2025 Hiroshima Business Forum for Global Peace

YUZAKI Hidehiko

Governor, Hiroshima Prefecture

Hidehiko Yuzaki is the Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture (2009-present). In 2000, he founded ACCA Networks Co, Ltd. and was appointed the Executive Vice President & Representative Director. Prior to this, he served as the Deputy Director, Americas Division, Trade Policy Bureau at the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. He was also the Deputy Director, Nuclear Industry Division, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy. He holds a Master of Business Administration from Stanford University and graduated from the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Law.

【Executive Committee】
NIINAMI Takeshi (Tak)

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, SUNTORY HOLDINGS LIMITED
Chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives – Keizai Doyukai

Tak Niinami is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Suntory Holdings, one of the world's leading consumer products companies with operations across the Americas, Europe, Asia and Oceania.
Tak spent the first 20 years of his career at Mitsubishi Corporation, where he held several management positions and founded Sodex Corporation (now LEOC Co.), a hospital food service joint venture between Mitsubishi and Sodexo of France. He ultimately took the company public in 1999. Prior to joining Suntory in 2014, Tak was the CEO of Lawson, Inc., where he increased revenue and operating profits for 12 consecutive years, transforming Lawson into one of Asia’s major convenience store operators.
Outside of Suntory, Tak has served since 2014 on the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy—a key advisory body to the Prime Minister of Japan that shapes the nation’s
economic and fiscal policies. This makes him the longest-serving business leader in this role. Additionally, he represents Japan’s corporate leadership as Chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai).
Tak is also a Co-Chair of the Trilateral Commission, a member of the Leadership Council of the World Economic Forum, and serves on the Global Board of Advisors of the Council on Foreign Affairs. An active member of the Asia Business Council, Tak previously served as its Chairman. He is also a member of the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council and The Business Council of the United States. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Keio University and studied at Stanford University as an exchange student during his junior year. Tak received his MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School.

【Executive Committee】
John V. ROOS

Founding Partner, Geodesic Capital Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan

John V. Roos is a Founding Partner at Geodesic Capital, a venture capital firm that bridges Japan and Silicon Valley by investing in growth-stage technology companies and helping them with market entry, strategy, and overall operational support in Japan. He is a member of the Board of Directors at Salesforce, Inc., and an advisor to the Toyota Research Institute. He serves on the Board of Directors of The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation and is an Advisory Board member at the Stanford Center for Asian Health Research and Education.
Previously, Ambassador Roos served as Chief Executive Officer and Senior Partner at Wilson,Sonsini, Goodrich, & Rosati, the leading law firm in the United States in the representation of technology, life sciences, and emerging growth companies. Additionally, he served on the Board of Directors at Sony Corporation, the Board of Directors at Rakuten, Group Inc., the Global Advisory Board of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, and as a Senior Advisor at Centerview Partners, a preeminent mergers & acquisitions advisory firm.
From 2009-2013 Ambassador Roos served as the United States Ambassador to Japan. On August 6, 2010 he became the first sitting U.S. Ambassador ever to attend the commemoration ceremony of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima.

【Executive Committee】
Douglas L. PETERSON

Senior Advisor, Former President & CEO of S&P Global

Doug serves as a senior advisor to S&P Global and is a member of the company’s Board of Directors. He was President and Chief Executive Officer from 2013 until November 1, 2024.
Before that, Doug held a variety of leadership posts in the U.S., Latin America, and Asia spanning 26 years at Citigroup. Over his entire career, Doug has demonstrated a strong record of driving an organization’s growth and exceptional performance.
Born and raised in New Mexico, Mr. Peterson received an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an undergraduate degree from Claremont McKenna College.

【Executive Committee】
Meghan L. O'SULLIVAN

Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs,
Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs Harvard University's Kennedy School

Meghan L. O’Sullivan is the Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School and the Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Dr. O’Sullivan’s scholarship is at the nexus of traditional disciplines, with particular expertise on how the energy transition and geopolitics intersect. O’Sullivan has served in multiple senior policymaking roles and has advised national security officials in both Republican and Democratic administrations. Dr. O’Sullivan is a member of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s Foreign Policy Advisory Board. Between 2004 and 2007, she was special assistant to President George W. Bush and was Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan during the last two years of her tenure. O’Sullivan has been on public company and non-profit boards. She is a Senior Director at the strategic consulting firm Macro Advisory Partners and is the Chair of the North American Group of the Trilateral Commission.

