Past TEDx event

TEDxKumamoto

Untouched Curiosity

Took placeOctober 5, 2025
LocationKumamoto, Kumamoto, Japan
FormatStandard
With AI, we can instantly find the answers we seek. If we want to access information, all it takes is a smartphone. We quickly understand things—or at least feel like we do. Our knowledge continues to grow, but what truly drives us to want to know more, to keep learning, is something we believe can be described as “curiosity”—a kind of inner energy or passion. For example, Kumamoto’s tap water is sourced 100% from groundwater. Turn on the faucet, and out comes mineral water. This is a rare phenomenon, even on a global scale. But do you know who is protecting this groundwater to keep it safe? It’s such a part of everyday life that we rarely think about it, even when turning on the tap. Yet when asked, we might suddenly wonder, “Wait, who is actually protecting it?” This is the essence of our theme: Untouched Curiosity—curiosity that hasn’t yet been explored or awakened. Around you, beyond just water, there are countless untouched curiosities waiting to be discovered. Look down—perhaps even at your feet. At TEDxKumamoto 2025, we hope to create a space where people can notice and connect with these untouched curiosities. We believe this will be the first step toward wanting to learn more and understand Kumamoto more deeply. ｰｰｰ 意味：手付かずの好奇心、触れられていない好奇心 AIで調べると瞬時に知りたいことが出てきます。 何か情報にアクセスしたい、と思えば、スマホ一つで簡単に出来てしまいます。 何でもすぐに理解し、分かった気になります。 知識の量は増えていきますが、私たちはもっと知りたい、学びたい、と 思わせてくれる「熱量」のようなものは「好奇心」であると考えています。 例えば、熊本の水道水は100%地下水でまかなわれています。 蛇口をひねればミネラルウォーターが出てくる。 そんな都市は世界中見ても稀有なことです。 では、この地下水を安全に守っているのは、「誰」なのかご存知でしょうか。 蛇口をひねる瞬間でも、日常すぎて考えることはほとんどないと思いますが、 こうして問われた時に、「あれ、誰が守ってくれてるんだろう？」と 興味が湧いてきます。 これが今回のテーマである「手付かずの好奇心、 触れられていない好奇心」ということで、Untouched Curiosityとしました。 あなたの周りに、こうして水以外にもたくさんの手付かずの好奇心があると思います。 ほら、足元にもありませんか。 TEDxKumamoto 2025では、Untouched Curiosity に 気付く場にしていきたいと考えています。 それが熊本のことをもっと知りたい、学びたいと思う一歩になると願っています。

Speakers

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

  • Atsushi KURASAKO

    July 2025: Graduated from Oita Uenogaoka High School, university applicant /2024–2025: Rotary Youth Exchange: Turin, Italy

    He has accumulated diverse experiences such as classical ballet, musical theater, piano, track and field, and literary club activities for years. He has been learning vocal music since he was 8 and came in third in the national competition. He sang the national anthems alone in public at the Oita Prefecture Koshien preliminary match. Last year, he studied abroad in Italy as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student. He continues to work hard daily to become a singer.

  • Junichi SUMI

    Principal Deputy Director for Resource Security, Economic Security Division, Economic Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan

    “A Persian-speaking diplomat, made in Okinoshima, from the Land of Eight Million Gods.” Born in Omori, Iwami Ginzan World Heritage site, raised in Izumo, Shimane, and one of Shimane Prefecture’s Goodwill Ambassadors. Joined Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1998. During overseas training, he mastered Persian as a diplomatic specialty and earned a Master's degree in Near & Middle Eastern Studies from SOAS, University of London. His postings have included Tokyo, Tehran (twice), Kabul, Baghdad, New York (Permanent Mission to the UN),and Seattle as Deputy Consul General. In Seattle, he gained recognition as an “unconventional diplomat,” taking the stage at Ignite,a Seattle-born TED-style speaking event, singing at Japan festivals, and hosting large-scale monthly parties. Returning to Tokyo in May 2025, and currently serves in her present position.

  • Keiko KUNIOKA

    Specially Appointed Associate Professor at Judicial Policy Education Research Center of Kagoshima University

    After graduating from university, she studied bureaucratic personnel affairs in the Meiji era as a researcher out of power for a long time. The results of her research are now being distributed by her university as a blue book DB and Kainin Nichiroku DB. Kainin Nichiroku is the Appointment Records issued within Japan's central bureaucracy during the early Meiji period. The number of people listed in both DBs exceeds 40,000, making it the largest bureaucratic data of the Meiji era at present, and the first open data source. Recently, she has been making efforts to disseminate the existence of Kainin Nichiroku, believing that it can make a significant contribution to the research community due to its elaborate contents.

  • Osamu YAMADA

    Representative Director, KT Game Changers Inc. /Corporate Culture Consultant /Former Vice President, Cybozu, Inc.

    He Joined the Industrial Bank of Japan in 1992. He made a career move to Cybozu during its founding phase in 2000. He served as Vice President overseeing finance, human resources, and legal affairs. He established the foundation for Cybozu's organization, realizing its vision of 100 ways of working for 100 people, emphasizing transparency. He transferred to Silicon Valley in 2014 to establish the U.S. corporation. He pressed ahead with building the organizational structure supporting Cybozu's global expansion across the U.S., Asia, and so on. In 2024, he left Cybozu to start his own business and founded KT Game Changers Inc. As an organizational culture consultant, he works to spread culture where 100 people can thrive in 100 different ways. Major books include The Lightest Management (Cybozu-shiki Books) and The Corporate Employee's Guide (Daiwa Shobo).

  • Takashige HOSHIAI

    Professor, Faculty of Information Science, Sojo University /Doctor of Engineering, Proponent of P2P and SCB Theory

    During his tenure at NTT, he served as Visiting Researcher at Bell Communications Research (study abroad in the U.S.), Visiting Professor at Gunma University, Part-time Lecturer at Nihon University, Member of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications IC Tag and Autonomous Distributed Cooperative Network Investigation Committee, Member of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Next-Generation New IT Environment Research Committee, Representative, Steering Committee Member, and Communications Society Secretary of the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers. He is known as the proponent of the world's first P2P theory, the Brokerless Theory. Major books include “Brokerless Models and SIONet” (Ohmsha, 2003) and “The Science of Connections: Regional Community Branding” (Kirakusha, 2018).

  • Yuine SASAKI

    Ozu town Muro elementary school/Girls’ performance unit Setsugekka

    She is an ordinary fourth-grade elementary school student. She started dancing at the age of 5. When she was in the first grade, she joined “Setsugekka”, one of the units with Studio Days. She has got offers from local events, performed there and brought “luck” to audiences. She has been cast three times in Studio Days performances so far and has been trying out acting. Currently she is also working as a lesson assistant. A short performance is one of her specialties. She loves making people smile and making things with origami.

Organizing team