A Platform For A Better Japan

Bill Emmott is an independent writer and consultant, best known for his 13 years as editor in chief of The Economist (1993-2006). He is now chairman of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, of the Japan Society of the UK, of Trinity College Dublin's Research Institute for Arts & Humanities, and of the International Trade Institute. He is an honorary fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford and is a visiting fellow at Tokyo College, University of Tokyo. He is co-director of a non-profit, the Global Commission for Post-Pandemic Policy and a member of the Comitato Scientifico of the Centro Einaudi in Turin, Italy. He writes columns for La Stampa in Italy, Nikkei Business and the Mainichi Shimbun in Japan, Project Syndicate worldwide and occasionally for the Financial Times. The author of numerous books, his latest is Japan's Far More Female Future: Increasing Gender Equality and Reducing Workplace Insecurity Will Make Japan Stronger (Oxford University Press, 2020).

Jane Harman served nine terms in Congress as the U.S. representative for California's 36th congressional district and was ranking member of the Intelligence Committee after 9/11. She left the House in 2011 to become the first woman president and CEO of the Wilson Center,
transitioning to President Emerita in 2021.

Currently she chairs the Commission on the National Defense Strategy and the board of Freedom House. She is also a Trustee of the Aspen Institute, the Trilateral Commission, a Presidential Scholar at USC and serves on the advisory boards of the Department of Homeland Security, NASA, and Iridium Communications, Inc. Harman’s book, “Insanity Defense: Why Our Failure to Confront Hard National Security Problems Makes Us Less Safe,” was published by St. Martin’s Press in 2021.

Heizo Takenaka is a professor emeritus at Keio University in Japan. And was formerly Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy etc (2001-2006). In his capacity as an economist and as part of his social activities, he also serves on several advisory boards and committees including: Member of the Policy Council under Kishida Administration; Director, Academyhills and Outside Director, SBI Holdings Inc. He was named to a member of the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum in 2007. Professor Takenaka’s research interest is in economic policy.

Jesper Koll has been researching and investing in Japan since becoming a resident in 1986. Over the past two decades, Jesper has been consistently recognized as one of the top Japan strategists/economists, having worked as Chief Strategist and Head of Research for U.S. investment banks J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch. He currently serves as Expert Director for the Monex Group and the Japan Catalyst Fund (Japan’s 1st retail investor based corporate engagement/activist fund). His analysis and insights have earned him a position on several Japanese government and corporate advisory committees, including Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike’s Advisory Board. In 2022, he was appointed Global Ambassador for Tokyo’s Financial Center initiative. Jesper serves as Board Director of OIST, the Okinawa Institute for Science and Technology and is a Founder and Board Director of the Asia Society Japan and heads their Policy Committee. He is one of the few non-Japanese members of the Keizai Doyukai, the Japan Association of Corporate Executives; and serves on the board of several Japan-based start-ups. He has written three books in Japanese and, in 2021, created the acclaimed video/pod-cast series “Japan - Capitalism that works”.

Mr. Seiji Inagaki has been the President of Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc. and The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Limited since April, 2017 .
Mr. Inagaki served as Director at The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Limited from June 2016 and at Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc. from October 2016 and Managing Executive Officer at The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Limited from April 2015 and at Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc. from October 2016 , to March 2017.

Mr.Inagaki joined The Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Company (currently Dai-ichi Life Holdings,Inc.) in April 1986. He has experience of the corporate planning, global markets, risk management in the financial services industry.
Mr. Inagaki has MBA from the Harvard Business School and Bachelor's Degree in Economics from Keio University in Japan.

Mr.Inagaki also serves as an Executive Board Vice Chair of BIAC （Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD).

Daniel Springer serves as Board Director of UiPath and DocuSign, where he was CEO until June 2022. Springer has more than 25 years of executive leadership and experience in driving innovation and hyper growth across technology and, specifically, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) businesses.

Prior to DocuSign, Springer served as Chairman and CEO at Responsys for ten years where he transformed and scaled the business from private start up to the leading cross-channel marketing automation
platform globally as a publicly traded company.

Springer holds an MBA from Harvard University and an AB in Mathematics and Economics from Occidental College.

Springer has served as a board member at both public and private
companies, including iCIMS, Ansira, YuMe, ELOAN (Banco Popular),
Heighten, Persado, and eGroups (Yahoo!), as well as at nonprofits,
including The Boys and Girls Club, YearUp, The Urban School, Shop.org, AdTech, The Randall Museum and The San Francisco Friends School.

Eric founded Zoom in 2011 to deliver happiness and bring people together in a frictionless video environment. Zoom’s communications platform continues to transform the way global organizations connect, communicate, and collaborate. As the company’s chief executive, Eric led Zoom to one of the highest-performing tech IPOs of 2019. Business Insider named Eric one of the Most Powerful People in Enterprise Tech in 2017. In 2018, Glassdoor recognized him as the top CEO for large U.S. companies. In 2019, he was recognized in the Bloomberg 50 as a leader changing the game in global business. Time Magazine named Eric its 2020 Businessperson of Year as well as one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2020. He was also named Comparably’s Best CEO for Diversity in 2021. Prior to founding Zoom, Eric was corporate vice president of engineering at Cisco, where he was responsible for Cisco’s collaboration software development. Eric was also one of the founding engineers and vice president of engineering at Webex. Eric is a named inventor on 11 issued and 20 pending patents in real-time collaboration.

Makiko is the Director of Yell since 2020, bringing her expertise in business strategy and a passion for effective communication. As an accomplished speaker and thought leader, she delves into the significance of listening and dialogue within the contemporary business landscape. Makiko's contributions extend beyond speaking engagements, as she has co-translated influential works such as ""You're not listening: What You're Missing and Why It Matters"" by Kate Murphy and ""The Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age"" by Reid Hoffman et al.

Prior to her current role, Makiko served as the CFO of Hobonichi, where she successfully led the company through its IPO process. Her diverse career encompasses finance leadership positions at renowned organizations like Novartis and Nestle, in addition to her experience gained at McKinsey & Company. Makiko's academic background includes an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, an MA in International Relations from SAIS, Johns Hopkins University, and a Bachelor of Economics from Keio University.

Glen S. Fukushima is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, a Washington, D.C. think tank. After practicing law, he served as Director for Japanese Affairs (1985-88) and Deputy Assistant United States Trade Representative for Japan and China (1988-90) at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), Executive Office of the President. From 1990 to 2012, he was based in Tokyo as a senior business executive with one European and four American multinationals and was elected to two terms as President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and of the Asia Society’s Global Council. He serves on the board of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. and of the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo. A third-generation Japanese American raised in California, he was educated at Stanford University, Harvard University, Keio University, and the University of Tokyo.

Willy Shih is a Baker Fpundation Professor of Management Practice at the Harvard Business School, where he has taught for 17 years. Prior to that he worked in the computer and consumer electronics industries for 28 years. He sits on the Department of Commerce’s Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness, and its new Industrial Advisory Committee for the CHIPS & Science Act.

