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IJF Board

Founder Chairman

Mr. Vibhav Kant Upadhyay

Founder Chairman, Architect of India-Japan Global Partnership

Mr. Vibhav Kant Upadhyay

Founder Chairman, Architect of India-Japan Global Partnership

Known as Architect of modern India-Japan Partnership and the newly established Alternative Development Model (ADM) Vibhav Kant Upadhyay is a development leader known for his statesmanship, macro-vision and pragmatism. A prolific out-of-the-box thinker, Vibhav strongly believes that the current development model needs a foundational change and has dedicated his life towards manifesting this thought process into visible and tangible results through the Alternative Development Model (ADM). Vibhav’s leadership successfully catalysed the India-Japan Global Partnership (IJGP) initiative which was announced in the year 2000 by the leaders of India and Japan. With relentless persuasion, he has nurtured and strengthened the strategic relationship between the two nations. This has led to mega-initiatives like the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), which was formed to re-establish the industrial culture of India. Therefore, he is widely regarded as the architect of the modern India-Japan relationship. Vibhav’s leadership is currently dedicated to furthering the development framework of ADM and initiatives based on it through the manifestation platforms and organizations in India, Japan and Global Partners. Under this model, the collaborative strengths and resources of Global Partners are utilised to empower not just the developed but the developing nations too. Vibhav believes that India and Africa are the socio-economic labs for the ADM model and Norway is the living lab. With one-sixth of humanity each in India and Africa, the adoption of ADM can become an example in the world for sustainable development for humanity. Vibhav focuses on ethos of contributory, inclusive and accessible development, championing the cause of a common man. His initiatives have led to thousands of projects creating opportunities, employment and vibrant economy. Vibhav is the Founder and Chairman of various organizations including the Alternative Development Organisation (ADO) in Oslo, Norway, India-Japan Foundation (IJF) Tokyo, Japan and India Center Foundation(ICF) New Delhi, India. He is also the Founder Chairman of Global Partnership Summit (GPS), a platform to take forward the Alternative Development Model (ADM) framework and initiatives based on it by manifesting unique ideas into tangible outcomes by empowering G2G, G2B and B2B interaction. The organisations will take forward seminal, innovative initiatives to establish ADM around the world focusing on areas such as Infrastructure, Healthcare, Agriculture, Education, Environment and Social Justice. Vibhav was born in Agra, India. He has a Post-Graduate degree from the University of Allahabad. He has a second Post-Graduate degree from the University of Tokyo. Vibhav is prolific in Japanese language besides Hindi and English.

Trustee

Mr. Tomohiro Yamaguchi

Executive Managing Director SBI Fintech

Mr. Tomohiro Yamaguchi

Executive Managing Director SBI Fintech

Mr. Tomohiro Yamaguchi is an expert in Fintech, especially payment and international money transfer business. Based on his 20 years experience, he is currently leading the development of the unbanked layer in the digital money domain and the operation of the blockchain business in Japan and overseas. Mr. Yamaguchi has connected business to academia and governments. He lectured at Tsinghua University and Money 2020 for business ideas. He has funded Investment funds with partners from other countries, such as the Brunei government, Malaysia’s PNB, and Jefferies Tsinghua University. Mr. Yamaguchi’s vision is to innovate and deliver good services to society. He believes the countries are moving individually and people are entering a new era, and will bring together cutting-edge technology such as blockchain business to create a digital financial revolution.Tomohiro has connected business to academy and governments. He lectured at Tsinghua University and Money 2020 for business ideas. He has funded Investment fund with partners from other countries, such as the Brunei government, Malaysia’s PNB, Jefferies Tsinghua University. Tomohiro’s vision is to innovate and deliver good services to society. He believes the countries are moving individually and people are entering a new era, will bring together a cutting-edge technology such as blockchain business to create a digital financial revolution.

