A friend of mine shared this graph with me the other day. A number of striking implications jump out, such as the cultural insights into an America which now ranks bottom among the G7 countries for vaccine adoption. However, I will steer clear of that particular political minefield.

For me the really interesting story is that of Japan. Japan was the slowest starter in rolling out Covid-19 vaccination among large developed countries. Yet look at them now !

Beyond just vaccines, I’ve witnessed this phenomenon play out in other areas in Japan. Notably, it’s happening right now in the digitization of the Japanese enterprise. As one of my former mentors warned me when we launched our first fund here, “Japan often starts last, but finishes first.”