Kunimasa Suzuki is vice president of the Sales, Marketing, and Communications Group and president of Intel K. K. (Japan) at Intel Corporation. He is responsible for accelerating the data-centric transformation (DcX) strategy while continuing to maintain the health of our client-centric business in Japan. This market has been crucial to our success as a company and will continue to play an instrumental role as we further expand our role in computing, the internet of things, 5G, and artificial intelligence in Japan. In addition, he led efforts towards bringing innovative experiences using technology for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. He is also actively promoting the creation and support of Japan's educational environment, such as the GIGA School Program and the STEAM Lab, as well as promoting the spread of high-performance PCs that support the creator economy for the arrival of the ""era of 100 million creators.""
Prior to Intel, Suzuki held various roles over 34 years at Sony, on top of his Corporate EVP role at Sony, he has gained broad-based business executive experience through his leadership roles at Sony VAIO, Sony Computer Entertainment (PlayStation), and Sony Mobile Communications.

Yumiko Murakami General Partner, MPower Partners Fund L.P. Yumiko is the former head of the OECD Tokyo Centre. Prior to the OECD, she worked for 20 years in the global financial industry, mostly as a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs in New York, London and Tokyo. She is a leading authority on a wide range of economic policy issues such as corporate governance, tax guidelines, diversity, education, trade and innovation. She sits on several Government advisory panels, including Prime Minister Kishida’s panel on “the New Form of Capitalism”. Yumiko has an MBA from Harvard Business School, MA from Stanford University and BA from Sophia University.

Jerry is a quadrilingual Taiwanese American based in Tokyo. Previously, he had a wide array of analytics and machine learning roles at Google, Supercell, SmartNews, and Indeed. Also, he is an ex-entrepreneur with experience advising startups. He is especially passionate about generative AI and creative applications of machine learning. Jerry holds degrees from Stanford and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

Karim R. Lakhani is a scholar and practitioner in the field of AI and business transformation. He serves as the Dorothy & Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and co-founded the Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard. His work in promoting open-source and open innovation within the US federal government, including significant contributions to NASA, has earned him a reputation for practical impact in the field.

In addition to his academic pursuits, Lakhani is a board member of Mozilla Corporation and Mozilla.ai, where his expertise guides strategic decisions. He is also an active participant in the AI startup sphere, offering support as an angel investor to ventures such as Videa Health, a dental healthcare initiative.

Lakhani's research merges advanced ML and AI code with practical applications, illustrating his dual role as a scholar and practitioner. He has co-founded several Harvard initiatives that integrate technology, AI, and corporate strategy. As the Principal Investigator of NASA Tournament Laboratory and founder of the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard, Lakhani has conducted field experiments for innovation challenges in collaboration with organizations like Harvard Catalyst and The Broad Institute.

Lakhani's expertise extends beyond academia and startups. He has developed six executive online courses on AI strategy, technology-driven transformation, and entrepreneurship, and co-authored the well-received book ""Competing in the Age of AI"" (2020). He also co-founded Aspire Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering first-in-family college students globally. Lakhani's notable achievements in AI, open-source software, and technology management are supported by a Ph.D. from MIT and significant industry experience.

Wakana leads LinkedIn’s Japan business which includes Talent solutions, Learning and Marketing solutions of the world’s largest online professional network since March 2023. Prior to LinkedIn, she managed Google's Ad sales for strategic accounts, creating innovative digital strategy & solutions for Japanese partners. She started her career in management consulting, and later managed the Lancome brand as a Marketing Manager in L'Oreal. Following the 3.11 Earthquake, she joined the National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Investigation Commission to lead the International Affairs. After she ran Change Management at GlaxoSmithkline Japan, she joined Google in 2014. She has a Bachelor of Science from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and an MBA from Harvard Business School (Class of 2003). She is also a certified Coach, President of Harvard Business School Club of Japan, as well as Senior Advisor for Georgetown University Alumni Club of Japan. She grew up in Tokyo, Kobe, Jakarta, studied and worked in the US, Japan, and France. She is a passionate traveler, dancer and mom of 2 children.

Emre is General Partner at Globis Capital Partners, leading investments in IT startups targeting digital transformation of various industries. His portfolio includes GLM (acquired), Photosynth (TSE:4379), Sensyn Robotics, MFS, New Standard, Global Mobility Service, Shippio, CADDi, Matsuri Technologies, estie, and Leaner Technologies.

He teaches at Globis University Graduate School of Management (MBA).
Emre graduated from Harvard Business School (MBA) and Ohio State University.

Originally a banker at The Industrial Bank of Japan, Mr Asao is a graduate of the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Law and the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
He was elected to the House of Councilors from Kanagawa Prefecture in 1998 and has more than 20 years experience in the Japanese Diet.
During his career as the Memeber of the Japanese Diet, he has served as the Party head of Your Party. He is now Acting Chairperson of the Policy Research Council of the Liberal Democratic Party.

 Katrina “Kat” Fotovat is currently the Principal Deputy Director for the Secretary of State’s Office of Global Women’s Issues, where she leads a team of gender experts promoting gender equality efforts including support of women, peace, and security, countering violent extremism, promoting women’s economic empowerment, and combatting gender-based violence. Ms. Fotovat has over 20 years of experience advocating gender and human rights globally, specifically in conflict and post-conflict settings, including in the State Department’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.  Ms. Fotovat helped found an anti-trafficking in persons organization in Moldova, where she was also a Peace Corps Volunteer.  She holds a Juris Doctor in International Human Rights Law and a master’s degree in Foreign Policy from American University.

Daisuke Kan is the president of Cheerio Corporation CO. LTD, an innovative Japanese beverage company specializing in carbonated and energy drinks founded in 1961. He currently serves as a Board Member of Japan Soft Drink Association to strategically coordinate the industry’s sustainable development.

As a practitioner in Social Science, he serves on the Board of Councilors of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) where he is Chair of Sustainable Development of Okinawa (Business) Committee. He is also a Senior Advisor to SkyLab, an organization which promotes equity in STEAM education for junior and senior high school girls. He recently joined Hitotsubashi University Business School, School of international Corporate Strategy as Advisor to Dean. Kan has been an active supporter of LGBTQ rights and recognition and Cheerio has been the top sponsor of Tokyo Rainbow Pride since 2014. In 2020, The Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto published a case study of Cheerio for their effort to support LGBTQI+ inclusion and diversity in Japan.

In the field of private diplomacy, Kan joined the United States-Japan Foundation’s leadership program, USJLP, in 2014. He currently serves as Co-Chair of the Program’s Fellowship Advisory Council. Kan is also a fellow at Asia Society’s Asia 21 Young Leadership Program since 2011 and currently serves as Board Member of Asia Society Japan Center.

Kan received his BA in American Studies from the University of Tokyo (2005) and an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business (2007). He currently serves as a Board Member of Japan Stanford Association.

Ms. Kaori Sasaki is a well-known diversity expert, best-selling author, and sought-after speaker and commentator who appears regularly in the Japanese media.
In 2018, she inaugurated the DIVERSITY INDEX, which measures the diversity of corporations in support of their business strategies. She also is chair of THE BOARD, a network of female board members in Japan.
Since 1996, Ms. Sasaki has produced and chaired the International Conference for Women in Business (www.women.co.jp/conf/), the largest diversity conference in Japan.
She founded ewoman, Inc., a diversity consultancy and in 2000, and UNICUL International, Inc., a communications consultancy, in 1987.
Ms. Sasaki serves on numerous government ministry councils and committees. She is the Japan Champion for We-fi (Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative by World Bank) and has served on the boards of directors of major listed corporations for many years. Her current commitments include KOBAYASHI Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Tokyo TV Holdings, and AGP Corporation.