【Executive Committee】
SUZUKI Kazuto

Professor at the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo, Japan
Director of the Institute of Geoeconomics at International House of Japan.

Kazuto Suzuki is Professor at the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo, Japan, and Director of the Institute of Geoeconomics at International House of Japan. He received Ph.D. from Sussex European Institute, University of Sussex, England. He has worked in the Fondation pour la recherche stratégique in Paris, France as assistant researcher He served as an expert in the Panel of Experts for Iranian Sanction Committee under the United Nations Security Council from 2013 to July 2015. He currently serves many advisory committees of the government of Japan, inter alia, the National Space Policy Committee of the Cabinet Office, the Government of Japan, and the President of Japan Association of International Security and Trade.
His recent work includes Space and International Politics (2011), in Japanese, awarded Suntory Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities), Policy Logics and Institutions of European Space Collaboration (2003), editing work includes Economic security and technological advantage (2023) in Japanese, and many others.

JIMBO Ken

Professor, Faculty of Policy Management Keio University Managing Director, International House of Japan

Dr. Ken JIMBO is a Professor of International Relations at Keio University and a Managing Director of Programs at the International House of Japan (IHJ/I-House). He is concurrently an adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the Canon Institute for Global Studies (CIGS). He served as a Special Advisor to the Minister of Defense, Japan Ministry of Defense (2020) and Senior Advisor to the National Security Secretariat (2018-20).

His main research interests are in International Security, Japan-US Security Relations, and Japan’s Foreign and Defense Policy. He has been a policy advisor for various Japanese governmental commissions and research groups, including the National Security Secretariat, the Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His policy writings have appeared in RAND Corporation, NBR, Stimson Center, Pacific Forum CSIS, Japan Times, Nikkei, Yomiuri, Asahi and Sankei Shimbun.

Leo LEWIS

Financial Times Tokyo Bureau Chief

Leo Lewis is the Financial Times’ Tokyo bureau chief. Until the August 2024 market turmoil, he wrote award-winning columns and features as Asia Business Editor; and was previously the FT’s Tokyo correspondent, covering financial markets, investment, banking, and a broad sweep of Japanese industry. His experience of Japan and Asia is extensive – before becoming a journalist and working in London for the Independent on Sunday newspaper, he graduated in Oriental Studies. Roles at The Times (of London) included five years as Beijing bureau chief during a period that covered the rise of Xi Jinping.

YANAGAWA Noriyuki

Professor, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo

Noriyuki Yanagawa received his Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Economics, University of Tokyo. After serving as Associate Professor at Keio University, joined the Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo as Associate Professor in 1996. Has been Professor in 2011.
He also serves as an expert member of Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, Japanese Government, Member of Council for the Realization of a New Form of Capitalism, Chief of Center for Real Estate Innovation(CREI), the University of Tokyo, Representative of Fintech Research Forum at the Center for Advanced Research in Finance (CARF), the University of Tokyo.

MURAKAMI Akiko

Executive Director of the Japan AI Safety Institute
Executive Vice President Group Chief Data Officer Sompo Holdings,Inc
Executive Officer, Chief Data Officer Sompo Japan Insurance Inc.

1999: Joined IBM Japan, Research Laboratory
2016: Joined IBM Japan, Software Development Laboratory
2021: Joined Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. Executive Officer, CDaO (Chief Data Officer), General Manager of the Data-Driven Management Promotion Department [Current]
2024: Became the first Director of Japan AI Safety Institute [Current]

KAJI Yoshimitsu

Chairman & CSDO (Chief Sustainable Development Officer), Cinnamon AI (Cinnamon Inc.)
Lumada Innnovation Hub Senior Principal, Hitachi, Ltd
Kamakura Smart City Architect

Kaji Yoshimitsu took charge of the reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake, social media, the Olympic and Paralympic Games Bidding, World Economic Forum, and other activities at the Office of Global Communications of the Prime Minister's Office (Japan). After working for the Fuji Bank, Limited; an advertising company; Coca-Cola (Japan) Company, Limited; Sony Pictures Entertainment (Japan) Inc.; Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.; and other companies.
Then, , engaged in branding, workstyle reform, regional expansions, SDGs, and other projects at Accenture Japan Ltd.
Also served as Co-CMO of Slush Asia and a member of the Stragtegy Council at the Japan Tourism Agency. Obtained an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.

