2023 US-Japan Healthcare Connection: Tokyo Executive Symposium was held (9/21)

The 2023 US-Japan Healthcare Connection: Tokyo Executive Symposium was held on Thursday 21 September 2023 at Nihonbashi Life Science HUB by invitation only (Organized by Japan Society of Northern California, co-organized by LINK-J and supported by the U.S. Commercial Service, U.S. Embassy, Tokyo).

The symposium this year was themed "The Future of AI and Robotics in Healthcare", having keynote presentations by Dr.Khizer Khaderi and Dr.Frank Litvack from U.S., who are the specialists in this field. In addition, we had short presentations from 11 U.S. startup companies. We had more than 100 guests from U.S. and Japan, and they enjoyed an in-person networking.
The Japan Society of Northern California (JSNC) is a U.S. private non-profit organization (NPO) whose mission is to promote mutual understanding and friendship between the U.S. and Japan.
They integrated US-Japan Medtech Frontiers (USJMF), which had conducted conferences to introduce U.S. medical device start-ups to Japanese market since 2014, and launched the US-Japan Healthcare Connection in January 2022. The program serves as a bridge between the U.S. and Japan, including Silicon Valley's innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, which is increasingly important for a healthcare sector in both countries. The U.S. Commercial Service, U.S. Embassy, Tokyo provides diverse support for promoting and developing exports of U.S. products and services to Japan and for direct investments to the U.S.

Venue

Opening Remarks

Akihiko Soyama, President & CEO, LINK-J

Steve Pollock, President, Japan Society of Northern California

Alan Turley, Minister-Counselor for Commercial Affairs, U.S. Embassy Tokyo

Dr. Fumiaki Ikeno, MD, Stanford University School of Medicine

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION
Dr. Khizer Khaderi, Founder, Director Stanford Human Perception Lab, Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI

Dr. Frank Litvak, Founder, Wilhareka Partners, Chairman, V Wave Therapeutics

PANEL DISCUSSION

The panel discussion was held with the theme of "Driving Healthcare Innovation Through US-Japan Partnerships," and there was a lively discussion about its importance, challenges, and opportunities of cooperation between Japan and the United States in the healthcare field.

Moderator：
Glenn Snyder, Principal, Global Medtech Practice Leader, Deloitte Consulting
Panelists：
Tom Kluz, Managing Director, Niterra Ventures
Seth Flaum, Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Masakazu Yagi, Endowed Course Associate Professor, Div. of Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University
Yuki Sugano, Senior Director, Corporate Strategy and Marketing, Stryker Japan K.K

EARLY STAGE AND PRIVATE COMPANY PRESENTATIONS

Following the keynote speech and panel discussion, presentations were made by American companies with innovative medical devices and promising technologies in fields that are expected to grow in the future.

＜Companies＞
Alerje
Amaros
Digital Diagnostics
Dyania Health
Ficor Health
LarmorBio
Level 42 AI
Mind Machine
PantridgeDTell Corporations
Radux Devices, LLC
ViOptix Inc.

Closing Remarks
Takahide Akiyama, Vice Board Chair, Japan Society of Northern California