Maiko Todoroki is the President and CEO of Poppins Corporation. The company was founded 36 years ago by her mother, Noriko Nakamura, and their mission has always been to support working women by providing quality childcare and elderly care service. Poppins currently operates over 330 nursery schools across Japan and also provides in-home nanny and babysitter, elderly care service, and infertility prevention initiatives. Poppins’s IPO to the first section of Tokyo Stock Exchange (now TSE Prime Market) in Dec 2020 was presented as the first SDGs-IPO in Japan. She is a director of the All Japan Childcare Services Association. From 2021, serves as a coordinator at the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, and from 2023, serves as a Vice-Chair of its Regulatory and Competition Policy Committee. She appointed as the director of Education Beyond. She is a mother of 13 years-old boy and 11 years-old girl.

Stephen is an award winning senior executive with a track record in leading large scale digital transformation and running businesses across banking and insurance. He has lived in Japan, India, China, and Singapore running global and regional Technology and Operations teams.
He has held various senior leadership roles in technology for world leading financial institutions and is an experienced independent board director for NGOs, corporates and industry bodies.
Also, he has a passion for innovation and has run and sat on panels covering topics such as Digital Health, and AI in financial services, he is an early stage investor and VC advisor.

Sinead Kaiya is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Woven Planet Holdings.
As COO, she is responsible for establishing and scaling the end-to-end business operations of the Woven Planet Group. She believes in the responsibility of technology creators to act with purpose and respect, delivering not only innovation, but also value for society.
Sinead has worked in the enterprise software industry for 20 years. She spent the majority of her career at SAP, where she held key roles including Global COO for Products & Innovation, Head of Innovation for Asia Pacific & Japan, and Chief of Staff to the CEO. Furthermore, she has been an advisor to the World Economic Forum on digital transformation. She has extensive experience in running global operations and scaling innovation, having worked in the United States, Canada, France, Germany and Japan.

Joined Sony Corporation in 1987. I was mainly involved in international operations
in the consumer division, based in North America and Europe, and held executive
positions at international offices.

I joined Microsoft Japan Ltd. in 2014 and led the Cloud market development and
partner collaboration as Executive Managing Officer from 2015, and enterprise
customer DX support as Senior Executive Managing Officer from 2020.

From June 2021, I joined Fujitsu Limited as Executive Vice President, leading the
Uvance business with the goal of “Revitalizing Japanese business and society""
and working to resolve various societal issues.

Starting April 2023, I became Corporate Executive Officer and Senior
Executive Vice President, Head of Global Business Solutions.

Miki Tsusaka is the president of Microsoft Japan. Appointed in February 2023, she leads Microsoft’s engagement with customers, and business partners and is responsible for all product, solution, service and support offerings in Japan.
Under her leadership, she focuses on enabling the acceleration of Japan's digital transformation through Microsoft’s global and local expertise
of our leading productivity and platform solutions. She will also build and reinforce Microsoft’s reputation in Japan as a trusted partner for individuals, organizations and governments.
Prior to joining Microsoft Japan, she was a Senior Partner and Managing Director at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where she worked for clients in a wide
range of industries in Japan and overseas, helping them develop and implement growth strategies, improve profitability, redesign organization and promote digital transformation. She established strategic consulting groups specializing in marketing, sales and
pricing strategy development and led the expansion of BCG's service areas. As for BCG’s operation, she has been a member of the Executive Committee for two three-year terms and served as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) as well.
She is a member of Japan Association for Corporate Executives (KEIZAI DOYUKAI) and Japan Business Federation (KEIDANREN).
She holds a Bachelor of AB, Government and East Asian Studies from the Harvard University, and an MBA degree from the Harvard Business School. 

Prof. Jina Kim is the Dean of Language and Diplomacy Division of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. She was previously the Chief of the North Korean Military Division at Korea Institute for Defense Analyses.
She serves on numerous advisory boards, including the Republic of Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force, and Peaceful Unification Advisory Council. She also served as a member of the advisory boards of the Blue House National Security Office, US-ROK Combined Forces Command, Ministry of National Unification and Policy Evaluation Committee for the Prime Minister’s Office.
She authored several books, including North Korean Nuclear Weapons Crisis and published over 50 monographs and articles in academic journals, including The Washington Quarterly, Survival, International Spectator, Journal of International Relations, and Korean Journal of Defense Analysis among others.
She holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.

Fu-Kuo Liu is Research Fellow at the Institute of International Relations,
National Chengchi University and Professor at the International Doctorate
Program in the Asia Pacific Studies, College of Social Science, National Chengchi
University. He is also Director of the Taiwan Center for Security Studies and the
editor for Strategic & Security Analyses and Strategic Vision. Since 2017, he has
been the Chair of the Association of Asia Pacific Policy Research in Taiwan.
Dr. Liu was Dean of International College of Innovation, National Chengchi
University; Chairman, Research Division of American and European Studies, IIR;
Chairman, the Research and Planning Committee at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.
His contribution to research and policy covers Asia Pacific security, Geopolitical
shift in Asia, National security and the South China Sea, Peace process across the
Taiwan Strait, Asian maritime security, and Taiwan foreign and security policy.
He received a Ph.D. in Politics from the University of Hull, the United Kingdom.

Joshua W. Walker, PhD became President & CEO of Japan Society in December 2019. Previously, he worked at Eurasia Group, the world’s leading political risk analysis firm, where he served as global head of strategic initiatives and Japan in the Office of the President. Prior to that, he was CEO and president of the USA Pavilion of the 2017 World Expo in Astana, Kazakhstan; founding dean of the APCO Institute; and senior vice president of global programs at APCO Worldwide, a leading global strategic communications firm based in Washington, D.C. Before joining the private sector, he worked in numerous roles at various U.S. government agencies, including the State Department and the Defense Department. He is Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, and professor of Leadership and the American presidency at George Mason University and the Reagan Foundation. He was also Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, and co-founded the Yale Journal of International Affairs. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Richmond, a master’s degree from Yale University, and a doctorate from Princeton University. Dr. Walker grew up in Japan where his parents still serve as missionaries, came to the United States when he was 18, and is bicultural and bilingual.

Dr. Ken JIMBO is a Professor at the Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University. He is concurrently a Senior Research Fellow at the Canon Institute for Global Studies (CIGS) and the Tokyo Foundation (TKFD). He also serves as Advisor, the National Security Secretariat, Director, Board of Directors at the Civic Force and a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
His main research fields are in International Security, Japan-US Security Relations, Japanese Foreign and Defense Policy, Multilateral Security in Asia-Pacific, and Regionalism in East Asia. He has been a policy advisor at various Japanese governmental commissions and research groups including at the Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
His recent books and articles include, ""US Rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific: A Japanese Perspective,”in William Tow and Douglas Stuart eds., The New US Strategy towards Asia: Adapting to the American Pivot (London: Routledge, 2015); Ken JIMBO ed., Regional Security Architecture in the Asia-Pacific, Tokyo Foundation (2010) (in Japanese: Ajia Taiheiyo no Chiiki Anzen Hosho Ahkitekucha).

