Open Data Symposium 2015

Mr. Takashima was born in November 1974.
After working as an announcer of KBC Kyushu Asahi Broadcasting Co., he was elected Mayor of Fukuoka City in 2010 at the age of 36 (the youngest Mayor of this City ever), and reelected in 2014 with the largest number of voters’ support in history. Presently, he is serving his second term of mayoralty. He is a young Japanese statesman continuing actively dispatching his own opinions domestically and to overseas.
He has been a driving force for the start-up of Japan from both sides of movement and policies such as deregulation and creation of a start-up supporting system. He also strongly contributed to the nomination of Fukuoka City in May 2014 as one of Japan’s Strategic Special Districts. He has been also eagerly pursuing the promotion of administrative transparency and public-private collaboration, as well as the utilization of big data & open data in order to revitalize the economy. In 2014, he was nominated as one of the candidates for the 2014 World Mayor Prize, which chose the most outstanding mayor in the world.
He has been actively serving as an important person on the national level, too, such as a member of the Expert Committee of the Cool Japan Strategy Promotion Conference and an adviser to the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Ken Sakamura (PH.D. in Engineering) was born in 1951 in Tokyo.
Presently, he serves as Professor, Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, Graduate School of the University of Tokyo, and leads its Ubiquitous Networking Laboratory.
From 1984 and onward, he has been the curator of an open computer architecture called “TRON”, which is now being widely used in the world as a controller of electric wave noises for mobile phones, household appliances, audio instruments, digital cameras, facsimiles, etc., as an automotive engine controller, and as a controller for rockets and spacecrafts.
Currently, he has been promoting researches to realize ubiquitous networking society in which anyone can use information at any time and from any place. As from January 2002, he also serves as the head of YRP Ubiquitous Networking Laboratory.
In 2015, in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), he was chosen as one of the six persons in the world who greatly contributed to the improvement of people’s life all over the world through innovation, promotion and development of telecommunications.
He is a Fellow and a Golden Core Member of IEEE.
He received the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Award in 2002, the Purple Ribbon Medal in 2006, and the Japan Academy Prize in 2006. He has written a large number of books, including “What is Ubiquitous?”, “Japan, towards a Country that can be Changed”, “Incomplete Era”, “The Red Wine of Mao Ze Dong”, and “If Computer encounters Net Society”.

Mr. Toshiyuki Minami was born on April 6, 1958.
After graduating from Faculty of Law, the University of Tokyo, he joined the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. He assumed the posts of Secretary to the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications in September 1997; Head of International Economic Affairs Office, International Policy Division, International Department, Secretariat to the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications in July 1998; Senior Specialist of Division of Business Policies, and concurrently, Head of Fair Competition Promotion Office, Telecommunications Business Department, Bureau of Telecommunications, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) in January 2001, one after another.
Thereafter, he assumed the post of General Manager, Sales Planning Department, Postal Service Division, Japan Post Public Corporation and then, Director, Terrestrial Broadcasting Division, Information and Communications Policy Bureau, MIC in January 2004; Director of Broadcasting Policy Division, MIC in August 2005; Counselor of Global ICT Strategy Bureau, MIC (in charge of international competitiveness enhancement strategy) in July 2009; Director, General Affairs Division, Minister’s Secretariat, MIC in April 2010; Assistant Vice-Minister, Minister's Secretariat (in charge of Information and Communications Bureau), MIC in September 2012; and the present post since July 2014.

WELMO Inc.
Mr. Yusuke Shikano was born in 1984 in Osaka.
After graduating from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, he joined Works Applications Company (a company listed in the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange), and worked in its Personal Department as a consultant to introduce human resources management ERP to large-scale companies.
In 2013, he established his own company, WELMO, Inc., which develops database of social resources information, with a view to creating an environment where users can choose good health care and welfare services.
He has been working as a consultant for new business support to municipalities and for quantitative analyses of municipal business models, and also as a lecturer for seminars of the Social Welfare Council.
His activities were taken up by NHK’s program “Close-up Gendai” in 2014 as a good example of utilizing open-data domestically.

