Empowering Japan's Future Leaders

One Young World
Japan Caucus

SHIBUYA 2023

Post-Event Summary

The hybrid event was attended by a plethora of Japan’s current and future leaders as well as over 4,700 young professionals across 7 countries. Speakers included such names as Ken Hasebe, Carole Fuchs, Ryuta Ibaragi, Kate Robertson, Joi Ito, Yoko Ishikura, Shota Iizuka, Shiho Watabe, Ken Shibusawa, and a musical performance by Nana Tanimura.

June 22, 2023 – Tokyo, JAPAN:

On Friday, June 9th, 2023, One Young World Japan (OYWJ) held its Japan Caucus in collaboration with Digital Garage, JT, the City of Shibuya, Tokyo, and a number of other strategic partners who are passionate about creating a sustainable society built around SDGs where everyone has a voice and a role to play.
Building on the success of its 2020 Japan Caucus, the 1.5-day event was once again a hybrid event with both in-person and online attendance surpassing 4,700 participants from 7 countries. Shibuya-based technology giant, Digital Garage, opened its exclusive “Dragon Gate” facility for the event so that current and future leaders in the public and private sectors could gather and discuss current topics of concern with a focus on SDGs.

Friday night’s opening festivities included several announcements. First was the introduction of OYWJ’s new external advisors; Mr. Ken Shibusawa, Ms. Yoko Ishikura, Mr. Eric Kawabata, Ms. Masami Katakura, Mr. Tsuyoshi Domoto, Ms. Ibun Hirahara, Mr. Robin Lewis, and Ms. Urara Takaseki. Also announced was the winner of One Young World’s SDG 11 LEAD2030 competition, Dr. Ralph Nasara, and OYWJ’s 2023 Honorary Delegate, track and field Olympian, Mr. Shota Iizuka. The evening concluded with performances by Japanese recording artist, Ms. Nana Tanimura, and high school dance crew, CJDA, as well as a sustainably catered networking reception.

Saturday’s full-day agenda kicked off with a glimpse into the future by Mr. Joi Ito and Ms. Sera Tsutsumi from Digital Garage. They were followed by panel discussions from Astellas Pharma, EY Japan, ASICS, Terracycle, and One Young World Japan. Keynote speeches throughout the event included both business leaders and One Young World ambassadors such as Ms. Kate Robertson, co-founder of One Young World, Mr. Ken Hasebe, mayor of Shibuya City, Ms. Carole Fuchs, mountaineer and climate policy advisor for the British Embassy in Tokyo, Mr. Ryuta Ibaragi, governor of Okayama prefecture, and Mr. Yosuke Nagai, founder of Accept International.

The event culminated with the World Dream Showcase, a project launched by One Young World ambassadors, Mr. Taichi Ishikawa and Ms. Ibun Hirahara, to highlight the dreams and goals of young leaders around the world from over 200 countries. The global One Young World community was invited to vote for its favorite, most promising “dreams” from this collection. 5 finalists were given the chance to share their dreams and goals with the event’s audience in real time for the chance to win a trip to Japan as well as other cash donations to their various initiatives. After emotional appeals from all of the participants, the audience voted Ms. Anamika Madhuraj from India. She was awarded with a 5-night stay in Japan and 150,000 yen in prize money.

More details will be made available on the One Young World Japan website over the coming days. For more information, please check https://oywj.org/ or our social media presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Specific questions can be sent to our Executive Directors, Mr. Daren Afshar (daren@oywj.org) for English or Ms. Yuka Imanishi (yuka@oywj.org) for Japanese.