Hiroyuki Mizuno

Distinguished Researcher at the Center for Exploratory Research, and Director of the Hitachi Kyoto University Laboratory, Research & Development Group, Hitachi, Ltd.

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Mizuno joined Hitachi in 1993 and engaged in research and development of integrated circuits such as microcomputers. He was a visiting scholar at Stanford University in the U.S. from 2002 to 2003. In 2015, he presented CMOS Annealing quantum-inspired technology, and in 2020, he became a project manager of the Silicon Quantum Computer Project in the Moonshot Research and Development Program ​`  . At the Hitachi Kyoto University Laboratory ​`  , he promotes research on the social implementation of new value and AI in collaboration with philosophers. D.Eng. and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Fellow.

 

 

Ryuta Aoki 

Artistic Director, Social Sculptor

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Aoki plans, designs, and directs research and development projects and exhibitions, while also creating works that straddle art and sci-tech. Major exhibitions include Art for SDGs: Kitakyushu Art Festival, Chiba City Festival of Arts, and DESIGNART. He was the artistic director for the Jack into the Noösphere exhibition. Aoki was part of the first Japanese group to win the Social Impact Award in Art Division at the 25th Japan Media Arts Festival.

https://www.instagram.com/ryuta_aoki_/ ​`

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Dai Fujiwara

Creative Director

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Fujiwara established DAIFUJIWARA in Shonan in 2008. His wide-ranging creative activities cover three areas: corporate, academic, and regional. His leadership in corporate open innovation with a unique perspective is also well recognized. He has held numerous lectures and projects in Japan and abroad. Professor at Tama Art University.

https://www.daiand.com/ ​`

 

Akihico Mori

Science Writer

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Mori contributes social commentary on the interaction and collision of science and humanity to WIRED Japan and other media. He finished the Master’s course in Media Communication at the University of the Arts London. His graduate school project, “Science Journalism in The Infodemic related to COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020, its Challenges and Evolution,” in which he interviewed journalists from the BBC, was covered by national and international media.

https://www.morry.mobi/ ​`

 

Amy Karle

Artist, Futurist

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Karle is an artist working at the nexus of digital, quantum, and biological systems, as well as a futurist exploring the future. Her work questions the impact of technological advances on humanity and aims to contribute to social and medical development. Her work has been featured in 54 international exhibitions, including those at the Centre Pompidou and the Mori Art Museum, and she was named one of the BBC 100 Women. She also served as an Artist Diplomat through the U.S. Department of State.

https://www.amykarle.com/ ​`

 

 

Kozo Iiba

Senior Researcher, Polymers & Composite Materials Laboratory, R&D Center, Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. ​`

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Iiba joined Mitsui Chemicals in 2005 and has been engaged in elemental technology research and product development. He specializes in computational science and polymer processing. D.Eng.

 

 

Takehiro Yonehara

Researcher, Advanced Analysis Department, Process Technology Laboratory, R&D Center, Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. ​`

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Yonehara works on functional materials for energy conservation and quantum computation. His interests include material design, material cycle, reaction control, and quantum theory. Previously, he worked on quantum chemistry, reaction dynamics, non-adiabatic electron dynamics, large-scale computation, and MI at universities, national institutes, and private companies. He specializes in molecular science, theoretical chemistry, and photochemistry. D.Sc.

 

 

Yusuke Motoki

Data Science Group Analysis Team, Digital Transformation Planning and Coordination Div., Digital Transformation Sector, Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.

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Motoki joined the Financial Engineering Group in 2011, where he was engaged in consulting and system development for the banking industry. He assumed his current position in 2022 and works on DX promotion and development of quantum computation.

 

 

Kensaku Nakamura

Researcher, Advanced Analysis Department, Process Technology Laboratory, R&D Center, Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. ​`

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After completing the Graduate School of Engineering at Tohoku University, he worked at a precision equipment company, where he engaged in research and development on AI and machine learning. He joined Mitsui Chemicals in 2021 and works on research and development on materials design using AI, machine learning and quantum computation. He specializes in condensed matter physics and materials informatics. D.Eng.

 

 

Renichiro Haba 

Researcher, Technical Division and Corporate Planning Division, Sigma-i Co., Ltd ​`

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Haba started his doctoral program in 2022 at the Graduate School of Information Sciences, Tohoku University, with a focus on quantum annealing. In the same year, he joined Sigma-i and engaged in collaborative research as a project leader. Since 2023, he has been leading development projects as a manager, expanding his scope of activities. He has also worked for the Corporate Planning Division since 2024, contributing to the development of management strategies and organizational management.

 

 

Naruo Kanemoto

CEO, Space Shift Inc. ​`

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Kanemoto was born in Yonago City, Tottori Prefecture, in 1975. He graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at Kobe University. His childhood dream was to become an astronomer, but he founded an IT startup while in college. After working in the music and IT industries, he founded the space startup Space Shift Inc. in 2009, which develops AI-based satellite data analysis software and provides space business consulting services to non-space companies.