SHIRATAKE Shigeru

Senior Vice President, DRAM Technology Development, Micron Memory Japan, Inc.

Mr. Shiratake joined Micron in 2013 as section director of the DRAM process integration organization. Prior to Micron acquiring Elpida Memory in 2013, he was an Elpida executive between 2005 and 2013, leading several DRAM programs. His experience spans 30 years in memory technology sectors and includes additional leadership positions with Renesas Technology Inc. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp.
Mr. Shiratake has published many technical papers and holds dozens of patents pertaining to semiconductor technology.
He holds a bachelor’s and Master of Science in electronic engineering from Yamaguchi University in Japan.

HOSOYA Yuichi

Professor, Faculty of Law, Keio University
Director of Research of the Institute of Geoeconomics at International House of Japan

HOSOYA Yuichi, Ph.D., is professor of international politics at Keio University, Tokyo, and Director, Keio Center for Strategy. Professor Hosoya is also the Director of Research at the Asia-Pacific Initiative (API), Tokyo. Professor Hosoya was a member of Prime Minister’s Advisory Panel on Reconstruction of the Legal Basis for Security (2013-14), and Prime Minister’s Advisory Panel on National Security and Defense Capabilities (2013). Professor Hosoya studied international politics at Rikkyo (BA), Birmingham (MIS),
and Keio (Ph.D.). He was a visiting professor and Japan Chair (2009–2010) at Sciences-Po in Paris (Institut d’Études Politiques), a visiting fellow (Fulbright Fellow, 2008–2009) at Princeton University and Visiting Fellow at Downing College, the
University of Cambridge (2021-2022). His research interests include the postwar international history, British diplomatic history, Japanese foreign and security policy. His recent publications include Security Politics: Legislation for a New Security Environment (Tokyo: JPIC, 2019); History, Memory & Politics in Postwar Japan (Co-editor, Lynne Rienner: Boulder, 2020); Modern Japan’s Place in the World (Co-editor; Springer, 2023); and The Transformation of the Liberal International Order: Evolutions and Limitations (Co-editor; Springer, 2023). His comments often appeared at major international and Japanese media.

MIKAMI Chisa

Head, Hiroshima Office, Division for Prosperity, United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)

Ms. Mikami joined the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) as Head of Hiroshima Office as of November 2023. Before that, Ms. Mikami had worked for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for about twenty years, at the offices in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Guyana, Tokyo, and Cuba. She also had experience working as a Financial Analyst for Citibank before joining UNDP. Ms. Mikami was educated at University of Tokyo and at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, where she majored in Latin American Studies and International Affairs focusing on Economic and Political Development respectively.

TAKASHIMA Makoto

Chairman of the Board, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation

Born in Hiroshima Prefecture.
Mr. Takashima joined The Sumitomo Bank, Limited (now SMBC) in 1982. After that, his career mainly focused on global banking and corporate strategy.
Mr. Takashima became Executive Officer and General Manager of the Corporate Planning Department in 2010. Mr. Takashima held the post of Managing Executive Officer and CEO of The Americas Division from 2012, and took up the positions of Senior Managing Executive Officer, and Co-Head of the International Banking Unit, supervising SMBC’s businesses in Europe and the Americas in 2014. He was appointed as President and CEO of SMBC in 2017. In 2023, he was named Chairman of the Board, SMBC (current position).
In addition, Mr. Takashima has served twice as Chairman of the Japanese Bankers Association. In May 2024, the Japan Business Federation appointed Mr. Takashima as Vice Chair.
Mr. Takashima holds a LL.B. degree from Kyoto University and a LL.M. degree from the Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley.

ISHIKAWA Yoshiki

Representative Director, Well-being for Planet Earth Foundation

Dr. Yoshiki Ishikawa, Representative Director of the Well-being for Planet Earth Foundation, was born in 1981 in Hiroshima Prefecture. Dr. Ishikawa earned a bachelor’s degree in Health Science from the University of Tokyo, a Master of Science in Health Policy and Management from the Harvard School of Public Health, and a Ph.D. in Medicine from Jichi Medical School. Representative Director, Well-being for Planet Earth Foundation. Dr. Ishikawa works in interdisciplinary research with companies and universities on the theme of "What is the meaning of a Good Life?" He specializes primarily in preventive medicine, behavioral science, computational creation science, and conceptual evolution.

（協賛社）

SHIBUSAWA Ken

Chief Executive Officer, Shibusawa and Company, Inc.
Chairman, Commons Asset Management, Inc.

