The 7th Nikkei Well-being Symposium

Yoshiki Takeuchi

Deputy Secretary-General, OECD

Mr. Yoshiki Takeuchi was appointed Deputy Secretary-General in November 2021. His portfolio includes the strategic direction of the OECD policy on Employment, Labour and Social affairs, Education, Skills, Well-being, Inclusion, Sustainability and Equal Opportunities, Financial and Enterprise Affairs along with the Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities. He also represents the OECD at the Financial Stability Board and guides OECD work with the Asia-Pacific region. Mr. Takeuchi has had a distinguished career over nearly four decades at the Japanese Ministry of Finance. Prior to joining the OECD, he served as Special Advisor to Japan’s Minister of Finance. He was Vice-Minister for International Affairs (2019-2020), Director-General of the International Bureau (2016-2019) and has held other senior positions including as Deputy Minister in many international fora such as G7, G20, IDA and International Monetary and Finance Committee. Mr. Takeuchi has a wealth of experience in the field of international economy and finance. He worked closely with international organisations including the IMF, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and other regional development institutions. He also led Japan’s G20 Presidency finance team with a particular focus on digital taxation, quality infrastructure investment, capital flow management and global imbalances. Mr. Takeuchi holds a B.A. in Law from University of Tokyo, a MPhil in Economics from University of Oxford and conducted research at Chatham House.

Yukinori Takada

President & Chief Executive Officer, Sumitomo Life Insurance

Takuhiro Miyaoka

President, MS&AD InterRisk Research & Consulting

Kan (Hiroshi) Suzuki

Professor, Graduate School of Public Policy, The University of Tokyo

Graduated from the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Law in 1986. After working at the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and serving as an associate professor at Keio University, he served as a member of the House of Councillors for 12 years. As Vice Minister of Education (two terms) and Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Education (four terms), he led major education policies, including tuition-free high school education, establishment of higher education support grants, university entrance exam reform, and revisions to the curriculum guidelines. He currently serves as Representative Director of the NPO Japan Education Rebuilding Alliance, Vice Chair of the Well-Being Society, Visiting Professor at Osaka University, a Global Board Member of Teach For All, and an Advisor to the Japan Football Association.

Yoshiki Ishikawa

Representative Director, Well-being for Planet Earth Foundation

Yoshiki earned a bachelor’s degree in Health Science from the University of Tokyo, a Master of Science in Health Policy and Management from Harvard School of Public Health, and a PhD in Medicine from Jichi Medical School.

As a public health researcher, entrepreneur, and science journalist, Yoshiki is working at the intersection of science, business, and government as a catalyst with the aim of advancing the well-being of society.

Romina Boarini

Director, OECD WISE Centre

Dr. Romina Boarini is the Director of the OECD WISE (Well-Being, Inclusion, Sustainability and Equal Opportunity) Centre, where she promotes the OECD’s position as a leading international institution in the area of well-being, inclusion, sustainability and equal opportunity, and contributes to strengthening OECD research and advice on the Beyond GDP Agenda; policies for well-being; inclusive growth and SDGs. She was previously a Senior Advisor to the OECD Secretary-General and the Head of the Inclusive Growth Initiative, where she developed the OECD Framework for Action on Inclusive Growth and launched Business for Inclusive Growth, a coalition of 40 multinationals committed to fight inequalities. Before joining the Office of the Secretary-General, Romina worked as Deputy Head of the Well-Being Division of the Statistics Directorate and the Head of the Well-Being and Progress Section, where she was responsible for OECD Better Life Initiative. Ms. Boarini, an Italian national, holds a PhD in Economics from the Ecole Polytechnique (Paris) and her Research Interests include: Well-being, Poverty, Education and Behavioural Economics

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve

Professor, University of Oxford; Director, Wellbeing Research Centre

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve is Professor of Economics and Behavioural Science at the University of Oxford, where he also directs the Wellbeing Research Centre. He is best known for his research on the economics of wellbeing which has led to new insights into the relationship between happiness and income, productivity, firm performance, and economic growth. His pioneering research is published in the leading academic journals across multiple disciplines, including Science, Nature, The Review of Economics and Statistics, Psychological Science, Management Science, Journal of Political Economy, and the British Medical Journal. His research was recognized among "The Management Ideas That Mattered Most" by Harvard Business Review and he currently guides the world's largest study on workplace wellbeing in partnership with Indeed.
De Neve co-authored the main textbook on wellbeing science with Richard Layard, is an editor of the World Happiness Report, and co-founder of the World Wellbeing Movement. Additionally, he serves as a member of the UN Expert Group on Wellbeing Measurement. De Neve frequently consults for governments and major corporations, and his insights on wellbeing and policy are sought by leading global media.

