TEDxInnovation U

Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

• Aina Hatano 💻

  The Patient Capitalist

  👩🏻‍🦰 Aina Hatano is a global strategist redefining the architecture of ambition. She has advised on over 150 cross-border transactions worth billions of dollars, shaping deals for governments, institutional investors, and industry leaders across four continents. Yet, from the peak of high-stakes finance, she asked a radical question: What are we building towards? Choosing a different path, she now leads her global firm from Seychelles, where she homeschools her child surrounded by nature. Aina’s work now sits at the critical intersection of patient capital and a hyper-accelerated world. She champions "intergenerational innovation"—the practice of slowing down to think across decades, not just quarters—and demonstrates how strategic patience is the ultimate competitive advantage. Her life and work are a powerful testament to the idea that the future is built not by those who move fastest, but by those who think deepest.

• Carlos Lastres 💻

  The Glitch Alchemist

  👱🏻‍♂️ Carlos Lastres is a Tokyo-based product philosopher who transforms cultural friction into functional beauty. An Apple Design Award winner with a foundation in software engineering and strategy, he operates in the hybrid space where design, growth, and human behavior converge. Carlos champions the mind of the "curious repairperson"—the instinct to open the black box, understand the system, and build resilience from the point of failure. He argues that the generation raised on pirated software and finicky hardware didn't just learn to fix things; they learned the fundamental grammar of innovation. His work and words are a masterclass in building for the real, messy, and beautifully imperfect world.

• Christian I. Peñaloza, PhD 💻

  The Neural Interface Architect: A Cognitive Futurist

  👱🏻‍♂️ Dr. Christian Peñaloza is a cognitive neuroscientist and engineer building fluent dialogues between the human brain and intelligent machines. He specializes in the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Neurotechnology. His pioneering work ranges from intelligent brain control systems that learn from patients with paralysis to neurosensing VR headsets for cognitive enhancement. His visionary contributions have earned him global recognition, including being named an "Innovator of the Year" by MIT Technology Review and a "Distinguished Mexican Citizen" by his home government. Under his leadership, Mirai Innovation was selected to showcase Japan's most advanced health technologies at Expo Osaka 2025.

• Eric Hawkinson, EdD 💻

  Learning Futurist: A Sentinel for Human-Led Learning

  👱🏻‍♂️ Eric Hawkinson is a learning architect who has spent two decades at the crossroads of human cognition and digital immersion. From his base in Kyoto, Japan, he has pioneered a future of learning through augmented reality rallies and mixed reality escape rooms—experiences designed not to replace human interaction, but to deepen it. He has witnessed firsthand how tools intended to enhance agency can subtly automate and diminish it when designed without care. Now, he applies this critical perspective to the most significant disruption in human learning: the rise of agentic AI. As a researcher, Eric tracks alarming trends: a near-doubling of student AI dependency, the replacement of cognitive struggle with instant offloading, and the erosion of collaborative discovery. His work is a crucial intervention, arguing that our choices in the next few years —His message is that the window to choose wisely is closing fast.

• Guo Zihao 💻

  A Next-Generation Bridge-Builder

  👱🏻‍♂️ By day, he's building a startup to bridge Asian markets from Tokyo. By night, he's in the gym practicing Muay Thai or on stage performing. This unusual fusion of discipline, creativity, and venture-building isn't a distraction—it's his blueprint for the future. As a university undergraduate from China studying in Japan, he lives at the intersection of cultures, technologies, and generations. His mission is to democratize the spirit of innovation, proving that the tools to shape the next wave—AI, global networks, cross-cultural insight—are accessible to anyone willing to mix passion with purpose.

• Katie Marple 💻

  Coming soon.