Paul W. Bradley has established new business entities in China, South East Asia, India and the United States. He is the CEO of Caprica International and also serves on various corporate boards and as Vice Chairman Emeritus of Supply Chain Asia. He received his MBA from Thunderbird, School of Global Management. Selected as a "New Asian Leader" by the World Economic Forum, he served as President of Arshiya Limited in India and as an MD in the Li & Fung Group and also worked in the U.S. Senate and British House of Commons. He served on the B20 Task Force on the Future of Work, AI and Robotics for the G20 Summit in Germany, Indonesia and India and has served on the Advisory Boards of Thunderbird, Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne (Asia Campus) and the S.P. Jain School of Global Management. He has been a Mentor and Advisor to Tech Start-Ups across 40 countries.

Tatsuo Hatta was born in 1943 and received a Ph.D. in Economics from the Johns Hopkins University in 1973. Hatta was an Assistant Professor at the Ohio State University; Associate Professor and Professor at the Johns Hopkins University; Professor at Osaka University and the University of Tokyo; and the President of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies. He has been Chair of the Executive Board Asian Growth Research Institute since2018.

Hatta was President of the Japanese Economic Association. He served the Japanese Government as an expert member of the Tax Commission, the Chair of Housing and Land Commission, as the founding Chair of the Electric and Gas Surveillance Commission (the Japanese counterpart of FERC in the US), as the Acting Chair of the Regulatory Reform Commission, and as a National Strategic Special Zone Commission member.

Hattta has published academic articles, in American Economic Review, Econometrica, and Quarterly Journal of Economics.

Takako Hikotani is a Professor at Gakushuin University International Centre and Senior Fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute in Tokyo. She was Visiting Professor at the School of Global Policy and Strategy, University of California at San Diego (Spring 2022 and Winter 2023), and Gerald L. Curtis Associate Professor of Modern Japanese Politics and Foreign Policy at Columbia University from 2016 to 2021. Before teaching in the United States, she taught at the National Defense Academy of Japan for 18 years. Her area of expertise is Japanese domestic politics, foreign policy, and comparative civil-military relations. She was a Visiting Professional Specialist at Princeton University (2010-2011) and a Fellow of the US-Japan Leadership Program, US-Japan Foundation (2000- ). She received her BA from Keio University, MAs from Keio University and Stanford University, and Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University, where she was a President's Fellow.

Taejun is the Founder and CEO of Gojo & Company, a pioneering microfinance firm that serves 2 million people across 5 countries, and aims to be the private-sector World Bank. A graduate of Korea University and Waseda Graduate School, Taejun worked at Morgan Stanley and Unison Capital, where he worked on various investment projects and innovated the firm's activities. Beyond his professional career, Taejun founded Living in Peace, a leading Japanese NGO that introduced microfinance investment funds to Japan and championed child welfare reforms. He co-founded J-Oschis, overseeing local authority children's services. A prolific author, Taejun has penned 9 books on diverse subjects, from finance to child welfare. An ultra-marathoner, Karate black belt, and Go enthusiast, Taejun's unique background as a stateless Korean diaspora has molded his entrepreneurial spirit. He is a Young Global Leader (YGL) of the World Economic Forum and is currently serving as a member of the YGL advisory board.

Robert Alan Feldman is Senior Advisor to the Research Department of Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities, and is an External Director on the board of Tokio Marine Holdings. A leading voice on the Japanese economy, he was a regular commentator on TV Tokyo’s World Business Satellite from 2000-20. He has a Ph.D. in Economics from MIT. He first came to Japan as an exchange student in high school.

Professor Quentin Hanich leads the Fisheries Governance Research Program at the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), at the University of Wollongong, where he holds a Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Research Chair. He works throughout the Indo-Pacific region in various international research partnerships focusing on ocean governance and equity, marine conservation, and the sustainable and equitable management of transboundary fisheries. He has chaired international treaty working groups, facilitated inter-governmental workshops, advised Ministerial meetings and national delegations, and is a member of the United Nations Pool of Experts for the World Ocean Assessment. Prof. Hanich is also the Co-editor-in-chief of the highly ranked Elsevier journal Marine Policy, a Principal Investigator in the Nippon Foundation funded Ocean Nexus Program, and engaged in research partnerships with the Japanese Fisheries Research and Education Agency, Global Fishing Watch, and the Korean Maritime Institute.

Margaret Spring joined the Aquarium in 2013 to oversee its many conservation and science initiatives, including all ocean science policy work, the Seafood Watch sustainable seafood initiative and conservation research programs, including MBARI. . From 2009 to 2013, she held leadership roles at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the US ocean agency. Prior to her tenure in the Obama Administration, Margaret led The Nature Conservancy's California coastal and marine program. From 1999 to 2007, she served as committee legal counsel in the US Senate and advised members of Congress on ocean and climate issues and helped develop legislation on major science and policy topics. She is a graduate of Duke University Law School and Dartmouth College.

Atsushi Sunami is the President of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. He is also Director of the SciREX Center and Executive Advisor to the President at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), and Guest Professor at the Research Organization for Nano & Life Innovation at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan.
He is currently serving as a member of the Economic Security Legislation, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. In addition, he is a member of Basic Policy Group under the Committee on National Space Policy in the Cabinet Office. He holds a BSFS from Georgetown University and an MIA and Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University.

Founder, Chair and CEO of Sailors for the Sea Japan, an affiliate of US NGO for Ocean conservation, founded by David Rockefeller, Jr.
MS/Kyoto Institute of Technology. Ph.D. Candidate/Kyoto University Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies.

River Davis is a reporter covering business in Japan for The Wall Street Journal. Based in Tokyo, she covers topics related to Japan’s energy transition and automotive industry. She joined The Wall Street Journal from Bloomberg News. Originally from Oregon, River has split her time since living in both the U.S. and Japan. She has a bachelor's degree in international law from Georgetown University and a master’s degree in public policy and finance from The University of Tokyo.

After graduating from Princeton with a history degree, Andrew joined NEC Logistics in Tokyo in 1992. In 1994 he fell into a finance career courtesy of JPMorgan, where he worked on deals ranging from Chinese infrastructure finance to venture capital to tech IPOs in Hong Kong, Singapore and San Francisco. He returned to his hometown of Memphis to join Southeastern Asset Management in 1998. He helped lead its international business until 2009 from Tokyo and London until 2009. He founded Mission Value Partners in 2010. MVP manages a global equity portfolio that is currently 100% invested in Japan. Andrew recently moved MVP from California to Nashville, where he has been surprised by the relevance of Japan to the local economy.

Yuki joined Development Bank of Japan in 1995. Almost all of his careers are “Aerospace” investment such as new aircraft/engine international partnership, lunar landing program and so on. In 2019, Yuki could be in charge of innovation activity in the bank and launched various start-up companies collaborated with government.

Jesper Koll has been researching and investing in Japan since becoming a resident in 1986. Over the past two decades, Jesper has been consistently recognized as one of the top Japan strategists/economists, having worked as Chief Strategist and Head of Research for U.S. investment banks J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch. He currently serves as Expert Director for the Monex Group and the Japan Catalyst Fund (Japan’s 1st retail investor based corporate engagement/activist fund). His analysis and insights have earned him a position on several Japanese government and corporate advisory committees, including Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike’s Advisory Board. In 2022, he was appointed Global Ambassador for Tokyo’s Financial Center initiative. Jesper serves as Board Director of OIST, the Okinawa Institute for Science and Technology and is a Founder and Board Director of the Asia Society Japan and heads their Policy Committee. He is one of the few non-Japanese members of the Keizai Doyukai, the Japan Association of Corporate Executives; and serves on the board of several Japan-based start-ups. He has written three books in Japanese and, in 2021, created the acclaimed video/pod-cast series “Japan - Capitalism that works”.
Jesper is an economist, angel-investor, patron; and yes, a Japan Optimist.

