In 2003, he completed his Master's degree in Health Science and Nursing at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine. He received his PhD in Health Science (thesis) in the same field.
In April 2009, he became an associate professor at the Department of Health Quality Assessment at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, and in April 2014, he became a professor (part-time from May 2015). Since May 2015, he has been a professor at the Department of Health Policy and Management at Keio University School of Medicine.

He uses data science and other sciences to challenge social change and conducts research activities with a focus on contributing to improving reality. He is involved in various practices outside of the medical field, such as the National Clinical Database, which is in collaboration with the specialist system and involves 5,000 hospitals, and the COVID-19 nationwide survey by LINE and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. At the same time, he works with various stakeholders, including not only academia but also government, economic organizations, NPOs, and companies, to create a new vision for society. One of MIYATA's visions for co-creating a society is a "resonating society" in which life resonates together to create a diverse society, where each individual shines as they experience that world together.

Signature Pavilion | Resonating with Life

Visit the "Better Co-Being"

FUJIMOTO Sou was born in Hokkaido in 1971. After graduating from the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, he established Sou Fujimoto Architects in 2000. Following the 2014 Montpellier International Design Competition Grand Prize (L'Arbre Blanc), he has also won top prizes in international design competitions in Europe in 2015, 2017, and 2018. In Japan, he has been appointed as the venue design producer for Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan. In 2024, he has been selected as the basic designer for the "(tentative name) International Center Station North Area Complex Facility Basic Design Contract."
His major works include House of Music in Budapest (2021), Maruhon Maki Art Terrace, Ishinomaki City Cultural Complex (2021), Shiraiya Hotel (2020), L’Arbre Blanc (2019), Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2013 in London (2013), House NA (2011), and Musashino Art University. These include Art Museum and Library (2010) and House N (2008).

KUTSUNA is a landscape designer and the CEO of E-DESIGN Co., Ltd. By utilizing the techniques of landscape and environmental design of parks, plazas, roads, and rivers, mastering the use of the space, and simultaneously planning and implementing the sustainable management and system creation, he aims to realize a new public and create attractive public spaces, and has worked on numerous projects. He is also active in the field of landscape design for universities, hospitals, schools, commercial facilities, and housing both domestically and internationally. He has edited and co-authored "Illustrated Public Space Creation Method" (2021). He is currently serving as the landscape design director for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan. His notable works include "Kindai University Senshin Garden" (2009 Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture Encouragement Award), "Urban Development of the Water City of Osaka" (2016 joint winner of the Ishikawa Prize from the City Planning Institute of Japan), "Kusatsu River Site Park (Section 5)" (2017 Urban Park Competition Special Theme Category Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Award), "Tokotoko Dandan" (2018 GOOD DESIGN Award, Gold Award: Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award / 2019 Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture Award), "Osaka Prefectural Enokojima Cultural Arts Creation Center" (2019 Regional Creation Award, Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Award), "Daito City Public-Private Partnership Hojo Urban Development Project Morineki" (2024 joint winner of the Architectural Institute of Japan Award), and "Sea Path Park" (2024 Urban Park Competition, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Director-General's Award, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Urban Affairs Bureau Award / Land Utilization Model Grand Prize, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Award).

Curator. Visiting Professor at Graduate School of Management, Kyoto University, in "Curatorial Theory and Practice"; Program Director of Art & Design at the International House of Japan; Visiting Professor at the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature; and Professor Emeritus at Tokyo University of the Arts. Former Director of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa.
She has been honored with the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Award (2020), the Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France, 2015), the Order of Cultural Merit (Brazil, 2017), and the Officier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France, 2024).
Hasegawa has curated numerous biennales in Istanbul (2001), Shanghai (2002), São Paulo (2010), Sharjah (2013), Moscow (2017), and Thailand (2021), and international exhibitions including Japanorama: A New Vision on Art Since 1970 at the Centre Pompidou-Metz (2017), and Fukami: A Plunge into Japanese Aesthetics in Paris (2018). Her publications include Art and New Ecology: Anthropocene as Dithering Time (Ibun-sha, 2022); Japanorama: Un Archipel en Perpétuel Changement (Centre Pompidou-Metz Éditions, 2017); and Performativity in the Work of Female Japanese Artists in the 1950s–1960s and the 1990s (Modern Women: Women Artists at The Museum of Modern Art, MoMA, 2010).