Board of Director and Chairman of Commons Asset Management Inc. and Representative Director and CEO of &Capital, Inc. Senior Advisor for the Brunswick Group, Board of Director of The Higo Bank, Ltd. trustee and co-chairperson of the Japan-Middle East/Africa Relations Committee of Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives). Shibusawa is also a member of multiple government committees including the Council for New Form of Capitalism, Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance, and Health Management Promotion Examination Committee. He also serves as Chairman of GSG Impact Japan, Vice Chairman of Impact Consortium, and Advisor to Office of the President of The University of Tokyo.

USUI Haruna

Head of ESG Strategy - Japan, AllianceBernstein

Haruna Usui is Head of ESG Strategy - Japan, leading various Responsible Investing related initiatives including policy engagement, client communications and thought leadership . Usui joined AB Japan as a Director and Credit Strategist in January 2018 and became Head of Responsible Investing Promotion Office in 2020. Prior to joining the firm, she worked as a research analyst at Nomura Asset Management where she covered various asset classes and regions, including global credit research at Nomura Asset Management UK (London). Usui holds a BA in economics from Keio University and an MBA in decision science and finance from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She also completed Sustainable Finance and Investment by Yale School of Management Executive Education in 2022.

NEMOTO Ryujiro

Senior Vice President, Business Management Division, NTT DOCOMO GLOBAL, Inc.

After graduating from the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo, joined Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) in 1995. Completed an MBA at Kellogg School of Management in 2004. Appointed as Senior Manager of the Corporate Planning Department at NTT in 2013, and Senior Manager of the Global Business Office at NTT in 2017. Has been in the current position since 2024. Has been involved in the global business of the NTT and NTT DOCOMO Group for many years, promoting business alliances, corporate acquisitions, and business expansion overseas. Working towards realizing NTT DOCOMO Group's brand slogan, 'Bridging Worlds for Wonder & Happiness.'

KIMURA Tomoyuki

Senior Vice President, ZettaJoule, Inc

Tomoyuki Kimura has more than 30 years of work experience in corporate and development finance. He joined the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 2000 and served as Principal Energy Specialist of the South Asia Department, Advisor of the Budget and Human Resources Department, and Country Director for Viet Nam. From 2017 to 2024, as Director General of the Strategy Policy and Partnerships Department, he led the formulation and implementation of ADB’s long-term corporate strategy, which focused on SDGs, climate change, and private sector development. He is currently Senior Vice President of ZettaJoule Inc., a US-based energy startup. Mr. Kimura holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, USA, and a Bachelor of Law from Kyoto University, Japan.

Cynthia WANG

Executive Director of the Dispute Resolution Research Center and Clinical Professor of Management & Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

Cynthia Wang is the Executive Director of the Dispute Resolution and Research Center (DRRC) and Clinical Professor of Management and Organizations at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. She holds a B.A. from Yale and a Ph.D. from Kellogg. Her teaching spans negotiations, organizational behavior, and cross-cultural communication at all levels. Professor Wang’s research explores intergroup conflict, diversity, and negotiation, with work published in top journals like Science and Organization Science. Her insights have been featured by Time, Scientific American, the New York Times, and BBC. She has received numerous honors, including a Fulbright Fellowship and best paper awards from the Academy of Management. Actively engaged in the academic community, she served as president of the International Association for Conflict Management. Prior to academia, she worked in consulting at Imagitas, advising public and private sector organizations.

Shamsul Hadi SHAMS

Programme Officer and Team Leader, Hiroshima Office, Division for Prosperity, United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)

Shams graduated from Hiroshima University with a PhD in International Development and Cooperation and an M.A. in Political Science and International Relations from the International University Islamabad. Shams has over 13 years of experience leading the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Portfolio at the Division
for Prosperity, UNITAR Hiroshima Office. Currently, his role as a programme specialist is supervising the design, implementation, and evaluation of training
programmes and the RISE Lab Team, as well as other duties such as financial management,
HR, partnership development, learning content creation, and management. He earned
Certifications in Designing, Virtual Training and e-learning Instructional Design, and he is a
Verified ATD Master Instructional Designer.