Jun ARIMA is Project Professor at the Graduate School of Public Policy, the University of Tokyo (energy and climate policy). Before joining U-Tokyo, he had been working for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry since for 36 years. Two thirds of his career has been devoted to international energy and climate issues. He participated in COP negotiation 17 times including COP13, 14, 15, 16 as chief negotiator. He is also Consulting Fellow Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI), Distinguished Senior Research Fellow, Asia Pacific Institute of Research (APIR), Senior Policy Fellow, Economic Research Institute of ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), Lead Author of the IPCC 6th Assessment Report

Dr. Siti Indati Mustapa is currently the Deputy Dean (Research & Innovation) of UNITEN Business School at Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN). She was the Director of the Institute of Energy Policy and Research at UNITEN from 2019 until 2022. Before joining UNITEN in 2010, she served as the Programme Manager of the Energy Modelling and Policy Analysis Unit at Malaysia Energy Centre (currently known as Malaysia Green Technology Corporation and Climate Change, Malaysia). She is currently the co-chair and member of the Energy Research Institute Network (ERIN), an international academic network involved in preparing appropriate energy policy recommendations for energy policymakers in the East Asia Summit.  She has vast industry experience spanning more than 20 years within the realm of energy and environmental research studies. She has served in research consultancy and advisory capacities related to energy policy studies for the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC), Energy Commission, Economic Planning Unit, Department of Statistics (Environment), etc. She led a series of research projects for the government in developing the INDC and NDC roadmap of Malaysia, including an in-depth assessment of policies and mitigation actions for the Energy Sector. She also led and completed the Greenhouse gas inventory and Mitigation Chapters (Energy Sector) of Malaysia for the Second and Third National Communications to UNFCCC.

Mr. Siemers is the Deputy Head of Delegation at the Delegation of the European Union to Japan. He has been working for the EU since 1993. His first postings in the EU institutions were on EU-Japan relations. Later he worked on trade policy, consumer affairs, maritime policy, and clean energy technologies.

Kenichiro Toyofuku is Director-Sustainability at Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, and independent director for several private and government organization in India. He previously posted in Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry Japan, Ministry of Commerce & Industry India and World Bank. He has designed and implemented regional development projects in India, Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, Mandal Special Investment Region and Neemrana Industrial Zone. He has posted in India for last 18 years.

Mr. Terazawa was Vice Minister for International Affairs at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) until July 2019. He led METI’s international policy operations, including the coordination to produce the joint statements for the G20 Osaka Summit. Mr. Terazawa also supported Prime Minister Abe in numerous meetings with other leaders.
Mr. Terazawa previously served as Director-General of the Commerce and Information Policy Bureau, where he oversaw METI policy related to the information industry, including information technology (IT) and cyber security.
Prior to this, Mr. Terazawa served as Director-General of the Trade and Economic Cooperation Bureau, where he spearheaded initiatives to promote high-quality infrastructure exports, foreign direct investment, and recruitment of highly-skilled foreign professionals. Previously, he also served as the executive secretary to the Prime Minister from September 2011 to December 2012.
In his career, Mr. Terazawa played a key role in the design of a number of growth strategies including the first growth strategy under the DPJ Government as well as the first growth strategy under the second Abe Administration.
Other career highlights include developing policy packages following the global financial crisis and the Great East Japan Earthquake. He also introduced the first stock option in Japan as well as the tax incentives for angel investment for startups.

​Shiho Fukuhara completed a Masters degree course in Interaction Design at RCA in 2003.
In 2004, she established Biopresence Ltd. in London with Georg Tremmel and formed BCL, an artistic research framework in 2007.
Since 2014, Shiho has been engaged to develop new technology and the platform to integrate intelligence to our everyday things with the purpose to investigate how creations with technology and traditional crafts critically reflects our consciousness on physicality, aesthetics, materiality.

Emi Kusano, based in Tokyo, is a multidisciplinary artist exploring retro-futurism, accelerationism, and Japanese pop culture. Beginning her journey as a street photographer in Harajuku, she has since expanded her repertoire to include installations and electro music. Emi is a pioneer in AI-generated art, blending reality, fiction, and diverse media to push the boundaries of traditional photography. Her AI self-portrait was featured as WWD Japan’s first AI cover, and she is a member of Japan’s Cultural Council for AI copyright deliberation. Her AI-collaborated works have been showcased at GUCCI and Christie’s auctions, Bright Moments, and Unit London. Additionally, she co-founded “Shinsei Galverse”, a Web3 community-driven anime studio that has achieved record-breaking success and is further accelerating anime creation within the community using AI.

Noah Levin is VP of Product Design at Figma, overseeing the Product Design, UX writing, and Design Ops functions. His job includes a lot of things, but primarily he’s responsible for attracting and retaining talented designers, setting and sharing context, providing actionable feedback, creating a healthy environment for design, and helping other design teams in the industry do the same. He truly believes design is best done collaboratively and in the open, and believes Figma‘s products are the best way to facilitate that.

American technologist and product experience leader with a passion for RESILIENCE and renewal. Currently serving as chief technology officer of Everbridge where he leads the company’s long-term technology and product vision, including innovation and IP strategy.

Kinya is an award-winning design engineer experienced in various products, including hardware, software and interactive art. He holds a BEng from the University of Tokyo and an MA from the Royal College of Art in the UK. His work was selected as a permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He was assigned as a visiting professor at the Royal College of Art from 2015 to 2018. With his contribution to the RCA, he was awarded an Honorary Fellow RCA, in 2018. Kinya is also appointed as a member of several design-related committees of the Japanese Government.

Prior to joining Konishi, David worked as a financial services consultant for Andersen
Consulting (London and New York) for three years, followed by two years at Salomon
Brothers Tokyo as a bank analyst. David joined Goldman Sachs as a bank analyst in 1992,
and was made a managing director in 1998 and partner in 2006. He was born in the UK and
holds an MA in Japanese Studies from the University of Oxford.
Book publications (Japanese):
New Tourist Strategy (Toyo Keizai Inc.; winner of the Yamamoto Shichihei Prize and the Real

Estate Companies Association of Japan Award); Shin-Shotoku Baizoron (New Income-
Doubling Theory)(Toyo Keizai Inc.); Nihon Saisei wa Seisan Kojo Shika Nai! (Increased

Productivity Is the Only Way to Restore Japan!) (Asuka Shinsha); Sekai Ichi Otozuretai Nihon
no Tsukurikata (How to Make Japan the Most Attractive Tourist Destination) (Toyo Keizai
Inc.); Shin-Seisansei Rikkokuron (New Theory of National Commitment to Productivity) (Toyo
Keizai Inc.); Nihonjin no Shosan (Can The Japanese Succeed?) (Toyo Keizai Inc.); and
Kokuun no Bunkiten (Japan at a Crossroads)(Kodansha Ltd.) etc.
He has served on a number of government committees including Growth Strategy
Conference, Tourism Strategy Promotion Task Force, Administrative Reform Council
Revenue and Expenditure Reform Working Group, Savor Japan, Project to Fully Enjoy
National Parks Expert Committee, Committee for the Promotion of Easy-to Understand
Multilingual Explanatory Equipment, Japan Heritage Review Board etc.