Joe Daly

Managing Partner, Gallup Global Analytics

Joe Daly is Managing Partner of Gallup’s Global Analytics Group and a member of the
company’s board of directors. Under Joe’s leadership, Gallup has transformed from the
legendary leader in U.S. public opinion polling into the world’s largest, foremost
authority on global public sentiment. Through bold, large-scale partnerships with the world’s most influential corporations, foundations, NGOs and family offices, Joe architected Gallup’s expansion into a global force — building vast international tracking systems that collectively serve as humanity’s most powerful "listening machine."
In addition to his work at Gallup, Joe serves as national chairman of the board for
Lemonade Day, a nonprofit advancing youth entrepreneurship and financial literacy in
more than 100 communities across the United States. He holds an MBA in international business from Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Pennsylvania State University. Joe resides in McLean, Virginia, with his wife and three children.”

Masahiko Ishii

Executive Vice President, NEC Solution Innovators

After joining NEC Solution Innovators, Ltd. in 1990, stationed in Germany for 8 years to deliver high performance computing to meteorology and aerospace industries through many national projects. During the period, experienced and inspired by mature lifestyle of European society. From 2011, stationed in Vietnam and while experiencing rapid economic growth, focused on taking leadership as Japan to install digital technology in Southeast Asia. After coming back to Japan, started to have strong conviction to “deliver everyone a chance to live a life as they want to be” and started healthcare venture “FonesLife” as daughter company. From 2021, promoted as Executive Vice President to lead the public sector business.

Alden Lai

Assistant Professor, NYU School of Global Public Health

Alden Lai studies how the jobs and work environments of health care workers can be improved to increase employee outcomes (e.g., wellbeing, retention) as well as organizational performance (e.g., program implementation, patient safety). He uses theories and frameworks from psychology, organization science, and health services research in his work. Dr. Lai's research has appeared in both management and health care journals, including Academy of Management Discoveries, Health Care Management Review, Medical Care Research and Review, and The Milbank Quarterly. He has an affiliated faculty appointment in the Department of Management and Organizations at NYU Stern.
At GPH, he teaches courses on management, leadership, and strategy in public health.
Dr. Lai has advised federal and state governments, health systems, international and non-profit organizations, corporations, and philanthropies internationally. His professional experiences include being a management consultant, social enterprise strategist, and education researcher. He currently serves as Executive Advisor to the Global Wellbeing Initiative, a collaboration between the Wellbeing for Planet Earth Foundation and Gallup Inc. to foster a more globally inclusive understanding of wellbeing for research, practice, and policy. Dr. Lai also serves as Chair of the Health Care Research Stream for the Industry Studies Association. He is Co-Editor of an upcoming book by Springer on professional development for early career researchers. Previously, he served as Chair of the European Health Psychology Society’s early career researcher division, and was an executive committee member in the Academy of Management's Division of Health Care Management.

Toshiya Hamada

Executive Managing Officer, Head of Sustainability Division, Morinaga Milk Industry

He joined Morinaga Milk in 1987, serving as General Manager of Logistics in 2008, General Manager of Affiliated Business department in 2016, and General Manager of Corporate Strategic Planning Department in 2020. He became Executive Officer, Deputy General Manager of the Corporate Strategic Planning Division and General Manager of Corporate Strategic Planning Department in 2021, and has been in his current position since April 2025.
He is in charge of sustainability at the company, which has set "Becoming a company that continues to contribute to the realization of a sustainable society" as one of the Morinaga Milk Group's 10-year visions.

Akihisa Fukazawa

Professor, Department of Japanese Literature, Jissen Women’s University; Assistant to the President; Director, Office for Social Collaboration

Noritaka Kobuse

Growth Officer, dentsu Japan / Head, Future Creative Center

Tatsuyoshi Oba

Executive Officer,CHRO, PERSOL Holdings

After working at a major life insurance company, joined Intelligence (now PERSOL CAREER) in 2007. Has been responsible for various areas including HR planning, talent development, and labor relations. Transferred to PERSOL Holdings in 2016. In charge of HR planning and led the development and implementation of group-wide HR initiatives. Appointed Head of the Human Resources Division in April 2020, and assumed the role of Executive Officer, CHRO in April 2025.

