For the first time in about 20 years, Japan is renewing its banknotes. The person chosen for the portrait on the new 10,000-yen note is Shibusawa Eiichi, an entrepreneur known as the "father of modern Japanese capitalism." Shibusawa was passionate about private exchanges between Japan and the U.S. and in 1909 led a group of about 50 entrepreneurs on a visit to the U.S.
They met with then President William Taft, Thomas Edison -- the "king of inventors" -- and other prominent figures in various fields, and realized that the U.S. economy enjoyed remarkably high growth.1 Shibusawa's business mission to the U.S. was the starting point for a series of exchanges between the business communities of the two countries; such exchanges continue to this day, including through this business conference, and have contributed considerably to the development of both economies.