Activity Report
ICF Interim Meeting (Oct. 18)
The ICF Interim Meeting was held on October 18. the ICF Secretariat made a summary of the activities conducted during the first half of the 2024 and presented the activity plan for the second half. It also provided a presentation titled “New Business Formation and Market Creation for Societal-problem-solving Business.” Additionally, representatives from several ICF members, including With The World Inc., Kyoto City Government, Kobe City Government, Social X Inc., and Machimori Inc., shared their cases of public-private partnership aimed at resolving societal issues.
The meeting report and video are available below:
Report: https://icf.mri.co.jp/activities/activities-20085/
Recorded Video: https://icf.mri.co.jp/note/icf2024_1018/ (Japanese only)
*Please refrain from sharing the password with people outside your organization.
First Session of “ICF Online Roundtable” (Nov. 8)
The first ICF Online Roundtable was held with the theme of “Regional Revitalization.” Representatives from Gate Inc., which focuses on maximizing the potential of local resources of fishing villages, and Machimori Inc., which promotes the regional revitalization of Atami, one of Japan’s renowned but once-declining hot spring towns, presented their cases on sustainability and replicability of their regional initiatives. Please check the <Upcoming Activities> section below for information on the next roundtable discussion.
Entrepreneurial Story of Impactful ICF Members #45: endophyte Inc.
The new article covers endophyte Inc.
https://icf.mri.co.jp/information_en/information_en-20263/
You can find the list of all articles here (English version available for 42 articles).
https://icf.mri.co.jp/article/?type=information_en&cate=story
Upcoming Activities
“2nd ICF Online Roundtable Discussion – Impact Assessment” (Nov. 27 and Dec. 11)
We will hold an online panel discussion on business impact assessment, which will be divided into two sessions: introduction and application. Both sessions will be conducted in Japanese only. The event information is as follows:
【Session 1: Introduction】
Time: November 27, 12:00-13:00 JST
Presenter: Takashi Konno, president of Token Express Co., Ltd.
Topic: explanation of concept of societal impact and case studies of impact assessment.
【Session 2: Application】
Time: December 11, 12:00-13:00 JST
Presenters: Takashi Konno, president of Token Express Co., Ltd.
Representative from NTT Data Japan Corporation
Topic: exploration of the applicability of impact assessment methods, with a focus on business co-creation activities.
Please refer to more details at https://icf.mri.co.jp/activities/activities-20200/
and registration through https://mri.smartseminar.jp/public/application/add/8729 (in Japanese only)
Report of COP29 & Carbon Credit Deep-Dive Workshop #3 (Nov. 29)
With more than 180 applicants, including overseas business leaders and investors, from the last session, we are excite to invite you to the third session of Carbon Credit Deep-Dive Workshop!
Time: November 29, 15:00-18:00 JST
Location: hybrid (MRI headquarters and online)
Topic: Researcher from MRI will present on the results of 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) held from November 11 to 22 in Baku, Azerbaijan. In addition, the event will include a panel discussion inviting MRI researchers and other leading experts to discuss the creation of carbon credit ecosystem.
More details and access to registration are be found through
https://icf.mri.co.jp/activities/activities-20247/ (Japanese only)
Public Affairs Workshop (Dec. 2024-Mar, 2025)
Following the former two seminars related to public affairs (PA), we will be hosting a workshop for those interested in PA activities as a strategic corporate tool to create new businesses and markets that contribute to solving societal problems.
More details can be found at https://icf.mri.co.jp/activities/activities-20268/ (Japanese only)
SFP×Workshop on Examining Future Societal Issues (Dec. 12)
Recently, the rapid evolution of generative AI and gene therapy also brings unforeseen social issues such as ‘dark patterns’ and new forms of cyberterrorism. ICF will hold a workshop to discuss these issues through the lens of science fiction prototyping (SFP).
Time: December 12, 15:30-17:45 JST
Location: MRI headquarters 4F
Topic: The workshop will feature research conducted by Prof. Osawa Hirotaka and his laboratory, which is at the forefront of SFP research in Japan.
Event details can be found at https://icf.mri.co.jp/activities/activities-20296/ (Japanese only)
The second ideathon on human augmentation and virtual economy (Dec.19)
Time: December 19, 15:00-17:30 JST
Event details can be found at https://icf.mri.co.jp/activities/activities-20341/ (Japanese only)
《Co-creation Activities》
Virtual evacuation drills with GeoCreates Inc. (Nov. 28)
On November 28, we plan to conduct a virtual fire evacuation drill at MRI headquarters building with cooperation of Geocreates Inc., which received Excellence Award of BAP 2023 and NIKKEN SEKKEI LTD.
Outreach educational program with Wrtn Technologies Japan (Nov. 26)
On November 26, MRI, along with Wrtn Technologies Japan, which received Tech Award of BAP 2023, plans to provide on-site classes in a high school in Yamagata Prefecture to discuss ideas for resolving societal issues using AI assistant applications.
*This event is based on participation of MRI Group in Japan’s Cabinet Office-led educational project, ‘(Osaka/Kansai) EXPO School Caravan,’ to provide on-site classes to students around the country.
For more details, please refer to the following news release:
https://www.mri.co.jp/news/press/20241028.html (Japanese only)
Postponement of MRI DEMO DAY 2025
The MRI DEMO DAY 2025, initially scheduled for January 15, 2025, will be postponed. The next scheduled date will be announced after fall 2025.
ICF New Members
From October 11 to November 14, one company/organization joined ICF.
《Current list of ICF members》
https://icf.mri.co.jp/member/ (Japanese only)