Tatsuya Sasaki

Director, Executive Officer & Senior Vice President,
General Manager, Corporate Division, Ajinomoto

1986　Joined AJINOMOTO CO., INC.
2011　General Manager, Nutrition Care Dept., Wellness Business Division
2013　General Manager, Corporate Planning Dept.
2017　Corporate Executive Officer
2019　Corporate Vice-President, General Manager for Latin America Division, President, Ajinomoto do Brazil
2021　Executive Officer & Vice President, General Manager, Global Corporate Division, Corporate Service Division
2022　Executive Officer & Senior Vice President, General Manager, Global Corporate Division, Corporate Service Division
2022　Director, Executive Officer & Senior Vice President, General Manager, Global Corporate Division, Corporate Service Division
2023　Director, Executive Officer & Senior Vice President, General Manager, Corporate Division (present post)

Makiko Shinoda

Director, YELL

Makiko Shinoda serves as a Director at Yell, where they support organizational transformation through online 1-on-1 sessions with external professionals. From 2008 to 2018,Makiko was the Director and CFO of Hobonichi.Prior to Hobonichi, Makiko held various roles at The Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan, McKinsey & Company, Novartis, and Nestlé. Makiko has a deep interest in the dynamics between people and organizations, as well as in promoting women's empowerment. Additionally, Makiko served as the supervising translator for the book "You're Not Listening: What You're Missing and Why It Matters"
Makiko holds a degree in Economics from Keio University, an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and a Master’s in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University.

Nagako Kobayashi

Intelligence Group Senior Fellow, Chief Consultant, Nikkei BP

Senior Fellow Chief Consultant,Nikkei Business Publications Inc, Intelligence Group (April2022～）
General Manager,HR Office,(April 2017～March 2020）
Editor-in-Chief,Montly Magazine "Nikkei Information Strategy"(April 2013～March　2017）
Staff Writer,Several IT magazines published by Nikkei Business Publications Inc,(May 1991～March 2013)
Associate Consultant,Bain&Company(April 1988～April1991）
The University of Tokyo department of literature psychology subject(April 1984～March 1888)

Toru Takakura

President and CEO, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group

Kunio Ito

Director, CFO Education and Research Center, Hitotsubashi University; Chair, TCFD Consortium; Chair, Human Capital Management Consortium

Takashi Sakurai

Editor-in-Chief, doda, PERSOL Career

Joined a major HR company as a new graduate, and has consistently been involved in career education, job-hunting and career change support for both domestic and international college students, as well as career recruitment support for a wide range of companies. In November 2016, joined PERSOL CAREER CO., LTD. as a mid-career hire. That same year, seconded to Benesse i-Career Co., Ltd., a joint venture with Benesse Holdings, Inc.. Launched the new graduate offer service “doda Campus” and became its first Editor-in-Chief. Subsequently, led services for college students including career seminars and assessments as a person in charge. In April 2023, appointed as the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of doda and Executive Manager of the Product and Marketing Department, overseeing all corporate recruitment support products．In April 2024, appointed as the Editor-in-Chief of doda.
Supported the careers of over 600,000 young people so far, gaining deep expertise in Generation Z employment and career transition trends, career development, and corporate recruitment and training methodologies.

Masao Nagayoshi

Chief Talent and Wellbeing Officer, EY Japan

Masao Nagayoshi has approximately 15 years of experience as a human resources strategy consultant at Arthur Andersen and PwC Consulting, working in Tokyo, London, and New York. He joined EY Japan in 2012 and has since served as HR Director of Ernst & Young ShinNihon LLC and EY Strategy and Consulting Co., Ltd., leading HR transformation initiatives across various business entities. Since 2023, he has been overseeing HR across EY Japan as a whole. His expertise covers HR strategy development, organizational development, culture transformation, and post-merger HR integration.