  👩🏻‍🦰 Katie Marple is an architect of understanding. Her blueprint was drafted across continents—from leading social programs for UK Royalty to building partnerships in Central America and Asia, before anchoring in Tokyo. She has learned that the greatest barrier to global progress isn't language, but the unspoken architecture of culture and assumptions. Specializing in Nonviolent Communication (NVC), she designs and implements new frameworks for dialogue. Her work deconstructs conversational conflict and rebuilds it into bridges of collaboration, proving that the most sustainable innovations aren't technological, but human.

• Kenji Yoshizawa

  Circular Fashion Value Creator

  Born in Osaka, this serial entrepreneur has built a career at the intersection of business and social impact. After starting at Shiseido, he founded his first web consulting company before launching a children's clothing sharing platform in 2013. What began as an idea grew into one of Japan's largest secondhand children's fashion services, empowering thousands of parents while keeping clothing in circulation longer. Following a successful exit in 2021, he now advises organizations ranging from local governments to startups on marketing strategy, drawing on a journey that demonstrates that business success and environmental consciousness can go hand in hand.

• Luri Yamamoto

  High School Student

  She is a first-year high school student and the co-founder of First Stop, a peer-led initiative supporting returnee students as they reintegrate into Japanese schools. Born in Brazil and raised across England, Switzerland, and Hungary before returning to Japan, she knows firsthand the disorienting feeling of coming “home” to a culture that no longer feels familiar. Now she’s channeling that experience into action—building a community where no student has to navigate that journey alone.

• Mingyang Xu

  A Pioneer of Cute Computing: The Emotive Robotics Designer

  👱🏻‍♂️ As a researcher, he specializes in "Cute Computing"—a field he pioneers that blends soft robotics, emotional design, and fantasy. His work asks a profound question: Can technology be a gentle, floating companion that shares our space without intrusion? Inspired by the floating sprites of Studio Ghibli and the loyal creatures of Pokémon, he and his team have engineered "Cuddle-Fish," a soft, buoyant robot that drifts like a creature swimming through air. Moving beyond rigid, task-oriented machines, Mingyang's research focuses on creating safe, emotionally resonant presences that can connect people across distance or simply bring a moment of wonder into a room. He is building a future where robots don't just work for us, but feel with us.

• Nick Godwin 💻

  The Confidence Architect

  👱🏻‍♂️ Nick Godwin is an English teacher who has spent 18 years decoding a more universal language: confidence. Based in Tokyo, he has coached thousands in Japan—from CEOs to artists—not merely in grammar, but in the psychology of self-expression. He understands that the real barrier for his students is rarely just English; it's the fear, identity, and cultural mindset wrapped up in using it. A multilingual lifelong learner himself, Nick's method synthesizes practical learning science with philosophy to transform complex challenges into clear steps. By choosing to deliver his TEDx talk in Japanese, he embodies his core belief: effective communication starts by truly meeting someone in their world. His work at Bilingua isn't about creating perfect English speakers, but about empowering individuals to carry their unique voice across any linguistic border.

• Ren Otani

  The Prodigy & The Paradigm

  👱🏻‍♂️ What does a 16-year-old see about education that the rest of us are missing? Ren Otani, a Japanese-Korean innovator from Okinawa, didn't just adapt to the system—he built a new one. In this talk, he argues that true educational reform isn't about more technology, but about more empathy, precision, and time. He explores his vision for a collaborative future where AI handles the data—diagnosing gaps, pacing lessons, freeing up countless hours—so that human mentors can focus on what they do best: igniting curiosity, building resilience, and guiding purpose. Discover how the next generation is not waiting for permission to reshape the world; they are already building tools to unlock every student's unique genius.

• Salina Porteous

  A lifelong global citizen, she found her deepest sense of displacement not in a foreign country, but in her own high school as a Hāfu (ハーフ), who didn't fit the mold. That experience ignited a mission to rebuild her sense of agency from the ground up—a mission that led to her student council presidency. Her perspective is forged at the intersection of global adaptation and personal anxiety, giving her a unique lens on her generation's rush to replace human doubt with algorithmic certainty. She champions the messy, essential work of finding your own way.

