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2025.8.5

Speaking at an AI seminar in Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture: Why local companies can make great strides by utilizing AI

On Saturday, I was overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of the people of Nagaoka.

The other day, I spoke at an AI seminar in Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture. The event was hosted by AX Consulting, and about 30 people gathered there, where I spoke for a full hour about the use of AI.

To be honest, I was overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of everyone who took the time out of their Saturday to attend. I would like to share what I said at the seminar with those who were unable to attend.

Why I travel around the country to talk about AI

I want to convey the critical situation in Japan

At the beginning of the seminar, I said:

"If you go to Silicon Valley, you won't find any AI training companies. Why? Because everyone is using it as if it's a given. But it's different in Japan. The majority of companies still don't know what AI is."

I run Digirise Inc., and in the two years since its founding, we have provided AI training to over 350 companies and 35,000 people. This is not a number I'm proud of.This is proof that Japan is lagging behind.That's why.

This week alone, we will be holding seminars and training sessions in Osaka and Nagaoka, and next week we will be holding seminars and training sessions all over the country. Why go to such lengths?

Before Japan is completely left behind by the rest of the world, I want as many people as possible to know about the potential of AI.is.

The most popular topic at the seminar was "Specific ways to utilize AI"

1. The Three Sacred Treasures of AI That Should Be Implemented First

One of the participants asked me, "Which AI tool should I use?" My answer is clear.

Required tools:

  • Claude – $20/month
  • ChatGPT Plus – $20/month
  • Gemini – Free is OK

The total cost is $40 (approximately 6,000 yen) per month, which gives you unlimited access to a brain equivalent to an IQ of 140, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

I personally pay for both Claude and ChatGPT, but I use each one differently.

When to use Claude:

  • Code generation and preview (by far the best)
  • Processing long text
  • Tasks that require complex thinking
  • Integration with other tools using MCP (Model Context Protocol)

When to use ChatGPT:

  • Excel/CSV analysis (this is god-level)
  • Image Generation
  • Web search (the search accuracy of the o1 model is amazing)

2. Peripheral tools that increase work efficiency by 10 times

"Notta" is the only choice for transcription

As I demonstrated during the seminar, I always use Notta for transcription.

Why choose Notta:

  • Supports both offline and online
  • Real-time transcription
  • Real-time translation (useful when traveling abroad)
  • Automatic generation of meeting minutes

"If you're a student, you can just record all your classes and summarize them later. You might not even need to attend classes anymore," I said, which drew laughter from the audience. But I'm serious.

A revolution in document creation: "Manus"

I would highly recommend Manus to anyone struggling with creating presentation materials.

Manus' abilities:

  • Automatically expand a 14-page document to 60 pages
  • Automatically generate proposals from meeting minutes
  • Quality that can be used as is without editing
  • Browser automation (this is truly revolutionary)

In fact, our company also creates many proposals using Manus.

Deep realizations born from dialogue with participants

The excitement generated by students' questions

There were also students in the seminar. When they asked me, "What should we learn from this?" I answered as follows:

"If you're a student, you should focus all your efforts on development. If you use Cursor, you can create an app using only Japanese. We live in an age where you can grow infinitely with a monthly investment of 3,000 yen."

In fact, we have a high school student intern at our company who used Cursor to develop an app that was once the top-selling app in Japan, even though he started with almost no programming experience.

Pointed questions about business models

One of the participants asked a very insightful question about our business model.

"In addition to training, what other business developments do you have in mind for the future?"

I answered honestly.

Digimon Strategy:

  1. Start with training (low barrier to entry)
  2. Expanding to additional training and consulting
  3. Finally, development projects
  4. Maximize LTV (customer lifetime value)

In fact, our LTV/CAC is 12x, which is significantly higher than the industry average (3-4x).

My information gathering and dissemination techniques are fully revealed

Why I spend three hours in the middle of the night gathering information

"How do you gather information from 168,000 followers?"

I answered this question openly.

My daily routine:

  • Every day from midnight to 3am: Research and creating X posts
  • Travel time between running the company: Check X's timeline
  • Set a goal of 5 posts per day

Efficiency tips:

  1. X's timeline is completely dedicated to AI information
  2. Immediately mark posts you are not interested in as "Not Interested" to optimize the algorithm
  3. Important information is bookmarked
  4. Create drafts using an AI bot that has learned from your past posts
  5. Always perform the final check yourself

Choosing not to take notes

The thing that surprised the participants the most was that I didn't take any notes.

The reason is clear:

  • ChatGPT remembers everything
  • Transcription tools provide a complete record
  • If you can't remember something, it's not important

"Just remember the table of contents and ask the AI for details" -- this is my information management technique.

The potential of Japan's AI market

In a 1.8 trillion yen market, why does the top company only have a 10 billion yen market share?

At the seminar, we also spoke in detail about Japan's AI market.

Shocking facts:

  • Japan's AI market size: 1.8 trillion yen (projected to reach 4.1 trillion yen by 2030)
  • Annual growth rate: 30%
  • Top company sales: only around 10 billion yen

This is an abnormal situation. We are not even capturing 1% in the market.There's only one chanceThat is what it means.

Three messages conveyed to participants in Nagaoka

1. The importance of raising standards

What he emphasized especially to the young participants was that "your initial environment determines your life."

"Someone who has worked at a company selling 1,000 yen products will have completely different ideas after going independent than someone who has worked at a company selling 10 million yen consulting services. Associate with people who have a high level of perspective and a big vision."

2. The winner is the one who can start now

"The cost of learning AI is almost zero. For 3,000 yen a month, you can use ChatGPT. All you need is intellectual curiosity and motivation. Those who can get started right now will be the winners of the next era."

3. Opportunities lie in rural areas

I became convinced after attending a seminar in Nagaoka.People in rural areas are taking AI seriouslyThat's what I mean.

In urban areas, it tends to be consumed as an "AI boom," but in rural areas, it is seen as a "serious battle for survival." That is why I believe that true innovation will be born from rural areas.

After the seminar: What I learned from the participants

I also learned a lot from this seminar.

The high level of questions asked by the participants, their serious expressions, and their determination to "get started today" all made me feel a renewed sense of determination to work harder.

I will never forget what one participant said to me after the seminar.

"Until now, I thought of AI as something that only Tokyo knew about. But it turns out that AI can bring about big changes in Nagaoka, and perhaps especially in Nagaoka."

That's right. There are no regional disparities in AI. In fact, local companies that take it seriously have the potential to make great strides.

Finally—Next time, in your town

I am truly grateful for the opportunity to hold this seminar in Nagaoka. I would like to thank AX Consulting and everyone who participated on this precious Saturday.

I will continue to travel around the country, conveying the potential of AI to as many people as possible. I look forward to meeting you next in your town.

Three actions you can take right now:

  1. Pay for Claude or ChatGPT (starting from 3,000 yen/month)
  2. Follow my X (@chaen) to keep up with the latest news
  3. Create a simple app with Cursor

AI isn't hard, you just need the courage to take the plunge.


P.S.: The seminar content will be recorded and transcribed, so please contact us if you are interested. We can also hold seminars at your company or in your area. Please feel free to contact us.

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