FUJIYAMA Misaki

Representative of Li-mone Student Director, Pride of Hiroshima Exhibition

Founding class graduate (Spring 2025 Graduate) of the Department of Social System Design, Eikei University of Hiroshima. As a responsibility and honor as a founding class graduate, Misaki Fujiyama engages in activity to create opportunities where younger and future students of Eikei University of Hiroshima can demonstrate practical skills to change society, which are skills the university emphasizes. Fujiyama founded Li-mone last year and held seminars. In addition, last December, she established an NPO named Limonátta where students play a key role. She also assumed the position of Facilitator for Utilization of Well-Being Indicators of Digital Agency.

KAGAWA Motoyoshi

Executive Vice Chairman, Fukuya Co., Ltd.; Chairperson, Hiroshima Keizai Doyukai (Association of Corporate Executives) (since May 2025)

March 1980: Graduated from College of Economics, Nihon University
March 1982: Joined Renown Incorporated
March 1984: Resigned from Renown Incorporated
May 1984: Appointed Director, Fukuya Co., Ltd.
May 1997: Appointed Managing Director, Fukuya Co., Ltd.
May 2000: Appointed Managing Director and General Manager of Hiroshima Ekimae Store, Fukuya Co., Ltd.
May 2008: Appointed Vice Chairman, Fukuya Co., Ltd. (current position)

SODA Yoshinobu

Professor, Department of Social System Design, Eikei University
Director of the Center for Partnership and Research Promotion
Professor, Hiroshima Business And Management School, Hiroshima Prefectural University

Dr. Yoshinobu Soda, with a Ph.D. in System Design and Management, joined NEC (Nippon Electric Company, Limited) after graduating from university. At NEC, he engaged primarily in new business development and management planning while being seconded to a government organization twice and was in charge of regional revitalization and ICT policies. He also worked at The University of Tokyo Graduate School of Public Policy as a Visiting Researcher and at Keio University Graduate School as a Lecturer. Since 2019, Dr. Soda is a full-time university faculty member. He is also a Small and Medium Enterprise Management Consultant, Regional Revitalization Evangelist (Cabinet Office), Hiroshima Innovation Base Director, and a commentator on the TV program, TSS Like!

Gautam KUMURA

Chairman, Asia, McKinsey & Company

He is also a member of the global leadership team, which oversees the implementation of the firm’s strategy and critical priorities.

Gautam was previously the managing partner for McKinsey’s India offices, and led the firm’s People & Organizational Performance Practice in Asia. Over his 30-year career at McKinsey, Gautam has worked closely with a diverse range of Indian, Asian, and global clients, advising them on growth strategy, organization transformation, leadership development, and governance. His experience spans all major sectors of the economy, and he is one of the leading thinkers behind McKinsey’s research and insights on transformational change.
Beyond McKinsey, Gautam is a founding board member of the Public Health Foundation of India, and serves on the governing board of IIM Bodh Gaya, a not-for-profit institute of management education in eastern India. Additionally, he is a founding board member of the IIT Delhi Endowment Board and a member of the Business Advisory Council of the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts in New York.

YOSHIDA Kenichiro

Director and Executive Chairman, Representative Corporate Executive Officer, Sony Group Corporation

Director and Executive Chairman, Representative Corporate Executive Officer, Sony Group Corporation
Joined Sony Corporation (now Sony Group Corporation) in 1983. After being assigned to a U.S. subsidiary and serving as head of the CEO Strategy Office, he was seconded to Sony Communication Network (now Sony Network Communications) in 2000, and appointed President in 2005. He returned to Sony Corporation as EXP, CSO and Deputy CFO in 2013, before becoming CFO in 2014. In 2018, he was appointed President and CEO. As of April 2025, he became Executive Chairman and Representative Corporate Executive Officer, Sony Group Corporation.

Chris MILLER

Professor, Fletcher School, Tufts University
Author of "Chip War"

Chris Miller's latest book Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology reveals the geopolitical impact of the computer chip. It is a New York Times bestseller and a winner of the Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award, the Council on Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Book Award, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 2024 History Prize. It was featured on many “Best of 2022” book lists, including in the New Yorker and the Economist.

Dr. Miller is professor at the Fletcher School at Tufts University and is a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a think-tank in Washington, D.C.

He also advises businesses and asset managers at Greenmantle, a consultancy, serves as a member of the Geopolitics Advisory Council at McKinsey & Company, and advises semiconductors and other technology startups and investors.

He is frequently featured and quoted in media such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times, as well as on NPR and CNBC.