Benjamin Liao is current Chairman of Forte Hotel Group and a board director of Howard Plaza Hotels. Active in Taiwan tourism, he is a director in the Taiwan Tourist Hotel Association. He also serves on the PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association, PATA) Board as Vice Chair. Previously in 2017, he organized the PATA Smart & Sustainable Tourism Symposium at WCIT Taipei where topics included smart cities, mixed-reality, gamification, productive tourists, and digital architecture. In 2018, he led Velodash & Travel, a bicycle application startup, to win the Taiwan Tourism’s start-up pitch.
As an architecturally-trained hotelier, he is currently involved with 12 hotels in Taiwan, including the first JRE Hotel property outside Japan. He has sponsored three Yamagata Matsuri at his Yamagata Kaku Hotel, Taiwan. During COVID, he has also managed 300+ quarantine hotel rooms in Taipei.

Satoko holds a B.A. in Law from Keio University (J.D.) and an M.B.A. in Hotel Administration from Cornell University.
After working for a foreign financial institution, she established Atelier LaPaz, a Japanese subsidiary of La Paz Group, a pioneering consulting firm in luxury hotel planning and development, sustainable tourism, and heritage tourism.
Later, she established DENEB Corporation, a travel design company that sheds the light on natural and cultural heritage from a new angle and designing trips with unique experiences and stories.
Currently she is advising the Japan Tourism Agency and the Agency for Cultural Affairs as an expert in various projects related to hospitality and tourism.

Born in Hiroshima Prefecture in 1965, graduated from The University of Tokyo in 1990. MBA, Stanford University 1995. At the Ministry of International Trade and Industry(presently Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) in 1990, he engaged in work on automobiles, trade with the US, energy, ventures, etc., then was seconded to a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley. Resigned from METI in 2000.
Then, founded ACCA Networks as Founder and Representative Director, engaging in the diffusion of low cost/ fixed cost broadband access aimed at individuals and corporate enterprises, contributing to the infrastructure of Japan’s internet industry.
The company became listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2005, and he resigned in 2008. Won his first election in 2009, and is now in his second term as Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture, which is currently developing a policy campaign whose slogan is “GOOD WORK HAPPY LIFE～Enjoy a lifestyle of seeking the best at work and at home in Hiroshima.”

Tak Umezawa
Japan Chairman, KEARNEY / Chairperson, CIC Japan

As a senior partner with KEARNEY, a global management consultancy, Umezawa has served leading corporations in Japan and the US for more than 25 years. Areas of his expertise include strategy, innovation, urban development, and organization.

At Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC), he has led the efforts to launch and develop CIC Tokyo, Japan's largest innovation center. CIC is the world’s leading operator of shared office/lab facilities for startups, operating innovation centers in 8 cities worldwide. CIC Tokyo, opened in Oct. 2020, is a host for 280 companies and several innovation clusters, including healthcare, environment and energy, and smart city.

As an outside director, Umezawa serves the board of forStartups, Inc., the market leading talent agency for Japanese startups. Umezawa also sits on government committees on innovation and intellectual property strategy, tourism, and creative industry development. He holds a bachelor of law from the University of Tokyo and an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.

Parag Khanna is a leading global strategy advisor, world traveler, and bestselling author. He is Founder & CEO of Climate Alpha, an AI-powered analytics platform that future-proofs global investments, and Founder & Managing Partner of FutureMap, a data and scenario based strategic advisory firm. Parag's latest book is MOVE: Where People Are Going for a Better Future (2021), which was preceded by The Future is Asian: Commerce, Conflict & Culture in the 21st Century (2019). He is author of a trilogy of books on the future of world order beginning with The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order (2008), followed by How to Run the World: Charting a Course to the Next Renaissance (2011), and concluding with Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization (2016). He is also the author of Technocracy in America: Rise of the Info-State (2017) and co-author of Hybrid Reality: Thriving in the Emerging Human-Technology Civilization (2012).

Parag was named one of Esquire’s “75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century,” and featured in WIRED magazine’s “Smart List.” He holds a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics, and Bachelors and Masters degrees from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He has traveled to more than 150 countries and is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum.

Peter commenced as Minister and Deputy Head of Mission of the Australian Embassy in Japan, in July 2022. He was Australia’s Ambassador to Timor-Leste from 2018 to 2022, during which time Australia finalised its maritime boundary with Timor and was Timor’s key COVID partner. Peter has previously worked as a lead negotiator on Australia’s trade agreements with China, Japan, and Korea; on the security relationship with Japan; as a lead climate change negotiator and as a Senior Civilian Monitor in the Bougainville Peace Monitoring Group. Peter received the Order of Australia Medal for his 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami response work in Minami Sanriku.

Marcella Wijayanti is the Head of Compliance and Regulatory Affairs at GoTo Financial. GoTo Group is the largest digital ecosystem in Indonesia, with a mission to “empower progress” by offering technology infrastructure and solutions that help everyone access and thrive in the digital economy.
She has extensive experience working in the Indonesian public policy landscape, particularly in the digital economy sector. Prior to her current role, Marcella worked as VP of Payment in a government-backed fintech. In addition to that, Marcella has served as a government official for 10 years, including 4 years in the Office of the President of the Republic of Indonesia as an Economic Policy Advisor
Marcella holds a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from Universitas Gadjah Mada and a Master’s Degree in Development Economics from UCL. She currently resides in Jakarta with her husband and two cats.

Mr. Yoshida took the current position for trade policy formulation and execution in July 2023 after 2 years’ tenure of RIETI Vice Chair. In 2019-21, he served as Ambassador in charge of Economic Diplomacy at Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). In this capacity, Ambassador Yoshida served as chief negotiator for Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), of which he concluded the negotiation in 2020.
Prior to these, Mr. Yoshida had held several trade policy positions at METI. He covered South Asia and Oceania and served as Japan’s Senior Official for APEC (2016-19). He was the responsible author of 3 White Papers such as on trade. In 2015-16, he was Managing Executive Officer at Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC),
He is a graduate from Tokyo University and earned his master’s degrees at Harvard and Stanford. He also worked at the OECD Secretariat (Paris) and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF).

Anton has led the development of the ADC Forum, Australia’s pre-eminent, independent leadership and strategic development organisation which has initiated major projects across a range of policy areas including infrastructure development, cities, health, education, northern development, frontier technologies, trade, investment and country relationship building, as well as bringing together foremost thinkers and decision makers to focus on issues which are critical to our future. He has headed the evolution of ADC Forum and its international expansion, as a think tank which has major impacts on long-term strategic transformation.
Anton has a Bachelor of Laws (University of Melbourne) and a Bachelor of Science in neuroscience with Honours (University of Melbourne) and has been a writer and researcher. He has worked with the World Economic Forum in Davos over several years. Anton is also a board director involved with a focus on finance and investment strategy and has also worked in corporate advisory, investment analysis, property development and commercial and intellectual property law including as an intellectual property lawyer with a major international law firm.

