Innovation Across Borders: Technology, Culture, Policy, + Inclusive Futures

Innovation today is at a crossroads: while AI and emerging technologies promise transformation, innovation ecosystems often reinforce exclusion and technoableism. Japan offers a living laboratory for inclusive innovation. This research at Kyoto Institute of Technology introduces "strategic drifting". and an adaptive design framework that integrates co-design, cultural values, and environmental sustainability to foster inclusive entrepreneurship. Fieldwork in Okinawa demonstrates how participatory innovation -from coral restoration led by individuals with cognitive differences to software co-design by neurodiverse teams - creates multidimensional value: economic, social, cultural, and ecological. Anchored in Japanese philosophies such as ikigai and minimalism, these insights reveal how culture and inclusion co-create systemic impact. The study further explores the transfer of these practices to Georgia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia, outlining strategies for inclusive innovation funds, ecosystem mapping, and culturally resonant policy frameworks. This work invites policymakers, researchers, and practitioners to reconceptualize innovation not merely as technological progress but as a lever for social belonging, equity, and sustainable value creation.

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