Mr. Hiroyoshi Hata

President and CEO GENIUS &A-RAY

Mr. Hiroyoshi Hata

President and CEO GENIUS &A-RAY

Hiroyoshi Hata is the President and CEO of Geniu & A-Ray. Mr. Hata hails from the city of Nagano and has a background in science as he graduated from the Fujita Health University in 1986. As a part of his volunteer experience with UNESCO, Mr. Hata identified the need for long-term solutions for issues hindering the growth of developing nations. He founded Geniu & A-Ray with the purpose of “fabless manufacturing”; wherein, his company focuses on creating a technology instead of a product to combat a problem hence creating a universally applicable method. With this aim, Mr. Hata has set up branches of his company in many locations including India as he holds India close to heart. Hiroyoshi Hata is also fond of the Japanese art of Flower Arrangement as he believes in the universal applicability of it; the art belongs to Japan but can be used for arranging all types of flowers no matter where one goes.

Mr. Yoshiki Akazawa

C.E.O, Taiki Capital Co., Ltd

Mr. Yoshiki Akazawa

C.E.O, Taiki Capital Co., Ltd

Yoshiki Akazawa hails from the city of Okayama in the Okayama Prefecture of Japan. Mr. Akazawa currently holds the position of Chairman of Mazeray Japan and also serves as the Auditor of the International Organization for Economic, Cultural and Scientific Cooperation. Mr. Akazawa studied Business Administration form the University of Southern California after which he went on to work as the General Manager of Okayama Kaikan Hotel in Tokyo. Mr. Akazawa’s experience also includes the racing industry having been the President and Representative of Taiki Racing Club as well as the member of the Board of Directors of the Japan Central Racing Association.

Ms. Tamiko Ohba

Founder Japan-India Women’s Forum

Ms. Tamiko Ohba

Founder Japan-India Women’s Forum

Tamiko Ohba is the CEO of the Japan India Women’s Forum. Ms. Ohba belongs to the city of Yokohama. She has been working on building a stronger relationship between India and Japan for quite some time. Ms. Ohba has pioneered the strengthening of a Japan-India community in Yokohama by founding JIWF and creating cultural events to deepen the relationship. She is highly interested in the Indian Vedic medicine and has founded the Japan-India Life Sciences Institute to further the fusion of Japanese-India Life Sciences.

Councillors & Auditors

Mr. Sudhir Pathak

Advisor, India Center

Mr. Sudhir Pathak

Advisor, India Center

Mr. Sudhir Pathak belongs to the city of Agra in UP, India. He has been living in Japan since 1997 and has been serving the Indian community in Japan through various, social , cultural, religious and political gatherings. He played a key role and was instrumental as senior officer of India Center for several India-Japan Bilateral initiatives. Mr. Pathak has been deeply involved in the initiatives between India and Japan during the past Japan visits of Indian Dignitaries such as Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Hon. Narendra Modi Ji with business delegates during the Calendar Years 2001, 2008 & 2012 respectively.

Mr. Satoshi Sakamoto

Investor

Mr. Satoshi Sakamoto

Investor

Mr. Toru Sakamoto

Compliance Auditor Director of Operations

Mr. Toru Sakamoto

Compliance Auditor Director of Operations

Mr. Toru Sakamoto has been associated with India for more than 50 years after his initial visit to the country in 1970. He has firsthand seen India’s growth and has played a proactive role in the same. Mr. Sakamoto wants to continue to contribute to India's national development through the India-Japan Foundation. An avid traveller, Mr. Sakamoto has a vast array of knowledge regarding the Indian subcontinent and describes his experiences in the region as the best serendipity in his life. Mr. Sakamoto has continued to work on India’s development with his knowledge and association with India.

Mr. Rahul Bapat

Chief of Operations Creditsafe

Mr. Rahul Bapat

Chief of Operations Creditsafe

Mr. Rahul Bapat, a Bachelor of Science in Electronics, NIIT Graduate and Advanced Diploma in Japanese Language, has over 20 years of experience in supporting IT organizations in Japan in achieving predictable, profitable and annuity growth in business by building sales and delivery channels.Mr. Bapat also has co-founded a non-government & not-for-profit initiative “TaskeruIndo” which aims at supporting financially hand-cuffed families in India by accumulating funds from Japan. In 2018, Rahul’s biography was highlighted among Top-8 successful Maharashtrians in Japan and recorded in the book named “Garje Marathi – Vol. II” On a personal front, Rahul is an avid book reader, motivational speaker and has travelled to all 47 prefectures in Japan.

