Activity Report
“Public Affairs Guidebook (Basic Edition)” Released
In the previous fiscal year, ICF focused on Public Affairs (PA) as part of its social implementation research and held related seminars and workshops. We have compiled the results of these activities into the “Public Affairs Guidebook (Basic Edition)” and made it available exclusively to ICF members.
Please refer to more details at
https://icf.mri.co.jp/activities/activities-23822/ (in Japanese)
On July 17, ICF hosted a seminar that provided an in-depth analysis of the Basic Policy on Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform 2025, released in June, as a case study to highlight key national policy trends essential for practicing PA activities.
The event report and archived video are available below:
Report:
https://icf.mri.co.jp/activities/activities-23916/ (in Japanese)
Archived Video (member-only website):
https://icf.mri.co.jp/limited/research/research-23907/ (in Japanese)
Ninth session of ICF Online Discussion: Exploring the Commercialization of Healthcare (July 29)
In recent years, a growing number of companies from diverse industries have entered the healthcare market. The event examined case studies from the Mitsubishi Research Institute and featured a special talk by Tatsuro Amano and Tomoya Okado, President of the Healthcare Innovation Association, who shared insights on emerging industry trends and new business development in the healthcare sector.
Although the market is substantial in size, at 77 trillion yen, and involves a wide range of stakeholders, business opportunities are emerging in areas such as preventive and dementia care, mental health support, and preconception care.
At the same time, regulatory compliance under the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act and the need to build robust evidence were also identified as significant challenges.
Details of the event report and the archived video (members only) will be made available on the ICF website at a later date.
Robotics Study Group #2: A Future Society Envisioned by Technology Pioneers (July 30 and 31)
The ICF Robotics Study Group held its second event over two days, on July 30-31, showcasing a future society as envisioned by university-based startups and other innovators.
The first day of the event focused on agriculture. Hiroaki Kuwahara from Toyohashi City in Aichi Prefecture and Teruyuki Kobayashi from Kisui Co. Ltd. discussed the potential of robotics as a solution to labor shortages in the agricultural sector.
The second day focused on facility management. Yoshiyasu Ando from iROBOTICS, Inc. and Shuichi Ishida from TriOrb Inc. presented on the use of robots in facility management, including cleaning and inspection applications.
The event highlighted not only the appeal of groundbreaking robots using advanced technologies developed by universities, but also that robots are effective tools to resolve social and customer issues. To identify such issues, it is important to have sustained interactions with on-site stakeholders over the mid to long term.
The event report and archived video are available below:
Report (Day1):
https://icf.mri.co.jp/activities/activities-24132/ (in Japanese)
Archived Video (member-only website):
https://icf.mri.co.jp/limited/field/field-24144/ (in Japanese)
Report (Day2):
https://icf.mri.co.jp/activities/activities-24137/ (in Japanese)
Archived Video (member-only website):
https://icf.mri.co.jp/limited/field/field-24152/ (in Japanese)
Upcoming Activities
Inaugural General Meeting of the Japan CDR Coalition (September 11)
Mitsubishi Research Institute and Mitsubishi Corporation announced their plans to launch the Japan CDR Coalition. They look to help accelerate efforts to promote and scale up carbon dioxide removal (CDR), which targets airborne CO2. An inaugural general meeting is scheduled for a formal launch on September 11.
Some parts of the program, such as panel discussions, will be available online to non-members of the Japan CDR Coalition as well. Those who are interested are encouraged to attend.
Details on the program and the registration form will be posted on the Japan CDR Coalition website and ICF website as soon as they are available. We look forward to your participation!
News release:
https://www.mri.co.jp/en/news/20250806.html
Japan CDR Coalition Website:
https://icf.mri.co.jp/j-cdr/ (in Japanese)
ICF Autumn Forum 2025 (September 17)
The ICF Autumn Forum 2025 will be held on September 17 at the Mitsubishi Research Institute headquarters and online. In addition to reports on societal issue research and sharing the activity plans for the second half of the year, pitches will be conducted by members developing solutions to societal issues based on technological seeds, as well as by a Taiwanese startup community support organization.
For those attending in person, there will also be a networking session at the end of the event to deepen interactions among participants.
Please refer to more details at
https://icf.mri.co.jp/activities/activities-24007 (in Japanese)
Registration:
https://mri.smartseminar.jp/public/application/add/9621 (in Japanese)
Robotics Study Group #3 (September 24)
On September 24, ICF will hold a tour event at the Shingo Maeda Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Science Tokyo, which is engaged in cutting-edge research on robotics.
In addition, representatives of ICF member companies from the heavy industry sector and researchers from Mitsubishi Research Institute will deliver presentations to explore the social implementation of robot technology and the prospect of resolving social issues from both industry and academia perspectives.
Details of the event will be announced later.
New ICF Members
From July 11 to August 7, 6 companies/organizations joined ICF.
《Current list of ICF members》
https://icf.mri.co.jp/member/ (in Japanese)