Tokyo ( CNN ) -- He is the face of New Japan Inc. 35-year-old Yoshikazu Tanaka , founder of mobile social gaming network Gree , is the world 's second youngest self-made billionaire behind Facebook 's Mark Zuckerberg . The similarities do n't end there . Tanaka , son of a Japanese salaryman , launched Gree initially as a social network in Japan before moving into mobile social gaming . I caught up with him at his HQ in the Mori Building in downtown Tokyo , one of the most desirable business addresses in the city . Japan 's 'Zuckerberg ' leads new wave of entrepreneurs . He may be flying high , but philosophically he remains down to earth , from the tips of his shaggy hair to the soles of his bright red crocs . What do you think when you 're compared to Mark Zuckerberg ? I started my business in 2004 and Facebook also started around 2004 . Facebook became such a big company and I think they are doing well in how they are changing society . I think we ( Gree ) can change society in that way too , so I want to continue making a challenge . How would you like to change Japanese society ? We should change the way of thinking in the whole of Japan . To do that , rather than by saying , `` we should do this , '' or `` we should do that , '' we should show what we can do by a new successful example . People say there is no culture of venture business in Japan , but actually social games and our company , Gree , became successful within seven years . So we want to have an impact on Japan by showing that it can be done . What drives you ? Gree originally started as my personal business using my money and my spare time . So of course it is good if I can make money out of it . However , my motivation is that I want to have an impact on society with my business . Do you think your industry will become the most important part of Japan 's economy ? It is true that the social gaming industry is an important industry for the Japanese economy . Originally there were many Japanese game companies like Nintendo which became successful globally . Japan is an island and an industry like ours does n't have to worry about importing raw materials or exporting . In that sense we can do our business without having the disadvantage of being on an island , so I think it is a good industry for Japan . What is the problem with older , traditional manufacturing businesses ? If they have a problem , I think it would be that they tried to compete only in the domestic market and did n't try the global market . That means they can only be successful in Japan and they need to think more globally . What Japan should do now ? Of course it is easy to blame politicians but Japan is democratic and its citizens choose the politicians . So the problem does not only exist in them . I think the biggest problem is that so many people have not been able to accept the fact that we can not survive without trying to compete globally . Do you think mobile game industry can be a savior of Japan ? I do n't know whether we can be a savior or not but I can say there are not many industries which can generate this much profit and become successful globally . Not just our company but the whole of Japan should consider developing an industry like that .
Yoshikazu Tanaka is billionaire founder of mobile games company , Gree . The company is valued at $ 7 billion ; personal wealth $ 2.2 billion . Tanaka is often compared to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg .