Keynote Speech “Illuminating the Future of People and the Planet through Engineering — A 120-Year-Old Pioneer Driving the Knowledge Manufacturing.”
12:00
Booth time / Lunch break
13:00
Session 1 "From Talent Theory to Design Theory - What is the organization that keeps generating business?"
14:00
Booth Time
15:00
Session 2 “Top management's commitment to branding will accelerate growth - How to achieve behavioral change and organizational transformation of employees”
16:00
Booth Time
17:00
Session 3 “Creating a Second Sun in Japan — The Expertise of SMEs Powering the World’s First Practical Fusion Energy.”
If the knowledge and technologies of small and midsize companies across Japan could be combined beyond the boundaries of their fields and industries, what kind of innovation would emerge from this? What kind of future can be created if the strengths of many companies can be combined to solve global issues, rather than for their own profit? The Knowledge Manufacturing Conference is a new initiative of Leave a Nest to realize these visions and, as a result, to create a situation in which Japan will once again lead the world.
Date and Time
Friday, March 27, 2026, 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Location
Tokyo Metropolitan Industrial Trade Center Hamamatsucho Building 5F Exhibition Room Tokyo Port City Takeshiba, 1-7-1 Kaigan, Minato-ku, TokyoACCESS
In contrast to Japan’s declining birthrate and aging population, the global population continues to grow rapidly, and markets are expanding steadily. At the same time, however, the world faces a mounting array of challenges. Conventional industrial structures that have overlooked environmental impact are already reaching their limits, and a new industrial paradigm that harmonizes humanity and the planet is urgently needed.
To address this crisis, Leave a Nest advocates “Knowledge Manufacturing.” By combining knowledge with knowledge, we create new knowledge—and leverage it to solve previously unsolved challenges. Now is the time for all Japanese companies to shift toward this new model of knowledge manufacturing.
As a manufacturing powerhouse, Japan possesses abundant knowledge, highly refined technologies, and a strong commitment to solving complex problems. By bringing together these fundamental strengths, we can take a decisive step into a new era of knowledge manufacturing.
The Knowledge Manufacturing Conference is the platform to make this vision a reality.
What will it take for small and midsize companies to create new concepts by 2050? The breakthrough will come through collaboration with ventures that possess cutting-edge technology. We need to incorporate new technologies while making the most of the strengths that we have cultivated over the years. Or, we can work together to create new technologies that will change the world. And through this process, we will build a new value chain. Knowledge Manufacturing creates a place where small and midsize companies from all over the country and ventures with cutting-edge technologies can meet and create new opportunities for new things.
Progressive small and midsize companies
Case study sharing of
There are already many small and midsize companies throughout Japan that are working with venture companies as a mid- to long-term strategy and achieving success. In the program of keynote speeches and roundtable discussions at the Knowledge Manufacturing Conference, many leading companies with such advanced examples will take the stage and speak frankly about their know-how. Here you will find great hints for taking a new step forward.
With different fields and industries
Mechanisms to accelerate exchanges
The companies that gather at the Knowledge Manufacturing Conference are all companies that are trying to carve out a future for themselves. We invite you to exhibit your company's strengths and passions at your booth in order to gather colleagues who can work together to tackle big challenges, transcending the barriers of industry and sector. To further accelerate this exchange, we are implementing the following three mechanisms at the conference: "Knowing (Corporate Yearbook)," "Communicating (Short Pitch)," and "Connecting (Bridge Communication by RIVANES).
Lighting up the future of people and the earth with the power of engineering - Knowledge manufacturing by a 120 year old venture company
Yamada Shokai Corporation has been involved in gas construction since gas was first introduced in the Tokai area, and has supported the local infrastructure for nearly 120 years since then. Yamada Shokai Holding, with Yamada Shokai as the core company of the group, is creating businesses in collaboration with deep-tech ventures in Japan and overseas in order to solve issues such as the shortage of labor and aging infrastructure. By combining the knowledge accumulated by the group over many years with the knowledge possessed by the ventures, we are creating new knowledge and taking on the challenge of improving the resilience of people, society, and the earth. In his speech, President Yamada will share his thoughts and history of the knowledge manufacturing practice undertaken by the long-established venture.
＜登壇者プロフィール＞
Born in October 1979. Graduated from the Department of Chemical Systems Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo. He holds a master's degree in engineering. He has been interested in energy issues since he was a child and studied fuel cells and combustion as a student, and joined Yamada Shokai Co. He aims to improve resilience in the four areas of energy, infrastructure, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, and housing and environment through the power of engineering.
Yamada Shokai Holding Co. President and Representative DirectorMr. Toyohisa Yamada
Schedule
Hours.
Contents
speaker
10:00
オープニングトーク
10:05
Knowledge Manufacturing Award Challenge
10:15
Short Pitches by Exhibiting Companies
Short 90-second pitches will be given by about 30 exhibiting companies. The purpose of this event is to promote new exchanges during the subsequent booth time by providing a quick exposure to the attractiveness and characteristics of exhibiting companies that cannot be seen in the yearbook.