1980 Joined Fuji Television Network, Inc. As an anchorperson of a news show, he worked on the coverage of emergency medical campaign and contributed to the birth of Emergency Life-saving Technician system.
2009 Assumed the post of professor at International University of Health and Welfare Graduate School.
Apr. 2011 Inaugurated as Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture under the slogan of “Kanagawa – a magnet for vibrant inochi (lives)”. Currently serving his fourth term.
Sep. 2022 Selected as the only Japanese person for the Healthy Ageing 50, or the leaders who make the world a better place for ageing, by international organizations, etc.
2024 Received the highest decoration awarded to a foreigner, the Order of Friendship, from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam as the first head of a local government in Japan.

A broadcast writer, Screenwriter and the vice-president of the Kyoto University of The Arts.
Born in Kumamoto, 1964. His career as a broadcast writer began during his undergraduate studies. He is responsible for envisioning and creating many TV programs, including the International Emmy Awards winners Iron Chef and Torisetsu. His screenplay for Departures brought positive responses domestically and internationally, awarding him the 32nd Japan Academy Film Prize for Best Original Screenplay and the 81st Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
He is involved in broader creative projects such as radio personality, serialized essays and song lyrics. He also offers relevant advice to the national government, numerous regional management and companies: he is the General producer of the JAPAN DAY PROJECT, run by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry; part of the Japan Heritage Inspection Committee within the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the Theme Producer of EXPO 2025 Osaka Kansai.
He is also a significant Supporter of the culinary world: He is the owner of the traditional Japanese Restaurant Shimogamosaryo, part of the judging committee in the Ryori Masters Project run by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the general producer of RED U-35, one of the largest culinary competitions in Japan.

I first stepped into agriculture at the age of 25, and after years of trial and error, I finally feel like I can “communicate” with the rice.
Every day, I feel the wind, watch the clouds, sense the changing seasons, and take in the beauty of the setting sun—and I’m constantly reminded of how wonderful it is to live in harmony with nature.
In agriculture, no matter how many years go by, you’re always a beginner. But I hope to keep growing alongside the fields I tend.
What began as a solo endeavor has now become something much bigger—my family has grown, and so has our team, with dedicated staff and partner companies joining along the way. Supported by so many people, we produce rice with care and deliver it with safety and sincerity.
In recent years, we’ve seen major advances in our production sites through agricultural DX. Self-driving machines are now standard, and we’ve begun harnessing satellite sensing, drone technology, and even generative AI.
New innovations like water-saving dry direct seeding are also starting to take root in real-world applications. Everywhere you look, agriculture is changing—and the future is full of excitement.
We’re entering a new era, and I’m more inspired than ever to keep dreaming, keep chasing those dreams, and above all, keep enjoying farming more than anyone else.

MORONAGA Yuichi is responsible for bilateral relations and international initiatives in the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors, focusing on countries and regions in Latin America, Africa, South Asia, Central Asia, Russia and the NIS (Newly Independent States of the former Soviet Union）. His duties include promoting the overseas expansion of Japanese companies, facilitating the export of Japanese food, strengthening foodsecurity and advancing technical cooperation.
Career History
April 2000: Joined the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)
July 2024: Seconded to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF). Counsellor, Emerging Regions Group, Export and International Affairs Bureau (current position) .

Hiroshi Ishiguro received a Ph. D. from Osaka University, Japan in 1991. He is currently Professor of Department of Systems Innovation at Osaka University, Visiting Director of Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratories at the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute (ATR), Project Manager of MOONSHOT R&D Project, Thematic Project Producer of EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, and CEO of AVITA, Inc. His research interests are interactive robotics, avatar, and android science. Geminoid is an avatar android that is a copy of himself.
In 2011, he won the Osaka Cultural Award. In 2015, he received the Prize for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. He was also awarded the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Award in Dubai in 2015. Tateisi Award in 2020, and honorary doctorate of Aarhus university in 2021.