Advisory Board Members

Hon. Amb. Gurjit Singh

Former Ambassador to Germany, Indonesia, Ethiopia ASEAN and the African Union

Hon. Amb. Gurjit Singh

Former Ambassador to Germany, Indonesia, Ethiopia ASEAN and the African Union

Ambassador Gurjit Singh is a former Indian diplomat with 37 years of experience. He has been the Ambassador of India to Germany, Indonesia, Timor Leste & ASEAN and Ethiopia, Djibouti and the African Union besides having been in in Japan, Sri Lanka, Kenya, and Italy on assignment. He was the Sherpa for the first 2 India-Africa Summits and his book The Injera and the Parantha on India and Ethiopia was well received. He has also written books on India’s relations with Japan, Indonesia, and Germany. A comic book and you tube video were new experiments on India Indonesia engagement. His book, The Abalone Factor (1997) was among the early books on India Japan modern business linkages. He is trained in Japanese and has been at the Embassy of India in Tokyo twice, (1982-85 and 1991-94). He frequently writes and appears on TV commenting on Japan and India relations. He is an Honorary Professor of Humanities at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Indore. He Chairs the CII Business Task Force on Trilateral Cooperation in Africa. He comments on current events on TV and in journals. He is associated with the social impact investment movement and is working on expanding it in Africa along with other trilateral initiatives, including with Japan, for B2B engagement.

Hon. Shuhei Kishimoto

Member of House of Representatives of Japan, & member of Democratic Party Japan

Hon. Shuhei Kishimoto

Member of House of Representatives of Japan, & member of Democratic Party Japan

Hon. Shuhei Kishimoto is a member of the Democratic Party of Japan and a member of the House of Representatives of Japan. He is a law graduate from the University of Tokyo and has worked in the Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and as the former Advisor to the Cabinet Office. Hon. Shuhei Kishimoto is a member of the Committee on Budget and the Committee on Political Ethics and Election Law. He is also a visiting professor at Princeton University, Shandong University, China and the Graduate School, Chuo University.

Hon. Yoshiaki Harada

Advisory Member

Hon. Yoshiaki Harada

Advisory Member

Hon. Yoshiaki Harada is a Japanese politician. He was a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and served as a member of the House of Representatives, which is the lower house of the Japanese parliament. Yoshiaki Harada has held various positions within the Japanese government, including serving as the Minister of the Environment.

Hon. Kotaro Nagasaki

Advisory Member

Hon. Kotaro Nagasaki

Advisory Member

Hon. Mr. Kotaro Nagasaki is the Governor of the Yamanashi Prefecture of Japan. Mr. Nagasaki has served three terms in the House of Representatives before which, he has worked in different departments of the Japanese Government including the Ministry of Finance and the Consulate General of Japan in Los Angeles. Mr. Nagasaki is a law graduate of the University of Tokyo and Cornell University. As the Governor of the Yamanashi Prefecture, Mr. Nagasaki aims to make Yamanashi a progressive prefectural government.

Mr. Yoshimi Ishikawa

Representative Director, International Organization for Science, Economy and Culture Collaboration

Mr. Yoshimi Ishikawa

Representative Director, International Organization for Science, Economy and Culture Collaboration

Mr. Yoshimi Ishikawa is a Japanese non-fiction writer, critic and journalist. Mr. Ishikawa is a graduate of the Faculty of Law, Department of Political Science of Keio University. Mr. Ishikawa’s most famous work is “Strawberry Road” which is an account of an adolescent Japanese immigrant to a strawberry farm in the United States.It won him the 20th Soichi Oya Non-Fiction Award.He has developed writing activities centered on US-Japan relations and the history of Japanese-American immigrants and has also served as the President of Akita Public Arts and Crafts Junior College. Mr. Ishikawa’s critical interests are far-ranging and touch upon almost every aspect of modern life.