Lighting up the future of people and the earth with the power of engineering - Knowledge manufacturing by a 120 year old venture company
Yamada Shokai Corporation has been involved in gas construction since gas was first introduced in the Tokai area, and has supported the local infrastructure for nearly 120 years since then. Yamada Shokai Holding, with Yamada Shokai as the core company of the group, is creating businesses in collaboration with deep-tech ventures in Japan and overseas in order to solve issues such as the shortage of labor and aging infrastructure. By combining the knowledge accumulated by the group over many years with the knowledge possessed by the ventures, we are creating new knowledge and taking on the challenge of improving the resilience of people, society, and the earth. In his speech, President Yamada will share his thoughts and history of the knowledge manufacturing practice undertaken by the long-established venture.
Mr. Toyohisa Yamada(President and Representative Director, Yamada Shokai Holding Co.)
12:00
Booth time / Lunch break
Visit exhibitors' booths and combine their "knowledge" through dialogue. RIVANES communicators will act as a bridge.
13:00
Session 1
From Talent Theory to Design Theory - What is the organization that keeps generating business?
In recent years, an increasing number of companies are launching new businesses. However, in order to continuously create new businesses, it is important to have a "testable structure" within the organization, rather than just a "call to action. How to develop human resources who can take on challenges, how to design an organization that can learn from failures, and how to balance existing and new businesses? In this session, we will discuss the mechanisms to gather knowledge beyond organizational boundaries, verify hypotheses, and move closer to implementation, based on practical examples of human resource ecosystem development from large companies, second startups of regional companies, and commercialization of deep tech. Together, let's explore the turning point for Japanese companies where businesses continue to be born.
Mr. Masato Ohtsubo(President and Representative Director, YUKI Holdings Inc.)
Mr. Shintaro Nishikawa(Senior Director, D-LAB, Japan Tobacco Inc.)
Mr. Daiki Kumamoto(Director & CEO, UntroD Capital Asia Pte Ltd.)
Yukihiro Maru (Moderator)(Founder and Group CEO, Leave a Nest Co., Ltd.)
14:00
Booth Time
Visit exhibitors' booths and combine their "knowledge" through dialogue. RIVANES communicators will act as a bridge.
15:00
Session 2
Top management's commitment to branding will accelerate growth - How to achieve behavioral change and organizational transformation of employees
To shift the company toward the future, it is necessary to promote behavioral change among employees and transform the organization. The first step in this process is for the top management to personally envision a vision. This will create "comrades" both inside and outside the company, and the company's "character" (=brand) will be reconstructed and realized as a new business. In this session, we will discuss "Branding for a New Era" from the two perspectives of a top executive who has led organizational transformation as a leader, and an expert who has been involved in numerous corporate branding projects as an external partner.
Isao Fujimaki(COO and CBO, Executive Officer, Envision Inc.)
Mr. Shojiro Kobashi(President and Representative Director, KOBASHI HOLDINGS Co.)
Mr. Akiyoshi Hiraoka(Advisor, BIPROGY Corporation)
Hitoyuki Kuramoto (Moderator)(Director of Libanesnomes, Inc.)
16:00
Booth Time
Visit exhibitors' booths and combine their "knowledge" through dialogue. RIVANES communicators will act as a bridge.
17:00
Session 3
Creating a Second Sun in Japan — The Expertise of SMEs Powering the World’s First Practical Fusion Energy.
Fusion energy is a grand challenge to create the ultimate energy source for mankind by reproducing the sun on earth, which is CO2-free, resource depletion-free, and runaway free. To realize this goal, in addition to cutting-edge theory and research and development, the advanced, practical knowledge and mobility of small and medium-sized enterprises that have been accumulated in various parts of Japan are indispensable. In this session, starting with Helical Fusion, a venture company promoting the practical application of fusion power generation, we will discuss how knowledge-centered companies that have supported manufacturing in Japan can come together and combine their knowledge across fields and industries. By bringing together knowledge to meet unprecedented challenges that cannot be met by individual companies, and by uniting them as a plane through a process of trial and error, we will move closer from research to social implementation. Through this process, we will look at how knowledge circulates and transforms into a force that moves industry and society.
The Knowledge Manufacturing Award is a recognition program that honors co-creation projects generated through the Knowledge Manufacturing Conference. It recognizes initiatives in which companies, researchers, and regional stakeholders combine technologies and knowledge to address unresolved social challenges and create new value.
The program aims to visualize innovation driven by the integration of knowledge and to present a model for the transformation toward a knowledge manufacturing industry. This year, multiple advanced collaborative initiatives will be selected and awarded once again.
◆The structure of this book Introduction / In the Age of Countercurrents, From Competition to Symbiosis / The "Bridge Communicator," a New Concept in Sales / The Way Researchers Think: The Seeds of Innovation / Every Deep Issue Can Become a Business / 4D Thinking to Stay Ahead of the Times / Japanese Manufacturing Will Change the World Again / Tap the "Individual" in Your Organization to Create Lasting Power / Conclusion
![Changing the World with Materials - The Great Challenge of a Long-established Spinning Company - [Knowledge Manufacturing Industry Conference 2025 Digest].](https://km.lne.st/wp-content/uploads/sites/81/2025/02/9ed888a230c42e7edb35ba22dc4e06fd.png)
![New era of small and medium-sized companies and ventures will change Japan and the world [[Knowledge Manufacturing Conference 2025 Session Digest].](https://km.lne.st/wp-content/uploads/sites/81/2025/03/openingsession2-1024x682.png)
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