Bill Emmott is an independent writer and consultant, best known for his 13 years as editor in chief of The Economist (1993-2006). He is now chairman of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, of the Japan Society of the UK, of Trinity College Dublin's Research Institute for Arts & Humanities, and of the International Trade Institute. He is an honorary fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford and is a visiting fellow at Tokyo College, University of Tokyo. He is co-director of a non-profit, the Global Commission for Post-Pandemic Policy and a member of the Comitato Scientifico of the Centro Einaudi in Turin, Italy. He writes columns for La Stampa in Italy, Nikkei Business and the Mainichi Shimbun in Japan, Project Syndicate worldwide and occasionally for the Financial Times. The author of numerous books, his latest is Japan's Far More Female Future: Increasing Gender Equality and Reducing Workplace Insecurity Will Make Japan Stronger (Oxford University Press, 2020).

Noriyuki SHIKATA is Cabinet Secretary for Public Affairs, Prime Minister’s Office of Japan under the Kishida Administration. He was Assistant Minister, Director-General, Economic Affairs Bureau of Ministry of Foreign Affairs(MOFA)(2020-2021). His previous recent postings include: Minister, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Japan in China (2017-2019), Deputy Director-General, Asian and Oceanian Bureau of Ministry of Foreign Affairs(2016-2017). He was also Visiting Professor, Graduate School of Law & Public Policy, Kyoto University, as well as Associate, Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University(2019-2020). Between 2004 and 2016 he was Director of Status of US Forces, International Press, North America(Trade & Economic), Economic Treaties, and Personnel of MOFA, as well as Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Public Affairs, Head of Global Communications, at Prime Minister's Office. He also served overseas postings in London(Political Minister), Paris (OECD/IEA) and Washington, DC(Press). He is the recipient of 2011 Gold Standard Award for Political Communications, award hosted by PublicAffairsAsia recognizing excellence in the field of Asia-Pacific related public affairs and corporate communications.

Noah Sneider is The Economist’s Tokyo Bureau Chief, overseeing the newspaper's coverage of Japanese politics, business, society and culture. Prior to this he covered Russia and the former Soviet Union as Moscow Correspondent, including events ranging from the annexation of Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine to climate change in the Russian Arctic. Before joining The Economist, he reported for a range of publications, including The New York Times and The New Republic. His writing has also appeared in Harper’s, The Atlantic, and Slate, among others. He was the recipient of a MacDowell Fellowship in 2019. He is a member of the third generation in his family to live and work in Japan.

Yukiko Toyoda, appointed Japan Bureau Chief in February 2022, oversees Reuters coverage in both English and Japanese spanning politics and general news to economics and business.

Previous to Reuters, she spent 25 years at Japan’s Kyodo News, where covered defence, and foreign policy. She was the agency’s Singapore bureau chief from 2009 to 2013 and worked as a correspondent in Washington from 2015 to 2018. Most recently she was deputy editor for the investigations team, where she worked with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists to follow the money flow examined by French prosecutors in a corruption investigation related to Tokyo’s successful bid to host the Olympics.

She has also reported extensively on the evolving defence and diplomatic ties between Japan and the United States at a time of rising tensions with China. She was part of a team of Kyodo journalists recognised with a special prize from the Japan Congress of Journalists for a series about U.S.-Japan defence cooperation in 2007.

Outside her work in journalism, she has been a visiting scholar at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and holds a doctorate from Waseda University with a focus on public policy.  She is the author of three books on U.S.-Japan relations and regional security defense in Japanese.

Ross Rowbury is Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of Group Corporate Communications at Nomura Holdings. He has observed Japan while living and working here for four decades. Commencing his career in finance in Tokyo in the early 1980s, he later moved into public relations and communications, holding senior positions at Gavin Anderson & Co. (now Kreab) and PRAP Japan. He headed the Edelman business in Japan for 10 years until July 2020. Prior to joining Nomura in October he was a freelance consultant to a number of firms on their Japan business strategy. He is also visiting professor of Asian marketing at Doshisha University in Kyoto and is on the Board of TELL a suicide prevention and mental health NPO.

As a producer of Aww Inc., Asia's first virtual human company, Sara Giusto is a female leader at the intersection of technology and creativity. Having grown up in Japan, the United States, and Canada, her multicultural background equips her to serve as a global bridge connecting diverse cultures, a distinction that has also earned her a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Through Aww inc, Sara helps produce multiple intellectual properties, including the notable virtual human IMMA. She has also been the sole Japanese participant and the only female panelist at prestigious events such as MIT conferences. She also introduced IMMA at ComplexCon, the largest street fashion convention in the U.S., among other significant platforms.

Founder and CEO of AnotherBall, the company behind IZUMO. Launched his first startup at 23, and by 2016, had sold Japan's leading family app, "mamari", to KDDI Group. After a global journey connecting with worldwide entrepreneurs post-2019, initiated the "PRISM Project", a US-focused VTuber agency, later acquired by SONY in 2022. Now, leverages this experience at IZUMO, also supporting over 70 global startups as an angel investor. A Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia honoree. An anime freak.

Justin Waldron is the co-founder and CEO of Storyverse, as well as the co-founder and President of Playco, headquartered in Tokyo. With a prolific track record as an angel investor in over 60 companies, he's a distinguished entrepreneur. Waldron's prior venture, Zynga, based in San Francisco, attained unicorn status. In recognition of his achievements, Business Insider honored him in 2021 as one of its Top 100 Seed Investors.

pplpleasr is a multidisciplinary artist whose work centers around ideas of storytelling. Her inspirations span from anime, to old cartoons, to video games, to traditional Chinese and Japanese art.
Her work has inspired the formation of the prolific investment group PleasrDAO, helped define the aesthetic of the decentralized finance movement, graced the cover of Fortune Magazine, the cover of Vogue, as well as collaborations with Steve Aoki and Sotheby’s. She was in Forbes 30U30 in 2022 and ranks in the top 5 of Fortune’s NFTy50, a list of the most influential figures in the NFT space, and has donated more than $1.5 million to charity with her NFT sales.
In 2022, she co-founded Shibuya with Maciej Kuciara, a web3 content studio and creator platform. The company raised $6.9M dollars with a16z and Variant leading the round.

Mr. Ikegami started his career as a consultant at A.T. Kearney where he was engaged in a variety of consulting projects including business portfolio management for a global CPG firm and a national energy company, mid-term strategy development for a media company, and business turnaround for a real estate developer.
After nearly 5 years of consulting experience, Mr. Ikegami took part in launching Everystar Co., Ltd., DeNA and NTT Docomo joint venture, and as the CEO led the company to make approximately 20 mil. USD in annual sales.
In March of 2015, he launched his own company SAKURAS Co., Ltd., where based on his 10 years of experience in both the Japanese entertainment and technology industries, he provides professional consulting services in digital transformation to the entertainment industry. He published “Kaisha wo yamete nenshu ga agaruhito sagaruhito” (Will your salary increase or decrease if you change your job?) through Shogakukan in 2016.

After joining Arab News in 2016, Faisal J. Abbas relaunched the newspaper with a more global, digital direction. Previous to this accomplishment, he was editor-in-chief of the news channel Al Arabiya. He is a renowned columnist on international Arab affairs and appears regularly on international media. He has been the recipient of many media awards, including the Next Century Foundation’s Cutting-Edge Award (2009) for efforts in bridging the communication gap between the West and the Arab World and British Council’s UK alumni “Social Impact” award in Saudi Arabia (2017). He holds a master’s degree from the University of Westminster and a bachelor degree from the Lebanese American University. He is also a graduate of the Executive Education Program of the Harvard Kennedy School, where he studied Global Leadership and Public Policy.
In 2017, he published his first Arabic book, Arabi/Englizi, which describes London through Arab eyes.