In addition to Chip War, Dr. Miller’s books include We Shall Be Masters: Russian Pivots to East Asia from Peter the Great to Putin (Harvard University Press, 2021), Putinomics: Power and Money in Resurgent Russia (University of North Carolina Press, 2018), and The Struggle to Save the Soviet Economy: Mikhail Gorbachev and the Collapse of the USSR (University of North Carolina Press, 2016).
He has an MA and PhD in history from Yale University and a BA in history from Harvard University.

Salvatore CANTALE

Finance Professor IMD Lausanne

His major research and consulting interests are in value creation, valuation, and the way in which corporations structure liabilities and choose financing options. Additionally, he is interested in the relation between finance and leadership, and in the leadership
role of the finance function.
He has published in international double-refereed journals. One of his research papers, "Bank Capital Requirements and Managerial Self-Interests," was nominated for an Outstanding Paper Award at the Southern Finance Association.
Before joining IMD, Salvatore was an analyst with a large investment bank in London, Faculty Director of the Master in Finance and Master in Risk Management at Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business, a member of the Yale International Institute for Finance, and a Research Fellow at New York University. He currently serves as advisor on the Board of the Goldring Institute of International Business
at Tulane University.
Salvatore holds a BA in Economics and Finance from Universita' di Catania, Italy, and a Master's Degree in Management and a PhD in Finance from INSEAD.

TAKATSU Naoshi

Managing Partner, Northeast Asia, IMD

Since 2010, as representative in Japan of IMD, a Swiss-based business school, Mr. Takatsu has contributed in designing global executive development, succession planning, and business transformation support for dozens of Japanese companies.
He has also focused on Japanese culture's role in promoting organizational and individual wellbeing. He has collaborated with Zen, Ikebana, and martial arts experts to plan new learning sessions and offer them to business leaders worldwide.
Prior to joining IMD, he worked at the Industrial Bank of Japan, Boston Consulting Group, and Recruit, where he consistently supported Japanese companies' global expansion. He also studied at Kuwasawa Design Institute and INSEAD."

YONEKURA Seiichiro

Hiroshima Business and Management School (HBMS) Dean, Professor Emeritus at Hitotsubashi University, Special Appointed Professor at Digital Hollywood Graduate School

Dr. Seiichiro Yonekura earned his B.A. degrees in Social Studies and Economics, as well as an M.A. in Social Studies from Hitotsubashi University. He later obtained his Ph.D. from Harvard University.
He previously served as Director of the Institute of Innovation Research at Hitotsubashi University and as Academic Director of the Gordon Institute of Business Science at the University of Pretoria. He is currently the President of Creative Response Social Innovation School in Tokyo and the Chief Editor of Hitotsubashi Business Review, one of Japan’s most prestigious business magazines.
Dr. Yonekura’s research focuses on the historical development of innovation and entrepreneurship in a global business context, as well as social business and social entrepreneurship.l business context, as well as social business and social entrepreneurship. In his free time, he enjoys golf and rock ’n’ roll.

IWAI Mutsuo

Chairperson of the Board, Japan Tobacco Inc.

Mutsuo Iwai joined Japan Tobacco and Salt Public Corporation (later Japan Tobacco Inc.) in 1983. He worked on vision formulation, medium-term management planning, organizational culture reform, and business development in addition to gaining experience as a controller. After serving in multiple top management positions in Japan Tobacco Inc., including as a member of the Board and President of the Food Business, JT International Deputy CEO, Representative Director, Executive Vice President, President of the Tobacco Business, and Member and Deputy Chairperson of the Board, Iwai has been serving as Chairperson of the Board of the company since March 2022.
Iwai is also an Outside Director of TDK Corporation, Senior Vice Chairperson and Representative Director of Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives), and Vice President of The Aspen Institute Japan.

SUYAMA Yuji

Co-Founder/Representative Director, Tokyo Zebras Unite

Yuji Suyama is devoted to the diffusion of a zebra approach, which is (1) emphasizing a long-term perspective, (2) benefitting all stakeholders, and (3) integrated management of social impact and profitability.
Suyama was originally in charge of national energy policies and Japan's electric industry in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Later, as a venture capitalist, Suyama supported a space development venture raising over 10 billion yen, and as a new business consultant, he supported large corporations in starting new businesses.
Recently, he has extended his focus area from the business area and is working on a cross-sector collaboration with the focus on management reform of non-profit organizations, government, and politics. Suyama obtained a BA in Ethics from the University of Tokyo and a Master's degree in System Design Management from Keio University.