Ms. Takako Kansai was born in 1979.
After graduating from Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University, she joined Nikkei BP, a publication company (a subsidiary of Nikkei newspaper company) and had an experience of working as a journalist and an editor. She moved to an IT venture company and obtained programming skills through self-education.
In 2008, she joined User Local Company as its first employee and took charge of planning and development of new Web-access analytical tools.
In parallel, she started development of Web services independently, and initiated a household account-book service named “ZAIM” in July 2011.
She converted the service to a corporation in September 2012 and became President of the company. Then, she succeeded in growing it to a scale having the largest number of domestic customers for this type of business.
The design of ZAIM was selected as one of the Good Design Awards - Best 100, in 2013. ZAIM was chosen as a member of the “Society for the Study of Utilization of Information in the Field of Circulation and Distribution of Goods” promoted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Mr. Yoichiro Otani completed a course of Graduate School of a university on the West Coast of the United States. He is specialized in data analyses and database marketing. He is good at establishing sales prices and optimizing customer relationship management systems. <

The following are the awards his company received for its services called “GEEO”, which is a service to predict sales prices of real estates.
- September 29, 2015: Good Design Award
- June 1, 2015: Encouragement Award from the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications
- March 24, 2015: Willfully Commended “Apahau” Award
- November 6, 2014: Highest Award out of the Open Data Division Awards

Mr. Tomihiko Azuma had been involved in a study project named “Next generation information society to be realized by big data & open data” for a long time in a large-scale ICT company (He retired from the company in 2015).
In 2012, he took part in the creation of Open Knowledge Foundation Japan, aiming to promote the dissemination of open data, and thereafter, established Open Corporates Japan to promote data disclosure by companies and organizations.
He is now deploying articles-net-distribution services throughout Japan, using open data excerpted from publicity papers issued by municipalities. The paper issued by Open Corporates Japan is named “My Publicity Paper” (https://mykoho.jp/), which presently carries articles from 102 publicity papers.
In 2015, he established a company called “Publica Co., Ltd.”, which is specialized in businesses utilizing open data.
From February to August 2014, a series of articles by Mr. Kotani entitled “Open Data: Disclosure of Data will Change Society and Company” had been carried in the readers’ site of a monthly magazine, Nikkei Big Data.
From 2013 and onward, he has been reporting a number of examples of big data & open data utilization in “Nikkei Big Data Soran (Compendium)”.
His recently published books include “People who fight based on Data x Ideas” (published in October 2014 through Nikkei BP).

Dr. Tetsuyoshi Shiota joined Fujitsu Laboratories, Ltd. right after completing the Master’s Course of Nagoya University.
He received his Ph.D for his studies of superconducting circuit.
After conducting researches on low-electricity consuming circuit technologies, he was involved in the supporting activities for customers’ business renovation.
He was also engaged in field innovation activities.
Currently, he is involved in studies on regional analysis technologies.

After working as an IT engineer, Mr. Haruyuki Seki established a company named “Georepubpic Japan” in 2009.
He established Code for Japan in 2013.
He has been serving as a member of the “Conference for the Promotion of Regional Revitalization through IT Utilization” organized by the IT Comprehensive Strategy Headquarters.

Ken Kawashima is in the present position since 2015, after working for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Ministry of People’s Housing in Indonesia, City of Kita-Kyushu, the World Bank, and as Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Saga Prefectural Government, and President of Institute for Public Sector Innovation.
At the time of working as CIO of Saga Prefecture, he made the budgetary information of the Prefecture open to the public, and led an initiative called “Collaboration Test” to promote collaboration between the public and private sectors. Based on the result of the initiative, the Prefecture received the United Nations Public Service Award for 2010, for the first time for Japan.
His expertise lies in the creation of social innovation utilizing public data.
He has been serving as a member of “Working Level Meeting on G-Government Open Data” of the “IT Comprehensive Strategy Headquarters” under the Cabinet Secretariat since 2012, as a member of the “Utilization & Dissemination Committee” of the “Vitalizing Local Economy Organization by Open Data & Big Data” (VLED) since 2014, and also assumed posts of a number of public officers including the Special Councilor of Osaka City.
In addition, he has been supporting the establishment of open data policies and data-computerization promotion planning of various municipalities throughout Japan, as an advisor.
He received his Master’s degree on Urban Planning from MIT and Doctor’s degree on Social Engineering from the University of Tsukuba.

