Nice to e-meet you. I am Luke Hasumura, one of the founders of the Quantum Transformation (QX) project, which aims to revolutionize society with quantum technology.
I am not an expert in the field of quantum technology, but I focus my life on contribute to the creation and metabolism of industry. That is because if industry declines or disappears, the society in which we all live will be destroyed. My grandfather was a mining engineer working for Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd. When he works in Konomai mining town where is frontier of Hokkaido Prefecture, my mother was born. But as is the fate of all mining cities, when the mine closed, workers, their families and the local business ecosystem were lost, and her hometown has been vanished from maps.
My grandmother, mother, and I once took a trip to the ruins of my mother’s hometown that the Konomai mining town, and it was hard to imagine that more than 10,000 people once lived here, as the town had been returned to its beautiful nature.
The closure of a mining town is an example of a dramatic population shift, but there are many other cases of population outflow as industries decline or disappear, making society unsustainable. Since the ancient time of hunting, gathering and farming whenever the environment suitable for "industry" was lost, people have migrated or civilizations themselves have disappeared. And in recent years, a number of local governments all over the world have gone bankrupt because of the loss of major industries that support their communities.
In one of my careers, I was a photographer who traveled globally before joining Sumitomo Corporation. I saw firsthand the cities where industry was born and overflowing with vitality, the areas where industry was in gradual decline and the places that were in ruins or on the verge of it.
I also visited several war zones, then I came to think that one of the reasons behind the conflicts between groups of people is the failure of the industries that support their lives.
As a father of two children, what now I am feeling purely as a member of this society, wondering what is going to happen to industries in the future.
With this motivation, since my previous job at DENTU INC., I have been approaching the creation
and metabolism of industry in Japanese society. Japan was at the height of its economic growth when I was born, and still Japan’s GDP had yet to be overtaken by China when I started to work. I clearly remember Japanese entities were proud of its success. But the situation has changed drastically because we missed out on what is now called DX (Digital Transformation), represented by the social revolution brought about by the internet.
Nowadays, not a day goes by that we don't hear the word "DX" here in Japan and we are finally approaching the phase where we have to bet on our survival.
I feel that simply catching up with DX is not enough to maintain a sustainable society. Not only by catching up with the leading industries, but also by taking the initiative and continuing to challenge new industries, we will be able to renew our society and maintain our communities. So what exactly is the challenge?
We at the Quantum transformation project define the challenge as leading the social transformation through quantum technology, which will surely come after the social transformation through DX.
At first we must achieve DX at any cost. Because QX requires digital transformed society. The point of importance is “ We never set DX as the goal and should keep in mind the challenge of QX, which no one in the world has yet experienced or can even foresee. Of course QX will surely come.
If we can pass the baton to the next generation with “big pride”, saying that we led the world in QX and social change, there is nothing that could make us happier than this, isn’t it?.
I know I'm talking about a lot of grandiose things, but there is no reason why we can't do it, and if we don't, I don't think the future will be promising. In order to expand and evolve the Quantum transformation, it is essential to have the voluntary participation of many people who share our aspirations. Why don't we work together to achieve Quantum transformation and create a global industrial ecosystem from us?
I look forward to working with you.