SHIRAI Tomoko

Social entrepreneur

Tomoko Shirai, born in Chiba Prefecture in 1972, graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo and The Matsushita Institute of Government and Management. Later, she established several learning spaces for children with challenges including a free school that is an extension of the Okinawa Actors School, Japan’s first publicly-funded, privately-managed free school in collaboration with Ikeda City, Osaka Prefecture, and after-school care for children affected by the 2011 earthquake and the nuclear incident. Shirai also took office as the representative director of the Japan Association of New Public where NPOs and social enterprises are members for two terms (four years) from 2020. As a representative of a Children's Policy think tank, Shirai makes policy recommendations from the perspective of actual education sites and engages in activity to create new educational options. Shirai is also a member of multiple government councils including the Cabinet Office's Council for the Utilization of Dormant Deposits and Central Council for Education as well as a television commentator for the Hiruobi TV program on TBS Television. Her new publication, Datsu gakko ron: Dare mo torinokosarenai kyoiku wo tsukuru (Theory of breaking away from the school system: Creating education that leaves no one behind) is on sale.

SASAKI Kyoji

Representative, Tokyo Community with Hiroshima for Global Peace

Kyoji Sasaki with 10 plus years of experience in financial institutions founded Tokyo Commununity with Hiroshima for Global Peace in 2019 and was a member of the 2021 Hiroshima Business Forum for Global Peace Planning and Management Committee. He has provided support for surveys, research, and education regarding impact investing in a foundation in Japan since 2019. Sasaki began participating in the launch of a Japanese version of Grameen Bank in 2018 and served as Secretary-General. Sasaki obtained an MBA at the Graduate School of Management, GLOBIS University and specializes in impact investing and social business. His interests include opportunity gaps and peace.

H.E. Ms. Shorna-Kay M. RICHARDS

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Embassy of Jamaica, Tokyo, Japan /Chair of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters (ABDM) H.E. Ms. Shorna-Kay M. RICHARDS

Shorna-Kay Richards has been the Ambassador of Jamaica to Japan since September 2020, with concurrent accreditation to Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, and New Zealand. A member of the Jamaican Foreign Service for over 30 years, Ambassador Richards has served as the Director for Bilateral Relations in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and as the Deputy Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations, New York. She was appointed as a member of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters (ABDM) in 2022 and the Board of Trustees of the UN Disarmament Research Institute (UNIDIR), currently serving as the Chair of these two bodies. Her other overseas postings include South Africa and Washington, D.C. Ambassador Richards holds a Master’s degree in International Policy and Practice, and has been conferred with a Doctor of Humane Letters (honoris causa) from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey at which she gave the Commencement Address in May 2024.

HIKAWA Kazuko

Professor, Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition (RECNA), Nagasaki University

Before she joined academia, she has served as a diplomat with the Japanese Foreign Service for 24 years. In 2013, Hikawa was appointed to a Special Assistant for Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Issues of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. In 2021-2023, she has served as a member of the UN Group of Governmental Experts on Nuclear Disarmament Verification and contributed to the adoption of a report to the UN Secretary General by consensus.

TOKUDA Yuuki

Director of Association Katawara

Yuki Tokuda, who was born in Tokyo, met atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima on school trips to Hiroshima when she was a junior and senior high school student. This experience piqued her interest in nuclear weapons issues. After entering university, she joined a youth organization, Know Nukes Tokyo and engaged in lobbying activities in international conventions and held meetings with Diet members. Since April 2023, she has been Director of Association Katawara. She is also a representative of GeNuine, an organization aiming for the abolishment of nuclear weapons from a gender perspective.

SHIMADA Kunihiko

Principal Director for Hiroshima Organization for Global Peace (HOPe)

Kunihiko SHIMADA has been serving as Principal Director for Hiroshima Organization for Global Peace (HOPe), leading the initiative for realizing “a truly sustainable world without nuclear weapons” since April 2021.
Mr. Shimada has served as CEO at KS International Strategies, Inc. Mr. Shimada has worked as a peace mediator for multiple cases globally for the last 25+ years as well as provided various clients with advice on risk management and geopolitical risks.
Prior to KSIS, as a lead Negotiator on Global Environment (Climate Change, Biodiversity, Waste Management) at Ministry of the Environment and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Government of Japan (2005-2018).
Mr. Shimada has also served as Specially-Assigned Professor for Global Affairs at the Sophia University and Senior Lecture for Negotiation and Communications at various universities and institutions globally.