Mauro Colagreco is known for his craft and commitment to protecting the planet. Championing the emergence of a circular gastronomy that respects the cycles of nature, he founded in 2006 Mirazur in Menton, France. Much more than a 3-Michelin-star restaurant, voted Best Restaurant in the World, Mirazur is an ecosystem of 12 acres of permaculture and biodynamic gardens. Mirazur was also the first restaurant to obtain Plastic Free certification in 2020 and the B Corp label in 2024.
Nourished by journeys, discoveries and encounters, Mauro Colagreco's cuisine is instinctive, generous and deeply respectful of the environment. He now runs +25 restaurants around the world and became, in 2022, the first chef to be appointed by UNESCO as a Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity. @maurocolagreco

Originally from Chiba Prefecture, he grew up with a strong interest in cooking, influenced in part by his grandfather, who was a fisherman. After graduating from culinary school, he traveled across Europe to study French and Italian cuisine. During this journey, he had a life-changing meal at a Michelin three-star restaurant in Paris. Deeply inspired, he returned to Japan and gained experience working at hotels and French restaurants in Tokyo.
After building a solid foundation, he moved to France in 2016 to work at a restaurant in Paris. Following a temporary return to Japan to renew his visa, he went back to France and, in 2018, encountered Chef Mauro Colagreco at Mirazur, a Michelin three-star restaurant in the southern French town of Menton. After handing over his résumé, he was invited to join the Mirazur team. Starting as a trainee, he rose through the ranks to become a station chef, and eventually a sous-chef. In the idyllic setting of Menton, he immersed himself in Chef Colagreco’s cuisine and philosophy, which are deeply rooted in the cycles of life and nature.

Yoshihiro TAKAHASHI was born in Kyoto in 1974. After graduating from university, he trained for three years at “Tsuruko” in Kanazawa. He later returned to Kyoto to study under his father, Eiichi TAKAHASHI, the 14th generation head of Hyotei. In 2015, he succeeded his father as the 15th head of the restaurant. He upholds the traditions of kaiseki-based traditional Japanese cuisine while pursuing refinement supported by a solid foundation for technique. He contributed to the establishment of the Japanese Culinary Academy and the Kyoto Food Culture Association, playing a role in the registration of Kyoto cuisine as an Intangible Cultural Heritage. His activities are not limited to Kyoto; he actively participates in tea gatherings, cooking classes, and forums throughout Japan. Furthermore, TAKAHASHI also works internationally through events and collaborations with other chefs, as well as engaging in food education activities in elementary schools—dedicating himself to the promotion of Japanese cuisine in various fields.
Hyotei
Hyotei traces its origins back about four centuries to the Edo period, when it began as a teahouse located just outside the main gate of Nanzenji Temple, also serving as the gatekeeper's lodge. In 1837, it began operating as a kaiseki restaurant under its own name, gradually building a reputation for itself. It eventually became beloved by cultural figures of the late Edo period, such as Sanyo RAI, and influential Meiji-era statesmen like Aritomo YAMAGATA.
Hyotei’s seasonal cuisine—including summer’s “asa-gayu” (morning rice porridge) and winter’s “uzura-gayu” (quail rice porridge)—is cherished along with its famous “Hyotei tamago” (Hyotei-style soft-boiled egg).

Publications about Hyotei (published in Japanese)
“Kyoto Hyotei: Seasonal Japanese Cuisine” (NHK Publishing)
Kaiseki Primer
The Four Seasons of Hyotei
Hyotei: Seasonal Cuisine and Tableware
Kyoto Hyotei: The Spirit of Kaiseki and Tableware
An Introduction to Hyotei’s Light Meals
The Aesthetics of Hospitality: Seasonal Tableware

