On March 24, 2024, more than 60 members from Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives) and the Okinawa Keizai Doyukai visited the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) and participated in a symposium.
Keizai Doyukai is an organization for business executives which focuses on improving the economy, society and the enhancement of people's lives, discussing issues from a broad perspective and making policy proposals.
Keizai Doyukai Chairperson Takeshi Niinami (Representative Director, President & CEO, Suntory Holdings Ltd.) delivered the opening address and explained common issues and the aim of the symposium, after which OIST President and CEO Karin Markides introduced OIST's role and mission and emphasized that OIST is actively leading industry-academia-government collaboration and is working on a multi-layered collaboration model.
Associate Professor Keiko Kono, head of the Membranology Unit, then introduced OIST's research, including the discovery of a new cause of cellular senescence, a finding recently published in Nature Aging. Professor Kae Nemoto, Director of the OIST Center for Quantum Technologies (OQT) and head of the Quantum Information Science and Technology Unit at OIST, introduced OIST's role in the research and development of quantum technology towards a more advanced and efficient information society.
A panel discussion followed, facilitated by Mr. Tomokazu Nambu, Advisor to Sumitomo Corporation and Chairperson of the Keizai Doyukai's Advanced Science and Technology Strategy Committee and focusing on the themes of industry-academia collaboration and Okinawa promotion. It featured Hiroyuki Motonaga, Executive Director of the Okinawa Keizai Doyukai (President and Representative Director of Okinawa Electric Power Co., Inc.), Naoaki Mashita, Vice Chair and Executive Director of the Keizai Doyukai (Group CEO and Founder of V-cube), and Gil Granot Mayer, Executive Vice President for Technology Development and Innovation at OIST as panelists.
At the conclusion of the symposium, OIST President Markides thanked the participants, saying that "all of today's discussions were very stimulating," and added that "OIST is a place that connects Okinawa, Japan, and the world. I hope that companies will take advantage of OIST as a place to strengthen their international competitiveness and co-create new standards."
Mr. Niinami, Representative Director of the Keizai Doyukai, said that "at today's symposium, we shared the will to cooperate with OIST and Okinawa to create a better Japan and a better world. We would like to support OIST's research activities by creating an ecosystem that supports the recruitment and retention of human resources as well as funding," and he proposed that the symposium be held annually.
OIST will continue to work closely with companies and focus on disseminating information both domestically and internationally.