• Samson Vowles 💻

  Creative Technologist

  👱🏻‍♂️ Coming soon.

• Seref Mamas 💻

  Silent Conductor: Architect of the Invisible

  👱🏻‍♂️ Seref Mamas has spent 25 years at the bleeding edge of technology, from enterprise software to AI, pursuing one radical goal: to make the computer disappear. He believes our greatest tools have become our biggest distractions, mediating our creativity and focus through a labyrinth of screens and clicks. A lifelong student of how humans truly think and create, Seref envisions a new era of "human-first computing," where technology intuitively understands context and need, working silently in the background. He is not just building software; he is advocating for a fundamental redesign of our relationship with machines—from one of constant interaction to one of seamless support. His work asks a foundational question: What could we achieve if technology stopped being a tool we have to use, and started being a partner that simply understands?

• Simon Cropper 💻

  The Credentials Skeptic

  👱🏻‍♂️ Simon Cropper is a top executive who has spent 30 years in global HR leadership, but his most compelling credential is the one he doesn't have. He began his working life at fifteen, without the traditional academic pedigree. From that unlikely starting point, he rose to lead human resources for a global technology giant in Japan, navigating the credential-obsessed cultures of Asia and Europe. This journey from dropout to director didn't just give him a seat at the table—it gave him a radical lens. Simon's work is built on a conviction that true capability is forged through resilience, judgment, and curiosity, not conferred by a diploma. He now uses his executive platform to challenge the very systems he manages, advocating for organizations that can spot and cultivate the often-overlooked intelligence that exists in every generation.

• Steve Anderson

  The Longevity (Olympic) Coach: Being a Sustainable Performance Architect

  👱🏻‍♂️ Steve Anderson didn't just win an Olympic Gold Medal in beach volleyball; he changed the rulebook on what it takes to get there. As the first African American coach to win gold in volleyball, his historic achievement is matched only by the philosophy behind it. Across five Olympic Games and athletes from 14 countries, he has pioneered a sustainable, human-centered model of excellence that rejects the cult of burnout. Now applying this paradigm with Japan's national team, Anderson proves that the highest peaks are reached not by burning everything as fuel, but by building athletes—and people—who are designed to last. He stands at the intersection of elite experience and intergenerational innovation, showing that the future of winning is holistic, resilient, and fiercely human.

• Sumika Aoshima

  Curator of Living Culture

  👩🏻‍🦰 Sumika Aoshima is a Grade 10 student who navigates the world as a living bridge between cultures. With a Japanese upbringing and Chinese heritage, her life is an active practice in synthesis. She doesn't just study social sciences; she embodies them, translating centuries-old family traditions like zhuanke seal carving and guohua calligraphy into contemporary art honored in a Chinese museum. Her curiosity about how culture shapes community moves beyond theory. She founded FIESTA, a student organization dedicated to cross-cultural exchange, and uses her award-winning voice as a speaker and MC to facilitate dialogue. For Sumika, debate, art, and athletics are not separate hobbies but different languages for exploring the same core question: How do our diverse roots help us build more vibrant, understanding communities together? She offers a window into the integrative, empathetic mindset of the next generation.

• Wakako Arima 💻

  Lion Dancer: The Joyful Heir to Tradition

  👩🏻‍🦰 She didn't choose Japanese dance; it chose her, flowing in her bloodline from her father, master Kanjiro Bando, onto the national stage by age two. Now, as a master renjishi (lion dancer) herself, she carries one of Kabuki's most iconic and powerful forms into the 21st century. But her true artistry lies in a single, radical question that guides every performance, lesson, and project: "Who can this make happy?" For her, tradition is not a museum piece to preserve, but a living energy to share—a way to show love. Whether captivating international audiences with the lion's overwhelming power or guiding over 160 children to their own moment on a professional stage, she is on a mission to prove that culture only survives if it actively creates joy and connection in the present.