Reviving Japan

Written by Peter Li-Chang Kuo

Today, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is at the White House meeting President Donald Trump to discuss “how to build a stronger Japan.” This scene brings back vivid memories of the 2006 APEC Leaders’ Meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam.

At the NCC venue, young representatives from mainland China saw me carrying a large stack of "Color Pamphlets" and "TES Booklets." They immediately rushed over to help distribute them. Four thousand pamphlets and two hundred booklets were snapped up almost instantly. These young people even took my digital files to print thousands more booklet copies using the conference’s high-capacity copiers. This moment was captured in a group photo.

Fig 1: The author holding booklets at APEC Summit 2006

One may ask: as an invited guest at such a prestigious APEC Leaders’ Meeting — where I was invited by Australia to report on the progress of the “APEC 2003 Best Practice: TES”—why was I the only one holding pamphlets and booklets in my left hand, while all other delegates stood empty-handed?

The answer is simple. Due to obstruction by the Taiwan cartels, the key architect of this Best Practice policy—“the Mother of E-Commerce,” Linda Din — was ultimately unable to attend. I had to travel alone to Hanoi. I believed every second at the venue was invaluable, so I carried materials with me at all times, ready to promote the APEC Best Practice concept of "Social Responsibility Investment" (SRI).

This photograph captures a highly unusual and "historically significant moment." In formal diplomatic settings like APEC, delegates typically keep their hands free as a gesture of ease and harmony. Yet my left hand tightly held pamphlets and booklets — conveying several key messages:

1) I was not there for diplomatic pleasantries, but to execute international policy.

I kept my tools in hand because I understood that every second might present an opportunity to exchange critical ideas with global leaders — such as “Shinzo Abe.”

2) I played the role of an “Industrial Evangelist” at APEC.

Invited by Australia to report on the Best Practice initiative, the booklet in my hand documented its concrete content, methodology, and implementation steps. I was the only participant bringing an “Instrumental Solution” to the forum.

3) A stark contrast to the subsequent “cartel suppression campaign.”

What I held was a blueprint to upgrade global industries through "E-Commerce" — recognized on the world’s highest platform, APEC. Yet, despite carrying a plan rooted in universal concern, the “Mother of E-Commerce” was later systematically stripped of all assets by corrupt forces in Taiwan.

At the time, President Lee Teng-Hui could not attend APEC due to geopolitical constraints. He entrusted responsibilities to ABAC representative Jeffrey Koo Sr., and allocated funding to the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research for APEC affairs. However, when I received Australia’s invitation, I encountered severe obstruction from a cartel led by Koo. One of his staff members even falsely told me: “We are not organizing a delegation to Hanoi this year.”

In reality, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs directly emailed me, arranging my stay at the "Sofitel Hotel," where speakers were accommodated. Anticipating an encounter with Japanese representatives, I brought along the “TES Japan Market Plan” (updated in 2023). Pages 1–2 displayed a map of Japan, introducing TES as a "Total Electronic Store System."

Fig 2: TES Japan Market Plan (pp. 1–2)

Pages 3–4 detailed Japan’s prefectures, including land area, population, and the projected number of "VAM & eStore" that could be deployed.

Fig 3: TES Japan Market Plan (pp. 3–4)

Combined with the pamphlet, the first page explained that TES holds "Japanese Patent Certification" and was the invention that enabled the APEC 1998 E-Commerce Legistlation. Its core is the use of "Contactless TranSmart Chip Cards." Japan’s 5.6 million vending machines could be upgraded with “Toller” modules into VAMs. Upon each transaction, the "TSCM" (TranSmart Supply Chain Management) system would instantly connect to an "ICT Control Center," informing suppliers for automated replenishment via logistics.

Fig 4: TES Pamphlet (sample)

After I explained this to a Japanese ABAC representative, he became visibly emotional upon seeing the detailed “TES Japan Market Plan.” He grasped my hands and bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle in gratitude. When I opened the booklet and pointed to the "Social Network Analysis" (SNA) diagram —

Fig 5: TES Social Network Analysis Diagram

—I told him:

“Japan can upgrade its 5.6 million vending machines into 'VAMs' —generating an estimated '¥800 billion' in additional tax revenue. Japan could become a global leader in digital finance, with 'GDP reaching up to $10 trillion'.”

This Japanese gentleman was so moved that he wept.

Unexpectedly, the following day at the NCC venue, they brought me again to present the proposal to "Prime Minister Shinzo Abe." Unfortunately, not long afterward, he resigned due to illness. Meanwhile, we were devastated by cartel actions in Taiwan to strip all—losing our home, company, credit cards, and bank accounts. A confidential report classified from Wang Jian-Hsuan further silenced us "until August 16, 2017." By the time we returned to Japan in 2023, Prime Minister Abe had already passed away. Fate can be deeply ironic.

When I presented TES to Prime Minister Abe in Hanoi, Japanese media were present and took photographs. Yet none of it was reported. Instead, they praised systems like "Suica," which totally replicated the concept of “Contactless TranSmart Chip Card” transactions. Meanwhile, Japan’s consumption tax rose from 5% to 8%, then to 10%, while its GDP has remained just above USD 4 trillion.

