The 9th Conference of the Association for Transdisciplinary Research] Seeing the World through 4D Thinking / March 7, 2020, 17:00-@Ota-ku, Tokyo

<Speakers

President and Representative Director, Kobashi Kogyo Co.
Shojiro Kobashi
Born in Okayama, Japan in 1982, he graduated from the Graduate School of Business Administration, Waseda University. Graduated from the Graduate School of Business Administration, Waseda University, and joined Kobashi Kogyo in 2008, becoming President and Representative Director of the company in 2016. Since its establishment in 1910, Kobashi Kogyo has worked to solve problems in the agricultural sector and increase food production as a manufacturer of agricultural machinery, and has promoted the mechanization of agriculture. In 2017, he formed a capital and business alliance with Euglena Co. In 2018, he joined the Drone Fund to support startups in the drone field to mass-produce their products. With the philosophy of "Cultivate the Earth," he aims to realize a sustainable society by tapping the infinite possibilities of not only the land, but also the sky and the sea.

 

Manager, Future Innovation Center, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
Kenji Minefuji
Joined Mitsubishi Electric Corporation in 2011. He was engaged in research and development of optical communication technology at the Information Technology Research Institute. He was later in charge of R&D strategy formulation, resource allocation, and implementation support at the same institute. Currently in charge of promoting new business development and strengthening existing businesses through open innovation with venture companies.

 

President and Representative Director, Looop Co.
Soichiro Nakamura
Born in Kyoto, Japan in 1978. In 2002, he joined Beijing Kangmao Business Consulting Service Co. In April 2011, he decided to start his own business in Japan after installing solar power plants in the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. He founded Looop Inc. and became President and Representative Director, and in 2017 he also became Director of LOOOP ENERGY MALAYSIA SDN.BHD.

 

Manager, Global Business Center, Corporate Planning Division (in Singapore), Toppan Printing Co.
Hidenori Ogawa
Born in Niigata Prefecture in 1969. Graduated from Nagaoka University of Technology (Electrical and Electronic Systems Engineering), and joined Toppan Printing Co. in 1995. After working at the General Research Institute, the U.S. Technical Representative, the International Business Department, and the Corporate Planning Division, he has been working in Singapore since 2018. He is in charge of business development and looking for various collaboration opportunities with startup companies in ASEAN and India. He is committed to building fruitful relationships with startups, business units, group companies, and clients, while leveraging his experience in overseas acquisitions and business consolidation projects he has been involved in.

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Group CEO and Representative Director, LIVERNESS Co.
Yukihiro Maru
D. in Applied Biotechnology from the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Tokyo. 2002, while still a graduate student, he founded LIBANES with only undergraduate and graduate students in science and engineering. In 2002, while still in graduate school, he founded LIVERNESS, a business that offers "delivery laboratory classes in cutting-edge science" for the first time in Japan. He operates a "knowledge manufacturing business" that creates new knowledge by combining technologies and management resources that lie dormant in universities and local communities. As the instigator of one of Asia's largest venture ecosystems, he works to solve global-scale social issues by discovering deep tech from around the world. He is also an innovator involved in the launch of numerous deep tech ventures, including Euglena.