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What does the renowned editor-in-chief, who is always challenging the ‘new’, see in today's ‘crypto assets’ and ‘web3’?
--Please tell us how you got to your current career.
Yusuke Shitara (Shitara): When I was a student, I worked as a magazine editor at an editing production company, and later joined Mainichi Communications (now Mynavi) as a new graduate and worked in advertising sales. Then, at the age of 25, I moved to Gentosha.
At Gentosha, after working in the sales department, I created a department called the Content Business Department, which was in charge of new digital businesses. There, I launched an e-book business, owned media business and content marketing business. I also created joint ventures with several major IT companies and launched a community service called NewsPicks Academia in a joint venture with NewsPicks.
I am also a director of Gentosha Comics, a group company, where I am involved in management, digitalisation of comics and the licensing business. I also edited several books. In fact, I am still editing a book on blockchain.
Of course, it has to be a business, but Gentosha was an environment where if I had an idea, I was allowed to do it. That's why I was able to experience so many different genres of work in my 20s and 30s, and I'm still grateful to the company for that. I also started doing podcasts and other things on the side.
And while doing various jobs, I came across Bitcoin in 2017.
At first it was for investment purposes, but when I read Satoshi Nakamoto's whitepaper, I got excited and thought, ‘This is a technology that will change the internet in a big way’, and since I had always been a bit of a programmer, I got really into the crypto asset and blockchain area.
I remember being as excited as I was when I first discovered the internet as a teenager, or even more so.
--What kind of involvement does Gentosha have with crypto-assets and blockchain?
Shitara: As Gentosha, we wanted to commit ourselves to this area, and that's why we launched the media ‘Atarashii Keizai’ (Atarashii Keizai). 2017 was the so-called ICO bubble, when information on scams was overflowing and the information gap with overseas countries was still huge. I myself almost got fooled a few times.
That's why I wanted a media outlet that was due-dated and operated by a proper parent company, so I decided to create it myself and launched Atarashii Keizai in 2018.
--Gentosha was quick to enter this area in the publishing industry. How do you see other publishing companies moving in this direction?
Shitara: Looking around the publishing industry, there have been some initiatives using NFT, but it still seems like companies are taking a wait-and-see approach. I thought that some of them would follow up on the web media business, but they haven't. I think they are only publishing books on web3.
I think that if we make more use of IP such as comics, we could do some interesting things, but the comics and animation market is very profitable at the moment. Existing businesses are doing well. So there is no need to force innovation. I think the fact that the existing model is sufficient for business is a disincentive.
On the other hand, in the area of so-called textual content, such as novels and business books, the market is becoming much tougher. People are not reading general books anymore. So, on the contrary, I feel that the use of technology, including Web3, may advance from this area.
--What are the important skills and ways of perceiving things as an editor in the age of AI?
Shitara: I think AI will eventually replace writers, designers and photographers, as well as the work I do as an editor and reporter. I just don't want to say, ‘Yes! This doesn't mean that they will be completely replaced, but there will be gradations.
It is important to use AI well in such a situation. There are various ways of looking at the job of an editor, but I think one of the most important things is to anticipate the world's currents and trends. AI's ability to process large amounts of data could be used for this.
On the other hand, I think it's the noise, like prejudice and emotions, that will take AI quite a while to catch up with. Maybe if AI editors and writers work together, they can produce a book that has a high probability of being of interest to all of humanity. But I don't think that book would be interesting.
What everyone wants to read is actually not interesting. It probably produces something that doesn't move the heart. On the other hand, what is interesting for books and media is the sometimes biased ideas and perspectives of the people who create them. It would be difficult to reproduce that in AI without more development in the area of AGI (general-purpose artificial intelligence).
The speed and volume of news can be replaced by technology in due course, so in Atarashii Keizai, we are always conscious of our own media character in the content we send out. There are many cryptomedia out there, but I would be happy if people feel that Atarashii na Keizai is different.
--It seems that the value of face-to-face communication will also be reaffirmed when you talk about a ‘non-AI-like feeling’.
Shitara: I think business through face-to-face and physical communication will be re-evaluated. I think new businesses will be born and the price of human services will rise. Until the generation that has been communicating in the flesh since birth is gone.