Taro Tanaka

Senior Producer, Nikkei ESG Management Forum

Yuji Saito

Representative Director,Executive Vice President, Japan Airlines

After joining Japan Airlines in 1988, Mr. Saito has held positions in the international passenger sales department and the corporate planning department. He was appointed as senior vice president, Corporate Control Division in 2019, senior vice president, Corporate Planning Division and senior vice president, Corporate Control Division in 2021, and senior vice president, Corporate Planning Division and Chief Financial Officer of the JAL Group in 2023. He has made significant contribution to formulating the JAL Group’s Medium-term Management Plans based on major changes in the times and values and carrying out steps towards the completion of those plans. In April 2024, he was appointed to his current position as Representative Director, Executive Vice President Head of Corporate Division Chief Financial Officer of the JAL Group.

Taichi Yomeno

President, Asahi Soft Drinks

Yusuke Ataka

Senior, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University

Yusuke Ataka was born in 2001 in Suzu City, Ishikawa Prefecture. He graduated from Ishikawa Prefectural Kanazawa Izumigaoka High School and is currently enrolled in the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies at Keio University. While studying abroad, he experienced the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake and returned to Japan urgently to assist local residents in recovery efforts. He currently serves as a board member of NOTOTO., actively engaging in regional reconstruction while living between Tokyo and Noto, and also has experience as a student entrepreneur. With a strong interest in how communities can adapt in an era of population decline, he aspires to contribute as a government official to the sustainable development of local communities and Japanese society.

Sora Harashima

Senior student, Cultural Representation Course, College of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo

Originally from Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Sora Harashima has been interested in theater and the arts since childhood. In high school, she organized an art festival project connecting the Tatemachi shopping district with the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa. At the University of Tokyo, she conducted research on the lion dance (shishimai), with her paper published in a university journal. She also serves as the representative of the Komaba Suzukan Seminar, which explores the fusion of art and scholarship, and engages in both creative practice and cultural organization. In 2025, as the leader of the theater group Yugakusei, she is planning a performance at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa. In addition, she works as Director of Public Relations at Kaitoku Institute, a think tank supporting municipal government activities, pursuing initiatives that bridge local communities and culture.

Tomoyuki Ishikawa

Executive Officer, Public Relations Division, TOPPAN Holdings

Tomoyuki Ishikawa joined TOPPAN in 1990. After serving in sales for commercial and publication printing and developing the BPO business, he was appointed general manager of sales in the Information & Communication Division in 2011. Following his tenure as head of the president’s office, he took up the role of head of the Public Relations Division in 2020 and has been its executive officer since 2023. In this role, he has led the launch of a rebranding project, an initiative aimed at driving corporate transformation by redefining the TOPPAN brand.

Norichika Kanie

Professor, Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University; Director, xSDG Lab, Keio Research Institute at SFC)

Norichika Kanie is a professor at Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University. He is also a representative of xSDG Laboratory, Keio Research Institute at SFC, Vice-Director of the Keio STAR (Centre for Sustainable and Transformative Actions for Regeneration) at Keio Global Research Institute, and a Nonresident Fellow at the United Nations University.
He serves on various governmental and international committees and steering groups, mainly on the SDGs and global environmental issues, including: a member of the SDGs Promotion Roundtable Meeting and Earth Commissioner/Ambassador.
His research focuses on International Relations, Sustainability Science and Earth System Governance.
He was one of the 15 Independent Group of Scientists appointed by the UN Secretary General to write the Global Sustainable Development Report 2023.
He received his Ph.D. in Media and Governance from Keio University.

Takashi Inoue

Representative Director and Chairperson, LIFULL; Representative Director, PEACE DAY a nonprofit organization

After graduating from Aoyama Gakuin University, he began working at Recruit Cosmos Co., Ltd. (now Cosmos Initia Co., Ltd.). During this time, he developed a strong desire to "change the structure of the real estate industry," which led him to establish NEXT Co., Ltd. (now LIFULL) in 1997.
Aiming to build a real estate information infrastructure using the internet, he launched the real estate and housing information website "HOME'S" (now "LIFULL HOME'S"), nurturing it into one of Japan's largest sites. The company's corporate message, "Make every LIFE FULL," is also the origin of its name, and the LIFULL Group has expanded its business beyond real estate to various services related to daily life, such as regional revitalization and nursing care.
Furthermore, his ultimate personal goal is "world peace." Through activities like PEACE DAY, he aims to achieve a state of "Positive Peace," where all people are happy and attain true inner peace, rather than simply a state of "Negative Peace," and to widely spread this state throughout the world.
Representative Director, Nasucon Valley Council
Councilor,Well-being for Planet Earth Foundation
Director,Japan Association of New Economy