means “many gods”, that means we provide a “god factory.” So our god is blockchain, that means that if you create a smart contract, you can create god.
So how many projects are you running in total?
Maybe 5 or 10 (laughs). I will introduce one other project: Burn Money Token. The white paper is very simple: you burn money, you can earn Burn Money Token.
So you have to burn physical money?
Yes, you burn Japanese money, dollars, or other paper money, post a movie of it, and you get the token.
What does the government think about that?
In Japan it is not illegal; in the US it is illegal.
***Writer’s note: on their website, it is listed that burning US money is illegal and that people are responsible to abide by their countries’ laws concerning currency.***
What do you think of ICOs and the future (2020)?
I think it has not started yet. [Looking at bitcoin’s marketcap] now it’s at [$283 billion], but Apple is at $600 billion, the Federal Reserve is at $4.5 trillion, commercial real estate is $7.6 trillion, and the global stock markets are at $73 trillion. But the trust [of money] comes from countries, and if some war or disease or something happens in a major city, then the dollar or yen is gone, but Bitcoin is not gone. So I think the fiat currency bubble is just starting; Bitcoin totally changed things.
I think the world is going to totally change, and that many countries will be gone. Maybe China and the US are completely changed because some areas will declare independence. After that, the most important things in the world will be empathy and social capital. Credit is not valued in the next world; trust and empathy will be valued. People will be creating new trust-based and empathy-based communities and economies, and all of that is connected to the internet and blockchain.