In December this year, we are launching a corporate comminity called Web3 Business Hub. We will use online, but we also want to create a strong communication there, with a renewed focus on face-to-face communication.
--Despite technological advances in the web3 domain, such as crypto assets and blockchain, and in the metaverse, it appears that there are still issues with mass adoption. Where do you think the bottlenecks lie?
Shitara: In terms of crypto assets and blockchain, there are differences from country to country, but the legal and taxation systems are the bottlenecks. web3 is a technology that will create another world and economy, but for the time being it is the real world that overlaps these as layers.
In Japan, that is still one of the bottlenecks, especially the tax system. Also in Japan, I feel that Japanese people are not yet able to keep up with the global players. There is also a tendency to become strangely Galapagosised. That is with a sense of self-discipline.
There is still a gap in trends and information between Japan and the rest of the world, and we have not been able to enter the inner circle of many protocols and DAOs, which I think is a major issue.
I also think that the metaverse is still a challenge in terms of devices and UX: technological advances need to be made, such as lightweight enough to be able to live everyday life with VR goggles on, continued recharging, resolution closer to the real world, etc.
One thing to keep in mind with the metaverse is that there is another world in our busy lives, and do we really want to be in it? In other words, whether the metaverse offers more incentive than the real world is important, as a matter of course.
Immersive games in VR are more fun and less tiring than games played on a monitor. VR chats are more exciting than real drinking sessions. Being together in a metaverse space is more pleasant than dating your girlfriend. Working in the metaverse pays more per hour than working in the real world, etc.
The point is that the metaverse is clearly more convenient, more pleasant and more profitable. Without that, I don't think the metaverse can go beyond being just another entertainment genre.
--Do you think the metaverse and crypto assets are a good match?
Shitara: In terms of realising the aforementioned ‘metaverse is more profitable’, Bitcoin, the native currency of the internet, and stablecoins are quite compatible. The fact that the tokens are pluggable also makes them easier to handle.
The other thing that's quite far out is, ‘Is it acceptable for the metaverse to end?’ In other words, I think there will come a time when it will be important to ask ‘Is it acceptable for the world to end?’. Of course, the Earth has a lifespan, but humanity is established because it is far in the future at the moment.
On the other hand, in a metaverse created by a single company, things like the platform disappearing after having gone to the trouble of making a living there will happen normally in the current situation. To prevent this, I think decentralised technologies like blockchain can be used.
Many people say, ‘Don't put web3 and the Metaverse together.’ I agree, the two are technically different. Companies just talk about them together from a business point of view. But in the future, I want them to merge. Or rather, I think they should. The world I'm immersed in must at least outlive me.
I see the current web3 and metaverse as a situation where the two main couples in a trendy drama just met and are fighting at the right time. So they are at each other's throats. But I hope there will be a happy ending in the end.
--In the most recent crypto-asset area, the approval of the Bitcoin physical ETF in the US has been attracting the most attention, what impact do you think it will have if it is approved in the future?
Shitara: Futures EFTs have already been approved in the US, but if they become physical, I think the market will certainly be activated in that it will create a large flow of money from existing finance to crypto. Even just the current ‘expectation’ that it might be approved, the price has grown since November this year.
And if it is approved and money flows into Bitcoin, the next step is to flow into altcoins, then NFTs and so on, as we can see from the trend so far.
But it's not just the US approval of physical ETFs, the half-life, the macroeconomic situation and the state of war are also important influencing factors in the crypto space, so I think we should look at the market from a holistic perspective.
--Back to the media. How do you think the method of acquiring information will change when the terminals for acquiring information evolve?
Shitara: In 20 or 30 years' time, people will think that touching a smartphone like an iPhone is like being old-fashioned. Like, ‘People in the past used to have something like a board, and it's hilarious.’
There is no need for information terminals to be in the shape of a smartphone anywhere, so in the future they should look like glasses, earphones, earrings or contact lenses.
And one barrier might be the part where the machine is attached to the body or implanted in the body as an implant. But if we can break through that to some extent over time, then the electrification of the body is not a science fiction story. I look forward to the future of Neuralink.
--Will books remain as a kind of ‘art’, like paintings?
Shitara: First of all, I believe that the content form of ‘books’ as a compilation of information will remain in the future. A book is a work on a single theme that has to be rewritten many times and proofread by several people, with an eye on the overall structure of the book.