Creative Director, Lifestylist
As a "lifestylist," Yukari OTA works across the three essential elements of human living—clothing, food, and shelter—styling them as an integrated lifestyle. She is also a director at the creative agency Sleeping Tokyo.
OTA began her career in 2008 as a fashion stylist, producing covers for major fashion magazines and styling numerous celebrities in commercials and other media. Today, she oversees art direction for various brands and provides styling for Paris Fashion Week, among many other projects.
The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake marked a turning point in her career. Moving beyond the realm of fashion, she opened the café ORGANIC TABLE BY LAPAZ in Tokyo’s Gaienmae district. Built around the themes of organic and vegan living, the café quickly became a global destination for vegan enthusiasts, helping to drive the growing organic and vegan movement in Japan.
In addition to the café, she has curated numerous dining-out experiences at corporate and public events, as well as at art festivals—collaborating with top chefs to explore a deeper future for food.
In 2021, OTA served as the creative director for a new accommodation facility that was part of the redevelopment of Inage Seaside Park in Chiba Prefecture. Her work included creating experiences that turn social issues into positive actions: transforming BBQ waste into compost to regenerate the land, using overnight stays to help resolve nighttime safety concerns in public spaces, and incorporating beach clean-up activities into the guest experience.
In 2022, she began working on the “Shirako no Ie” project—a case study house that reimagines beautiful Japanese living. The project involves renovating a 190-year-old Japanese home, registered as a tangible cultural property, in collaboration with architect Kengo KUMA.
Through her creative endeavors and consulting for companies and brands, OTA promotes a vision for a sustainable, well-being-centered lifestyle that nurtures both personal growth and environmental health—paving the way for a beautiful future.

Although primarily a photographer, Mika Ninagawa is a multidisciplinary artist who also works extensively in film, video and spatial installations. She is also a member of the creative team EiM.
She is the recipient of numerous photography awards, including the prestigious Kimura Ihei Award. A book of her photographs was published by Rizzoli New York in 2010.
She has directed five feature films, including Helter-Skelter (2012) and Diner (2019), and the Netflix original drama FOLLOWERS (2020).
She has published more than 120 books of photographs, held or participated in over 150 solo exhibitions and 130 group exhibitions, and continues to present her work enthusiastically in Japan and abroad.
Her solo exhibition Mika Ninagawa: Eternity in a Moment (TOKYO NODE, Dec. 2023–Feb. 2024) attracted over 250,000 visitors.
From 11 January 2025 to 30 March 2025, the exhibition NINAGAWA Mika with EiM：Lights of the beyond, Shadows of this world was held at the Kyoto City Kyocera Museum of Art.
The three volumes of her latest photo collection series, Eternity in a Moment, were published in October 2024, from Akio Nagasawa Publishing & Case Publishing.
https://mikaninagawa.com
Selected exhibitions
Group exhibition 'I'M SO HAPPY YOU ARE HERE', Palais de l'Archevêché, 2024.
Group exhibition 'Tokyo: Art & Photography', Musée d'Ashemolean, 2021-2022.
MIKA NINAGAWA INTO FICTION / REALITY, Beijing Times Museum, 2022.
'MIKA NINAGAWA', Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei (MOCA Taipei), 2016.

A filmmaker based in her native Nara, where she continues to create films. Her consistent pursuit of “reality” transcends the boundaries of both documentary and fiction, earning recognition at top-tier festivals including Cannes, even as she expands her artistic reach globally. In 2010, she launched the Nara International Film Festival in her hometown and remains actively involved in nurturing upcoming filmmakers. She serves as Senior Advisor and Theme Producer for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, as well as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. Her latest feature film, “Tashika ni Atta Maboroshi” (Yakushima’s Illusion), will be released nationwide on February 6, 2026.

Her expertise lies in cultural psychology and social psychology, exploring how cultural backgrounds and social practices shape human minds and influence subjective well-being. She focuses particularly on the Japanese perspective of happiness, which emphasizes “harmony with others” and interpersonal relationships, and contrasts this with the more individual-centered notions of happiness prevalent in Western societies. After earning her Ph.D. in Human and Environmental Studies from Kyoto University, she held visiting research positions at Stanford University and the University of Michigan, engaging in international collaborative research. Currently, she applies cross-cultural perspectives to improve methods of measuring happiness and works on the practical use of well-being indicators in government, education, and community contexts. In recent years, she has also served on expert panels for the Japanese Cabinet Office and contributed to the development of happiness indices, bridging scientific knowledge with policy-making and social practice. Through her research, she consistently addresses the question of how to reconcile “individual happiness” with “collective well-being.”
Selected Awards
7th Kyoto University Tachibana Award for Outstanding Women Researchers (2015)
Best Paper Award, Japanese Group Dynamics Association (2013)
Fellow, Association for Psychological Science (APS) (2022)

