Accomplices of Innovation - A look at the GovTech of the world-

The theme for this year’s panel is GovTech.

The Japanese government has entities such as JETRO with the mission of connecting foreign entities to the ecosystem in Japan and Japanese companies to ecosystems abroad.

Over the last few years, Fukuoka City has taken further steps to ascertain its presence on the global stage.

Measures were taken to champion MoU agreements with cities such as Singapore, Bordeaux, Taipei, and more in order to create a global hub network.

Amidst the strong push from the leadership of Fukuoka City, the role of the government in spurring innovation is limited and the help of organizations/ambassadors like YOU/YOUR Organization are crucial in achieving any goal.

The Panel will be Moderated by Benjamin Boas & I. The language will be in Japanese and the panel will be a total of 50 minutes.

The topic will revolve around the role of organizations such as : Rainmaking, CIC/Venture Cafe, Plug and Play, 500 Startups acting as bridges linking investors, startup, corporates, entrepreneurs, and more from different ecosystems to each other.

GUEST

Lisa Fujise

Program Manager

He has witnessed the impact of climate change through her coral reef research in Australia, and since shifting to clean energy and creating a sustainable society is linked to the conservation of coral reefs, she has been working for a clean tech startup in Australia after finishing my PhD. She is involved in the management of the accelerator. After returning to Japan, he was involved in planning and managing the G20 Summit and launching new business projects at Creww. He has been in his current position since then.

Chikara Wakae

Associate Program Manager

At Rainmaking Innovations Japan LLC, he was involved in the management of Scale Osaka, a program for overseas startups to enter the Japanese market in collaboration with major corporations. He is currently in charge of Trade and Transport Impact, an open innovation program for the maritime industry, at Rainmaking Singapore.

Yuki Kishi

Director, Fintech and Brand&Retail

He joined Dresdner Kleinwort Securities after graduating in 2008, he moved to Deutsche Securities in 2009, where he was involved in financial product valuation and settlement operations, as well as new business projects. He joined Plug and Play Japan in 2018 and is responsible for the overall program as a director of the Fintech and Brand & Retail divisions.
He holds a BA in Economics from Queen Mary, University of London and an MBA from the University of Cambridge.

Benjamin Boas

Cool Japan Ambassador

Born in New York, USA. Graduated from Brown University. He is the author of "Learning Japan Through Manga and Video Games" (Shogakukan). In 2007, he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study Mahjong and Society at Kyoto University's Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences. He has studied "Games and Society" at Osaka University of Commerce and the University of Tokyo. He is an international communications consultant and translator, a Cabinet Office Cool Japan Ambassador (No. 24 on the Prime Minister's Office Policy Council), a tourism ambassador for Tokyo's Nakano Ward, a writer, and an advocate for "Cool Japan" through radio programs, newspapers and magazines.