With a robust background in Information Technology, leadership education, and early-stage venture financing, Sarah brings a wide array of expertise to the table. Her skills have been successfully deployed across various sectors such as healthcare, education and training, logistics, and e-commerce. Her commitment to driving organizational growth and innovation is demonstrated through her leveraging of cutting-edge technologies, nurturing of leadership excellence, and promotion of data-driven decision-making.

August 1969 Born in Kyoto, Japan
March 1994 Graduated from Keio University
April 1994 Joined to Ministry of Foreign Affairs
July 1995 Embassy of Japan in Egypt, Trainee for Arabic
July 1998 Embassy of Japan in Israel
Deputy Director, Representative Office to Palestine in Gaza,
Official Interpreter to Mr. Yasser Arafat PLO Chairman
July 2004 Deputy Director for Iraq, Second Middle East Division, Mofa
Official Interpreter to Emperor and Prime Minister
July 2008 First Secretary, Embassy of Japan in United States
Sep 2011 First Secretary, Embassy of Japan in Egypt
March 2015 Principal Deputy Director, Policy Planning Division, Mofa
August 2017 Principal Deputy Director, Media Division, Mofa
Media Advisor for FM Mr.Kono
November 2019 Negotiator for Global Issues, Mofa
July 2020 Left from Mofa
August 2020 Transferred to MRI

MAHA YAHYA is director of the Carnegie Middle East Center, where her work focuses broadly on political violence, identity politics, inequality, citizenship, and the refugee crisis.

She has two PhDs in the social sciences and humanities from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Architectural Association (AA) in London. She has consulted with international organizations including the United Nations organizations and the World Bank as well the private sector on a broad range of issues in among other countries Lebanon, Pakistan, Oman, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. She serves on a number of advisory boards including the UNESCO international commission on the Futures of Education; a global member of the Trilateral Commission; co-chair of the International Advisory Board for the Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship at the American University of Beirut; and member of the Board of Directors of the Ana Aqra Association.

Yahya  is the author of numerous publications, including most recently Unheard Voices: What Syrian refugees need to return home (April 2018); editor of Contentious Politics in the Syrian Conflict: Opposition, Representation, and Resistance, co editor of Visualizing Secularism and Religion, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, India and was the director and principal author of The National Human Development Report 2008–2009: Toward a Citizen’s State in Lebanon

Toru Takahashi serves as President & CEO of GLOBIS Europe BV, Brussels, Belgium, offering the Pre-MBA course, global leader training programs to corporate clients in the EMEA region. He also lectures on topics such as Global Perspectives, Entrepreneurial Leadership in the GLOBIS University's MBA program. Additionally, as a corporate training instructor, he leads seminars on a range of topics, including establishing corporate strategy during overseas expansion, and leadership related to the localization of overseas sites.
Prior to joining GLOBIS, during his eight-year overseas assignment period at Marubeni Corporation, he was involved in infrastructure development projects in Iran and subsequently engaged in a wider range of businesses at Marubeni's regional headquarters for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa in Belgium. He has written ""People who get results overseas don't use cultural issues as an excuse""(Eiji Press), and, in a joint work note, ""GLOBIS MBA Management BookⅡ""(Diamond Inc.)

Takahashi graduated from Sophia University with a degree in economics and completed the Stanford Executive Program (SEP) at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Currently PhD candidate at the Bucharest University for Economic Studies.

KONO Taro, 60, a ninth-term Member of the House of Representatives, has been appointed Digital Minister, Minister for Cyber Security and Minister for Administrative Affairs.
Among positions he has held in the past are Foreign Minister; Defense Minister; Minister in charge of COVID-19 Vaccine Roll-out; Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, or Minister in charge of the National Police Organization; Minister for Regulatory Reform; Minister for Administrative Reform; Minister for Civil Service Reform; Minister for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety; Minister for Disaster Management; and Chairman of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives. He is a graduate of the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. He was Chairman of the Japan Race Horse Association and Chairman of the Shonan Bellmare Football Club, the 1995 Asia Champion Soccer Club. He is married to Kaori and has a son, Ippei.

Mitsunobu Koshiba graduated from the Faculty of Engineering (Printing and Imaging Engineering) at Chiba University in 1978 and completed his graduate studies at the same university in 1980. After receiving a Rotary Foundation Scholarship to study at the Graduate School of Materials Science and Technology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, in the United States, he joined Japan Synthetic Rubber Co., Ltd. (now JSR Corporation) in 1981, where he was engaged in the development of semiconductor materials at the Tokyo Research Laboratory.

In 1990, he was transferred to Silicon Valley, U.S.A., where he worked to establish the semiconductor materials business in the U.S. market at JSR Micro Inc. After returning to Japan in 2002, he served as General Manager of the Electronic Materials Division and Director of the Fine Chemicals Division before being appointed President and Representative Director in 2009. He served as Chairman Emeritus till the end of June 2023.

He is currently an outside director of A Holdings, TBM, MOL, and Rapidus, and founded Cdots LLC (a think tank). He currently serves as a member of government councils on advanced technology, economic security, and innovation strategy, makes policy recommendations and publicizes his opinions, Since 2019, he has served on the Committee on Economic Security and Advanced Technology at the Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives).

Sir Robin Niblett KCMG has led Chatham House since January 2007. Previously he was executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) from 2001 to 2006.

During his last two years at CSIS, he also served as director of the CSIS Europe Program and its Initiative for a Renewed Transatlantic Partnership.

He is a frequent panellist at conferences and events around the world and has testified on a number of occasions to the House of Commons Defence Select Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as US Senate and House of Representatives committees on European Affairs.

He received his BA, MPhil and DPhil from Oxford University.

Ms. Matsukawa had worked at MOFA for 23 years at various posts including in Japan-ASEAN cooperation, Japan-China-Korea cooperation, International law affairs, and women’s empowerment. Her overseas posts include: at the Mission of Japan to the Conference on Disarmament (Geneva), The Deputy-Secretary General of the Information Corporations Service (Seoul). In 2016, she left MOFA and got elected as senator. She served as Parliamentary Secretary of Defense from 2020-21. Member of Foreign policy and defense committee. Deputy DG of International Bureau at LDP. In July 2022, she got elected for the second time.

Born in 1994 in Ibaraki Prefecture. From the age of three, she studied folk songs and the Tsugaru Shamisen under Mitsuyoshi Sasaki. She has won the Japanese national championship four times and has performed in Nippon Budokan, Saitama Super Arena, overseas, and for the media. After studying at the Tokyo University of the Arts, she studied the "Nagauta Shamisen" while picking up pop music on her own. Her signature song "Hana Chidori" was selected as the theme song of　TV Tokyo's "Second Generation of Japanese Style Originator"(和風総本家, Wafū Sōhonke) and featured in the best-selling book "The Last Frontier:  University of the Arts  - The Chaotic Daily Life of Geniuses" published by Shinchosha.
We hope that you enjoy this performance by the Shinobu Kawashima Special Band, including Eizan Takikita, a Shakuhachi performer and Tokyo University of the Arts alumnus, drummer Kaoru Yufu, and bassist Yuta Shibamoto.