- I think Osaka Gas has been a pioneer in open innovation in Japan. Could you tell us about the story behind the launch?
- Higuchi In 2008, Osaka Gas started preparing to launch its open innovation initiative. At that time, although a number of overseas companies had already started, few companies in Japan had implemented such initiatives. The main factor driving our focus on open innovation at that time, was the emergence of “all-electric homes” and the huge amount of public attention it drew.
- Do you mean the concept triggered a feeling of impending danger in you?
- Higuchi Yes, it galvanized us. We certainly had a strong feeling of being at risk, thinking there would be no future for us if we continued to partner only with other companies in the gas industry. The new “all-electric homes” concept placed us in a situation where we had no choice but to engage in open innovation. Therefore, we began preparing in 2008 and launched our full-fledged initiative in April 2009. The Open Innovation Office was established in 2010 to become the first section specializing in open innovation in Japan.

- It seems it was really a pioneering initiative. Was it welcomed in Osaka Gas?
- Higuchi No, it wasn’t. Things didn’t go so well. Researchers in our company maintained it would be ridiculous to obtain technologies from external parties with whom we had no previous relations. I certainly understood their argument because I was also a researcher. Open innovation requires us to determine whether the proposed technologies and our prospective partner companies could be trustworthy. It also involves the disclosure of our difficulties in technological development, which would arouse opposition from researchers. However, believing open innovation a necessary step for our company, we petitioned the top management to urge each division to submit at least a few requests for external technologies they needed. As a result, in 2009, the first fiscal year of the initiative, 40 requests were submitted and 25 of these were fulfilled with technologies proposed by external parties. These achievements generated genuine company-wide recognition for open innovation.