BOARD
Our Next Monthly Call
Prof. Takashi Inutsuka, Specially Appointed Professor, University of Tsukuba; Executive Director, Tsukuba Global Innovation Promotion Agency (TGI)
Professor Takashi Inutsuka currently serves in multiple senior leadership roles at the intersection of science, technology, and innovation. Based in Tsukuba—Japan’s largest science city—he plays a leading role in advancing innovation through his positions as Executive Director of the Tsukuba Global Innovation Promotion Agency (TGI) and Specially Appointed Professor at the University of Tsukuba.
In these roles, he leads cross-sector frameworks that bring together government, academia, research organizations, and industry to accelerate the practical implementation of medical device technologies and other deep-tech innovations. He also oversees the formation of industry–academia collaboration hubs and directs the planning and management of new initiatives and emerging industries.
In addition, he is Chief Executive Officer of Tsukuba Twin Spark, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Tsukuba established in 2022, to bridge academic research with societal needs through commercialization support. In parallel, he serves as Managing Partner of Nocturne Capital Co., Ltd., a seed-stage venture capital firm fostering startups and entrepreneurial talent in the Tsukuba region.
His career began in public service at the former Science and Technology Agency (STA), where he contributed to Japan’s space programs, including the H-IIA rocket and the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV). He later held senior posts at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Cabinet Office, where he shaped policies in nuclear energy, fusion, and science diplomacy. From 2009 to 2012, he served as Science Counselor at the Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C., strengthening bilateral cooperation with the United States. He subsequently directed international cooperation at MEXT as well as regenerative medicine strategy at the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST).
Throughout his career, he has consistently advanced global collaboration in health technologies, science, and innovation, with a strong commitment to leveraging research, industry–academia partnerships, and entrepreneurship for economic growth.​
​Maya Okamoto, Co-Founder and CEO, Nocturne Capital; Senior Fellow, Tsukuba Global Innovation Promotion Agency (TGI)
Maya Okamoto is a researcher, consultant, and venture capitalist. She has built her career at the intersection of medical science, technology, and policy research, working to bridge gaps between research, business, and policy.
Maya holds a PhD in Medical Science from Kobe University and a citation in Ecological Management from Harvard University. Leveraging her expertise, Maya has worked as a professor, in government agencies, and as a consultant with the Mitsubishi Research Institute Group and PwC Consulting for renowned domestic and international companies, focusing on healthcare and technology. She specializes in ELSI, marketing, and public relations strategies for new business development and expansion in the healthcare and tech sectors, with a particular emphasis on social implementation and exit strategies.
Currently, as the Director of Public Health at the Pharmacological Evaluation Institute of Japan (PEIJ), Maya leads healthcare policy research and consults on public health. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Kyoto University, where she researches the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of new technologies. In Tsukuba, she supports local innovation as the CEO of Nocturne Capital, a venture capital firm for early-stage startups, and as GM and Principal Consultant of Tsukuba Twin Spark, a consulting firm that connects academic research with industry needs. She also advises the Tsukuba Global Innovation Promotion Agency (TGI).
Additionally, Maya serves as Executive Vice President at BHQ Inc., focusing on innovative, neuroscience-driven services. She is passionate about bridging the gap between science and society, and empowering the next generation of leaders. Her strengths lie in her expertise in healthcare and technology, her experience in government, and her sharp business strategy acumen. Her initiatives were recognized with the Special Jury Prize at the 6th Japan Open Innovation Awards, hosted by the Cabinet Office.
Inside the Tsukuba Model: Research, Collaboration, and Growth in Japan's Leading Science City
Ahead of the GFCC University and Research Leadership Forum Study Trip to Tsukuba in February 2027, Prof. Takashi Inutsuka joins us to introduce the ecosystem we'll be visiting.
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Tsukuba is Japan's leading science city — an unusually dense concentration of national research institutes, a research-intensive university, startups, investors, and corporate partners operating in a single place. What makes it worth studying is not the concentration itself, but the deliberate architecture built around it. Prof. Inutsuka will walk through how policy, research institutes, university strategy, and private capital are coming together to shape an emerging “Tsukuba model.”
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He will cover the University of Tsukuba's role as a regional anchor — driving regional transformation, social implementation, and international collaboration — and the platforms TGI is helping to build to connect university research assets with industry needs. These include the Industrial Connection Platform and the work of Tsukuba Twin Spark, which help form collaboration units between researchers and corporate partners and create growth pathways, as well as the Future Society Design Complex, a student-centered hub for industry-academia co-creation.​