CEO taps monk training to shine way for driverless taxis

Hisashi Taniguchi used a sabbatical from developing software for driverless taxis and drones to take a pilgrimage to a Buddhist temple in western Japan. He shaved his head, donned black robes and studied to become its leader. He passed the test, yet within a week was back at the Tokyo offices of ZMP Inc., overseeing his robotics company in the more typical garb of jeans and red Converse sneakers. As ZMP's founder and chief executive officer, he tries to sync millenniums-old teachings with efforts to make artificial intelligence part of everyday life. "The temple teaches you that if you shine, you'll shed light on those around you," Taniguchi, 52, said.