The quality of the information is often high. Considering the rational input of information, I believe that the content form of ‘books’ will inevitably continue to be chosen in the future.
On the other hand, as an object, I don't feel the necessity for the ‘book’ to be printed on paper and in its current form. A publishing company employee might be offended if I say this, but I don't share the opinion at all that the texture of paper will remain because of its tactile qualities as an object. That may be the only thing that will remain as art.
--What do you feel are the challenges in the current web3 domain in Japan as editor-in-chief of the media?
Shitara: Japan is currently attracting a great deal of attention in the web3 area. The fact that laws are in place, the government is supporting it through the LDP's Web3 White Paper, and many events are being held to promote it, are all recognised by overseas players.
Thanks to this, Atarashii Keizai has also received many enquiries from overseas projects, saying that they want to develop their business in Japan and would like us to support them.
But is it really as exciting as it seems from the outside? Are we, as a media outlet, really making things happen? We often ask ourselves these questions.
In a way we have created a good atmosphere. But it's meaningless if we don't produce real bullets to follow it up. For example, if you look at the Coy Market Cap, the reality is that Japanese projects still don't rank very high, hardly even at the top.
Can Japan and Japanese projects really have a global presence in the future by making good use of this atmosphere, and of the government's efforts in terms of rules and environmental aspects that actually give them a push? Are the many people involved in this industry working with a proper strategy to achieve this?
I think the challenge, or rather the thing that everyone should be aware of, is to ensure that it never ends up being just an atmosphere.
--What can companies and projects do?
Shitara: I think there are many things, but I think the first thing is to look at the world. Japan still has a market in its own right, so it is a place where you can survive, for better or worse. But if we are complacent about that, we will end up following in the footsteps of Web2.
So we need to catch up with global trends and take on new challenges. I think that is important. If we are not good now, this may be the last chance for Japan. I hope that because the environment is good now, world-class projects will be born from Japan.
In order to back this up, we are constantly transmitting content on Atarashii Keizai (New Economy) and EXODUS with a global standard in mind.
The Web3 Business Hub aims to ‘catch up on the essence of Web3 and real-time trends, and create world-standard projects from Japan’. From now on, we will provide high-quality learning, communication, collaboration and co-creation communities for companies.
Through these media and community projects, we hope to help make the rise of web3 in Japan a reality.
The Tatamijin: A textbook on how to work so that you can do what you really want to do.
If managers and leaders who expand the big furoshiki of outlandish ideas in business are defined as ‘furoshiki broadeners’, then the ‘furoshiki folders’ defined in this book are like ‘master strategists’ or ‘right-hand men’ to the leaders who steadily implement (fold) their ideas.
In times of rapid change, what is required is a ‘Furoshiki Folders’ who support and sometimes lead the team, and sometimes play a transformative role as a player. This book provides an opportunity to think about the way we will work in the future.
Yusuke Shitara (Author) President-sha (27 Feb 2020)
Yusuke Shidara
Editor-in-Chief of Atarashii Keizai (Atarashii Keizai), Gentosha / Director General, Content Business Bureau, Editorial Division, Gentosha. Yusuke Shidara is the founder of Atarashii Keizai (Atarashii Keizai), a media specialising in blockchain and crypto assets, published by Gentosha. In charge of e-book business and new business in the company's Contents Business Bureau. Also serves on the board of Gentosha Comics. He is also a board member of the Fukuoka Blockchain Alliance, and distributes the web3 programme ‘EXODUS’ and ‘Atarashii Keizai News’ on Spotify and Apple. He is also the author of the book ‘The Choice of Tatamijin’ (President, Inc.).
◉ ‘Atarashii Keizai’ (The Atarashii Keizai)
A web media for business people on the theme of the ‘new economy’, including blockchain, virtual currency (cryptocurrency), token economy, valuation economy and sharing economy. It introduces information on the ‘new economy’ model, how to earn money in it, episodes of people who are opening up the future in it, how to work and what to learn in the new era, etc.
The experts' talk: “I want to hear what this person has to say now” - Kenta Toshima
Expert talk: ‘I want to hear what this person has to say now’ - Motoyuki Oi
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