 

 

Rahut Jongsiri

Designer

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Jongsiri graduated from the Graduate School of Art and Design, Musashino Art University, majoring in Science of Design. After working at Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP, he joined UDS, where he has been involved in a variety of projects ranging from curating and coordinating artworks for spaces, furniture design, art direction for brands, and UX/UI design.

 

 

Tina Lorenz

Head of the Department of Artistic Research & Development “Hertzlab” ​` ZKM

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After working as a dramaturge at the Landestheater Oberpfalz and consultant for digital communication at the Staatstheater Nürnberg, she founded the Digital Theatre department at the State Theatre of Augsburg in 2020. Since 2024, she has served as head of the ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, the world-leading research institute for media arts.

 

 

Kotobuki Shiriagari

Manga Artist

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Shiriagari made his debut as a manga artist in 1985 with Ereki na Haru (Electric Spring). In 2000, he won the Bungeishunju Manga Award for Jiji-Oyaji 2000 and Yuruyuru-Oyaji, and in 2001, the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Excellence Award for Yajikita in DEEP. His manga, Chikyu boeike no hitobito (The Earth Defender Family), has been serialized in the evening edition of the Asahi Shimbun since 2002. In addition to manga in many genres, from gag to socially conscious works, he is active in a wide range of fields, including video and contemporary art. He received the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2014.

http://www.saruhage.com/ ​`

 

 

Yasuhiro Yamauchi

Vice President (Board Member), MANGA Research Institute ​`

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Yamauchi was born in 1979. After graduating from HOSEI Business School of

Innovation Management (MBA in Accounting), he established Manga Night in 2009, which was incorporated in 2020. He has been engaged in the Manga and Learning initiative and exhibition projects. He is also a representative of Rainbow Bird Inc, and a representative director of the Saito Takao Gekiga Cultural Foundation. Co-author of How to Create the Most Successful Business Team: Lesson from ONE PIECE (Shueisha) and 100 Manga for your Life and Study (Bungeishunju).

 

 

Tsuyoshi Takamura

Technical Director

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Born in Kumamoto Prefecture, Takamura graduated from the Kyushu Institute of Design and joined KOO-KI ​` in 2003. After directing and producing motion graphics and 3DCG videos, he has been involved in planning and producing interactive content. With the goal of blending entertainment and intellectual education, he is involved in the production of hands-on exhibits using his expertise in video production.

 

 

Kosuke Matoba

Strategic Design Department, Design Center, Center for Digital Services, Research & Development Group, Hitachi, Ltd.  ​` 

Designer

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Matoba joined Hitachi, Ltd. in 2009. He was involved in product design and UI/UX design for railroad vehicles and measurement and analysis equipment, and since 2016, he has been engaged in vision design to explore future social issues. He was in charge of the humanistic future insight “Signs of Changes in an Economic Ecosystem,” vision scenarios for home appliances and robots, and research for the Future Living Lab on the Miura Peninsula, Kanagawa Prefecture.

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Saki Tanaka

Researcher, the Center for Exploratory Research, Research & Development Group, Hitachi, Ltd.

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Tanaka joined Hitachi, Ltd. in 2015, and engaged in application development for the next-generation computing Ising computer as well as the development of signal processing for automotive radar. She has been involved in the silicon quantum computer project ​` since 2019. Her research topics include proposals for a method for universal quantum computation with limited wiring, and a shuttling-based one-way quantum computation method.

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Ryota Katsube

Planner, DX Engineering Research Division, Service System Innovation Center, Center for Digital Services, Research & Development Group, Hitachi, Ltd.

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Katsube joined Hitachi, Ltd. in 2023. He has been engaged in the silicon quantum computer project ​` since then. He works on the research and development of a system to mitigate crosstalk, one of the sources of noise in quantum computers.

 

 

Yutaka Nakamura

Cultural Anthropologist, Design Anthropologist

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Nakamura is a professor at the Center for Liberal Arts and Sciences, Tama Art University, the representative of Atelier Anthropology, and works on Insight Design at KESIKI Inc ​`. His research topics include violence in the socio-cultural “margins” and anti-violent social design. He also collaborates with various corporations, designers, and business professionals to implement social change. At Tama Art University, he leads the Circular Office and the Division of Design Anthropology at Tama Design University. He is the author of Walking the Margins of America: An Anthropological Journey (Heibonsha, 2021), and Harlem Reverberated: Voices of Muslims on the Street (Editorial Republica, 2015).

https://x.com/atelieranthropo ​`

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Masahiro Kamijo

Editor, Writer

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Born in Tokyo in 1970, Kamijo joined AXIS, Inc. in 1992, and served as an editor of the design magazine AXIS for nearly 30 years until his retirement in 2023. He currently resides in Shiojiri, Nagano Prefecture.

 

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Takashi Shirasawa

Strategic Design Department, Design Center, Center for Digital Services, Research & Development Group, Hitachi, Ltd.  ​` 

Chief Designer

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Shirasawa joined Hitachi, Ltd. in 2012, and was involved in communication design and branding related to corporate reports in the Information Design Division. After working on research strategy planning and co-creation process development in the Planning and Strategy Unit, he assumed his current position in 2019. At the Design Center, he is engaged in vision design and behavioral design activities.