On September 14, 2006, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi paid a visit to the Japan Patent Office (JPO) with Mr. Toshihiro Nikai, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
Prime Minister Koizumi referred to the importance of intellectual property, the first of all Japanese Prime Ministers to do so, in his policy speech at the 154th Diet session held on February 4, 2002 in which he introduced the concept of "a nation built on intellectual property."
Since that time, various measures have been taken, and progress has been made in this regard. The Basic Law on Intellectual Property was enacted in 2002. The Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters was established in 2003. The Intellectual Property Strategic Programs were implemented, and so on. The main purpose of this visit by Prime Minister Koizumi was to inspect the results of the intellectual-property related measures of the Koizumi reform program.
Prime Minister Koizumi had some interesting experiences in the patent examination room. He played a trumpet and a violin, both equipped with sound reducing devices enabling a musician to practice at home and hear the music being played without disturbing others. The Prime Minister, impressed by this technology patented in Japan, exclaimed, "What an interesting idea!" He was then provided with an explanation of the patent examination conducted for an invention utilizing this kind of technology. Thereafter, the Prime Minister performed on the violin.
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In the design examination room, an explanation was given to Prime Minister Koizumi about the significant efforts made by automakers in creating car designs. After that, while taking the opportunity to compare genuine products, including motorcyles, pens, and PET bottles, with their counterfeits, he frankly stated, "I just can't see the differences" and realized again the importance of protecting intellectual property.
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Prime Minister Koizumi looked at the reliefs of ten, great Japanese inventors and the bust of Mr. Korekiyo Takahashi, first Commissioner of the JPO and a former Prime Minister of Japan, exhibited in the first-floor hall of the JPO. After being informed that a Prime Minister in the Showa era, Mr. Nobusuke Kishi, had simultaneously belonged to both the patent office and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Prime Minister Koizumi seemed very impressed by the fact that Prime Ministers from three periods in Japanese history, the Taisho, Showa and Heisei eras, had been involved in the field of intellectual property.
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