Ms. Machi Takahashi was born in Osaka, and graduated from Carleton College, USA (Department of Art)
1996 Joined JustSystems Corporation
1999 Worked for “Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International” located in Kyoto Prefecture (as a research engineer, etc.)
2006 Established ATR-Promotion Museum Media Operations Department
2007 Became President of ATR-Robotics (concurrent post)
2012 Changed the name of ATR-Robotics to ATR Creative
2014 Assumed the post of Chief Representative of Open Data Institute Osaka (ODI Osaka) (concurrent post)

Awards, etc.
2012 Received Good Design Award (Image Finder)
2014 Received Kinki-Area Information & Telecommunication Committee Chairman’s Award, on the Commemoration Day for Radio Waves.
2014 Received Good Design Award (Nara-Heijokyo History Promenade)
2014 Won the Pitch Contest at “Tsukkomare Pitch 2014 in Tokyo”

Ms. Takahashi created an inter-company venture company named “ATR Creative” within “Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International”, which is a laboratory located in Kansai Science City, and has been serving as President of the Company since 2007.

ATR Creative started its business activities with development of a guidance system for museums, and has been engaged in display-related ICT businesses for various museums such as the National Museum of Ethnology and the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, and since around 2010, released about 50 different pictorial maps based on ICT thus far, including “Promenade with a Map in Kyoto” (Kyoto Chizu-burari), using the “promenade-with-map application software” developed by ATR Creative.

Ms. Takahashi has been promoting international collaboration for open data as the chief representative of “ODI Osaka”, which is a branch office of British “Open Data Institute”, and also involved in the planning and operation of various events at Osaka Innovation Hub, as well as in various events of the open data community in the Kansai Region.

1994 Completed the doctoral course of School of Science, the University of Tokyo, and obtained a Doctorate in Science
1994 ~ 1996 Assistant Professor, School of Science, the University of Tokyo
1996 ~ 1999 Associate Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, the University of Tokyo
1999 ~ 2006 Associate Professor, Information Technology Center, the University of Tokyo
Since March Deputy Director-General of YRP Ubiquitous Networking Laboratory (In parallel with other posts)
April 2006 Associate Professor, Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, Graduate School of the University of Tokyo
April 2007 Associate Professor, Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, Graduate School of the University of Tokyo (* The name of the title in Japanese was changed, but they are the same thing in English.)
September 2009 Professor, Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies,Graduate School of the University of Tokyo

Prof. Koshizuka’s specialty field is “Computer Science”. Among others, he has been deeply engaged in studies on Ubiquitous Computing, IoT (Internet of Things), Linked Open Data, Operating System, Computer Network, and Human Computer Interface.
Lately, he is interested in the information system as a basis for society. Specifically, he has been strongly involved in activities for research, development and dissemination of ubiquitous ID architecture with universally unique identifier “ucode” as the core, and also undertaking studies of location information system, food and product traceability, smart building, and operational advancement of social infrastructure using ICT.
He has been also studying real-time kernel (T-Kernel) to install as the underlying technology to form ubiquitousness, and creating eTRON architecture to realize secure IoT environment.
Presently, he assumes a number of posts concurrently, including, Professor, Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, Graduate School of the University of Tokyo; Deputy Director-General of YRP Ubiquitous Networking Laboratory: Member of the Association of Open Data for Public Transportation; Director of the “Utilization & Dissemination Committee of the Vitalizing Local Economy Organization by Open Data & Big Data; Member of the Steering Committee of the IoT Promotion Consortium; Member of the Smart IoT Promotion Forum.
He has also assumed a post in various working groups and committees of the National Government successively, such as Member of Working Level Meeting on G-Government Open Data of the IT Comprehensive Strategy Headquarters under the Cabinet Secretariat (as Head of Data Release Support Working Group); Member of Information and Communications Working Group and Member of IoT Policy Working Group of the Information and Communications Council of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications; Member of the Social Infrastructure Management Committee and as a member of Technology Working Group of the Transportation Policy Council of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Mr. Iwao Kobayashi was born in 1977 in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Presently, he works concurrently as President of Scholex Co., Ltd., Deputy Director-General of Linked Open Data Initiative (a specified nonprofit corporation), Member of Vitalizing Local Economy Organization by Open Data & Big Data (VLED) (a general incorporated association), and also as an information architect and designer.