Jan’s research interests are in behavioural economics, public policy and human wellbeing. He is the Director of the Wellbeing Research Centre and Professor of Economics and Behavioural Science at the Saïd Business School at Oxford.
His research has been published in academic outlets such as Science, Nature, The Review of Economics and Statistics, Management Science, The Journal of Political Economy, Psychological Science, The British Medical Journal, and The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The underlying theme throughout his research is the study of human wellbeing. This ongoing research agenda has led to new insights in the relationship between happiness and income, productivity, firm performance, and economic growth. His research was selected among ‘The Management Ideas that Mattered Most’ by the Harvard Business Review and he was awarded the inaugural Ruut Veenhoven Award for his contributions to the scientific study of happiness.
Jan is an Editor of the World Happiness Report and the co-founder of the World Wellbeing Movement which is a coalition of exemplary corporations that help put wellbeing metrics at the heart of business and public policy. He is a frequent advisor to governments and businesses including Unilever, Gallup, and BetterUp and currently guides the development of the world’s largest study on wellbeing at work for the global job search site Indeed with over 17 million surveys completed so far.

FUJIMOTO Sou was born in Hokkaido in 1971.
After graduating from the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, he established Sou Fujimoto Architects in 2000.
Following the 2014 Montpellier International Design Competition Grand Prize (L'Arbre Blanc), he has also won top prizes in international design competitions in Europe in 2015, 2017, and 2018. In Japan, he has been appointed as the venue design producer for Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan. In 2024, he has been selected as the basic designer for the " (tentative name) International Center Station North Area Complex Facility Basic Design Contract."
His major works include House of Music in Budapest (2021), Maruhon Maki Art Terrace, Ishinomak City Cultural Complex (2021), Shiraiya Hotel (2020), L'Arbre Blanc (2019), Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2013 in London (2013), House NA (2011), and Musashino Art University. These include Art Museum and Library (2010) and House N (2008).

After working as a lecturer and assistant professor at the Private University of Kitakyushu and associate professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, he has been in his current position since 2015. He was appointed by the UN Secretary-General as one of the 15 independent scientists to write the 2023 edition of the Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR), an assessment report on the SDGs published every four years by the UN. He is also a member of the Roundtable on the SDGs Promotion Headquarters of the Government of Japan, a member of the Cabinet Secretariat for Regional Development Promotion's Expert Group on Municipal SDGs Promotion, and a member and ambassador of the Earth Commission, among many other international and domestic research and policy-related activities focusing on the SDGs and global environmental issues.

Commissioner General for Italy at EXPO Osaka 2025 in August 2023, from 2021 to 2023 Mario Vattani was Ambassador of Italy in Singapore, where he organized promotional events such as the Italian Festival and the exhibition of Italian contemporary art "The Grand Italian Vision” curated by Achille Bonito Oliva.
Born in France on 7th of July 1966, Vattani entered the diplomatic service in 1991, after graduating in Political Science at the University of Rome "La Sapienza".
He was diplomatic advisor to the Minister of Agriculture from 2001 to 2003 and to the Mayor of Rome from 2008 to 2011.
Vattani served in the United States and Egypt in the economic and consular fields, later gaining extensive experience in Japan - in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto - particularly in economic and cultural relations.
Head of the Economic and Commercial Office of the Italian Embassy in Tokyo from 2004 to 2008, Vattani was involved in Italy’s participation in EXPO Aichi 2005 and was later in charge of the promotional event Primavera Italiana in Japan 2007.
At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mario Vattani was Coordinator for EU-Asia Pacific from 2014 to 2021, also dealing with Italy's relations with regional organizations such as the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), where he served as National Focal Point, and ASEAN.
Mario Vattani, who was selected for the European Union's ETP Japan program in 2003, speaks Japanese and was a researcher at the Institute of Japanese Identity of Takushoku University in Tokyo.
On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of relations between Italy and Japan, Vattani published the essay "La Via del Sol Levante” (The Way of the Rising Sun). He has also published two novels with Mondadori, and his essay "Unveiling Japan”, published in 2020 by Giunti, now at its fifth reprint, won the "Antonio Semeria Sanremo" Literary Prize and the "Umberto Agnelli Prize" in 2022.
Vattani has collaborated with Il Foglio, Libero, Tempi and other Italian newspapers, dealing with cultural, political and historical issues, especially on Asia.
He was a member of the Council of the Union of Italian Diplomats (SNDMAE).
He is married and has two children.