Do the people of Japan realize what they have lost?

The Concern of President Lee Teng-Hui

Later, after former President Lee Teng-Hui learned of our major achievements at APEC, he invited us to his residence to explain "Why TES could address structural social problems."

Fig 6: Reporting TES to former President Lee

I mentioned that in 2001, President Jiang Zemin had invited me to the Shanghai APEC meeting, where I explained why "TES E-Commerce" constituted a "Multilateral Trading System." He immediately implemented key elements from the book and color pamphlet I presented to him — policies such as the “Well-off Society, Internet-expansion, Cashless System" and etc. These initiatives were later carried forward by President Hu Jintao, during which China’s GDP grew "from USD 1 trillion to over USD 10 trillion" (and now around $19 trillion), transforming it into a global superpower.

In stark contrast, we were falsely accused of “illegal fundraising to feed the Communist,” while the “Mother of E-Commerce,” Linda Din, was persecuted to the brink of death. Unfortunately, my mother-in-law, Ding Kuo-Hao, was terrified to death (really pass away) by the corrupt cartels — threatened with a “NTD 30 million tax fine” and interrogated at gunpoint over a 1986 donation “NTD 200 thousand” meant to help her daughter for the "Rich Taiwan Plan." Even ordinary citizens were not safe from abuse of power. Upon hearing this, former President Lee stamped his feet in frustration.

Even so, the only support he could offer was to invite Linda Din to join his “Leadership Development Program” and personally supervise her thesis, “Christian Faith and Democratic Practice of Lee Teng-Hui.” As a result, from 2010 to 2011, we met with him almost weekly.

Former President Lee once told us: when Shinzo Abe visited him in October 2010, he had already mentioned to Abe that “VAM could solve Japan’s comprehensive economic problems.” However, during Abe’s subsequent tenure (2012–2022), this path to “rebuilding Japan’s economy” was never realized. During those same ten years, we were relentlessly besieged by cartel forces, nearly losing our lives multiple times.

On February 16, 2010, after visiting former President Lee at Tsui Villa, he invited us again on April 7 to report on concrete measures to achieve a "USD 10 trillion GDP" — of which VAM and eStore were two key components.

Fig 7: “USD 10 Trillion GDP” Plan

Using "TES’s Real-time Profit-sharing Mechanism," I explained to President:

“Upgrading Japan to VAM could increase fiscal revenue by ¥800 billion.”

As an agricultural economist, he paused for three seconds and replied:

“I believe its spillover effect would be at least ten times that — meaning an increase of ‘¥8 trillion’ in tax revenue.”

Fig 8: Real-time Micro Profit-sharing Diagram

I later conducted a scientific analysis of this “spillover effect” and confirmed that it is not only possible, but fully consistent with economic logic. This is not merely an upgrade of vending machines — it is a "Digital Transformation of National Infrastructure." From an economic perspective as following:

1) Multiplier Effect:

VAM is not just a vending machine—it is an “eStore” (electronic store). When 5.6 million nodes operate with "0.002-second" real-time profit-sharing, it drives comprehensive upgrades across logistics, advertising media, electronic payments, and maintenance industries. Each unit of initial input generates multiple cycles of consumption through high-frequency transaction flows.

2) Reduction of Transaction Costs:

Traditional taxation and profit-sharing require extensive labor and interbank fees. TES creates "a seamless channel" from production (origin) to market, reducing settlement costs to near zero. According to the "Coase Theorem," lowering transaction costs unleashes enormous productivity, enabling micro-transactions that were previously unfeasible.

3) Big Data and Precision Public Finance:

The real-time data generated by VAM enables governments to accurately monitor economic activity across all prefectures. This transparency eliminates fiscal inefficiencies and improves budget allocation—creating significant intangible economic value.

4) Energy and Security Dividends:

By integrating advanced “TranSmart Power Chip” technology, and leveraging Japan’s industrial base, entirely new industries could emerge at scale—as illustrated in one page of the TES booklet.

Fig 9: Application Scope of TranSmart Power Chip

As early as 1988, I had advised President Lee to establish a “Japan Trade Deficit Task Force,” inviting senior executives from Japanese trading companies monthly to discuss “Japan No.1.” These leaders had already been introduced to the concepts of "Contactless TranSmart Card and VAM," along with my written materials.

After Prime Minister Abe’s passing, when Japanese legislators visited Kaohsiung to pay tribute at his statue, they acknowledged that without a leader like "Lee Teng-Hui," Japan faltered during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. We therefore compiled the Mother of E-Commerce’s thesis into a book, “Christian Faith and Democratic Practice of Lee Teng-Hui” and presented it to them.

Fig 10: “Christian Faith and Democratic Practice of Lee Teng-Hui”

And yet—why does Japan still remain unmoved?

Peter Li-Chang Kuo, the author created Taiwan's Precision Industry in his early years. Peter was a representative of the APEC CEO Summit and an expert in the third sector. He advocated "anti-corruption (AC)/cashless/e-commerce (E-Com)/ICT/IPR/IIA-TES / Micro-Business (MB)…and etc." to win the international bills and regulations.