As a Web-site designer, he has participated in a number of Web-site creation projects of large-scale companies and local governments.
He also conducts activities as an information architect, with regional information and Web as his working themes.
He has participated in a number of information-related planning and designing projects of Yokohama City, such as the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the opening of Yokohama Port “Y150 event” and a citizen-participating urban branding project “Imagine Yokohama”. Presently, he is supporting open data policies of the national government, municipalities, as well as public organizations through such activities as Linked Open Data Initiative (a specified nonprofit corporation), Yokohama LOD Project, LOD Challenge, and Code for YOKOHAMA.

- Commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Opening of Yokohama Port “Y150 event” information Web site (2009)
- Citizen-participating Urban Branding Project “Imagine Yokohama” Web site (2009)
- Investigation on Open Data, entrusted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (FY2012 and FY2013)
- Municipality Administration Open Data Distribution Collaboration Platform Demonstration Project, entrusted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (FY2013)
- Yokohama Art LOD Project (2009 ~ )
- Information-technology Promotion Agency’s Infrastructure for Multi-layer Interoperability Tool Project (FY2014)

Mr. Tomihiko Azuma had been involved in a study project named “Next generation information society to be realized by big data & open data” for a long time in a large-scale ICT company (He retired from the company in 2015).
In 2012, he took part in the creation of Open Knowledge Foundation Japan, aiming to promote the dissemination of open data, and thereafter, established Open Corporates Japan to promote data disclosure by companies and organizations.
He is now deploying articles-net-distribution services throughout Japan, using open data excerpted from publicity papers issued by municipalities. The paper issued by Open Corporates Japan is named “My Publicity Paper” (https://mykoho.jp/), which presently carries articles from 102 publicity papers.
In 2015, he established a company called “Publica Co., Ltd.”, which is specialized in businesses utilizing open data.
From February to August 2014, a series of articles by Mr. Kotani entitled “Open Data: Disclosure of Data will Change Society and Company” had been carried in the readers’ site of a monthly magazine, Nikkei Big Data.
From 2013 and onward, he has been reporting a number of examples of big data & open data utilization in “Nikkei Big Data Soran (Compendium)”.
His recently published books include “People who fight based on Data x Ideas” (published in October 2014 through Nikkei BP).

1984 Joined Fujitsu after completing master course at Graduate School of Engineering (Information Engineering), Kyoto University, and engaged in the development of architecture for general-purpose large computers in the Department of Operations
1987 Moved to Kyushu University and remains in the present post since 2000
2004 ~ 2008 Head of Research Institute for Information Technology, Kyushu University
2007 Created Information Headquarters for Kyushu University and assumed its first Managing Director 2008 Deputy Director-General, Institute of Systems, Information Technologies and Nanotechnologies (a public interest incorporated foundation) (concurrent post)
2013 Created BigData & OpenData Initiative in Kyushu (BODIK) and became its first Chief Representative

Mr. Fumihiro Murakami was born in 1960 in Aichi Prefecture.
He graduated from School of Engineering (Department of Architecture), Nagoya University (He is a qualified architect of the first class.)
He joined Mitsubishi Research Institute in 1988, after working for Regional Designing Research Institute, and Advanced System Technology (AST), Inc.
He served as a member of governmental W/Gs and Committees such as G-Government Working Group, New Strategy Promotion Expert Examination Committee, the IT Comprehensive Strategy Headquarters; G-Government Open Data Working Level Meeting; Utilization Promotion Working Group.
His specialty fields are electronic administration, community informatics, open data, and universal design.