Hon. Amb. Anil Trigunayat

India’s Ambassador to various nations

Hon. Amb. Anil Trigunayat

India’s Ambassador to various nations

Ambassador Anil Trigunayat has been a career diplomat. He has served in the Indian Missions in Cote d’Ivoire, Bangladesh, Mongolia, USA, Russia, Sweden, Nigeria, Libya, Malta and Jordan. In the Ministry of External Affairs, he worked in the Economic, West Asia and North Africa, Gulf and Consular Divisions and also served as Director General/Joint Secretary for the Gulf & Haj Divisions. Mr. Trigunayat is a post Graduate in Physics from the Agra/Kumaon University and also studied Russian History, Culture and Language at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He is a member of the All India Management Association/Delhi Management Association as well as that of Oxford and Cambridge Society of India and Secretary of the Association of Indian Diplomats (former Ambassadors). He is also the Honorary Member of the International Trade Council, Brussels & Board Member of Peaceful Mind Foundation as well as Confederation of Education Excellence , New Delhi. He also serves on the Board of Advisors of BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Asia Africa Chamber of Commerce. Presently, Ambassador Trigunayat is the President of MIICCIA Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture. He is the Distinguished Fellow at Vivekananda International Foundation India and Advisor at The Asian Institute of Diplomacy& International Affairs Kathmandu As a Peace Ambassador, Mr. Trigunayat is closely associated with the Interfaith Dialogue , Peace and Harmony efforts in the Society especially through the Unity Dialogue by World Congress of Religion, Kazakhstan. Amb Trigunayat knows French, Russian and Spanish languages.

Hon. Shinsuke Okuno

Advisory Member

Hon. Shinsuke Okuno

Advisory Member

Shinsuke Okuno is a member of the House of Representatives of Japan and is affiliated to the Liberal Democratic Party. Mr. Okuno served as the Director of Nissan Motors and President of Vantec Group before joining the LDP. When elected for the second time to the House of Representatives in2005, Mr. Okuno served as the Parliamentary Secretary for Justice. Mr. Okuno has persevered to strengthen Japan’s economy by putting to use the management strategies and leadership he learned during his previous careers. Mr. Okuno is based in the Nara prefecture of Japan. His interests lie in education, social security and the economics and finance sectors.

Mr. Atul Shinde

Technology Pioneer

Mr. Atul Shinde

Technology Pioneer

Mr. Atul Shinde is a business strategist and thinker with years of experience in global marketing and technology development. He has been a technology pioneer in fields of high-speed data/telecom networking and mobile Internet. Mr. Shinde holds several patents in the field of multi-service networking and mobile applications.

Mr. Eitaro Ogawa

Literary Critic

Mr. Eitaro Ogawa

Literary Critic

Mr. Eitaro Ogawa is a Literary Critic, Chairman of the Board of the Peace Studies Institute of Japan, and the General Director of the Community of Television Viewers Demanding Broadcast Law Compliance.Mr. Ogawa was born in 1967. Mr. Ogawa graduated from the Department Literature of Osaka University and completed a Master’s course at Saitama University Graduate School. He majored in modern Japanese literature and in 19th century German music and performance history. Mr.Ogawa has published over 20 books.His latest books are Fate of a State—Miracle Document of the Abe Administration and Eternal Zero and the Japanese People (Gento-sha Shinsho). His first publication, Day of Promise—Preliminary Essay on Abe Shinzo (Gento-sha Library), is a best seller.

Mr. Ben Banerjee

Advisory Member

Mr. Ben Banerjee

Advisory Member

Mr. Ben Banerjee is a serial entrepreneur and a respected thought leader on Impact Investment and Climate Change. He is an expert on Investments and anticipation of crisis’s and flow of Events on macro-economic level. He has been speaker at International Events on Impact of Investment, Climate Change and economical and social impacts of new Technologies like Blockchain. He is engaged as Advisor to few world leaders and governments on Macro-economic, Financial and Investment policies as well. He is well connected to and is advising few world leaders on flow of events and policy changes. He has been a Guest of Honour to President Obama’s Second Inauguration Ball.

Mr. Shigoe Umezawa

Advisory Member

Mr. Shigoe Umezawa

Advisory Member

Mr. Shigoe Umezawa is a member of the Advisory Board of IJF. He hails from the Yamanashi Prefecture of Japan. Mr. Umezawa graduated from the Maintenance Department of Japan Aviation High School in 1971 after which he went on to study at the Department of Psychological Education at Meisei University. Mr. Umezawa has been working with the Japan Aviation High School since 1975 and is currently the President of the Japan Aviation High School as well as the Chairman of the Japan Aviation Education Association.

Executive Board Members

Hon. Himanshu Gulati

Member of Parliament, Norway Co-Founder & Vice-Chairman, ADO

Hon. Himanshu Gulati

Member of Parliament, Norway Co-Founder & Vice-Chairman, ADO

Mr. Himanshu Gulati is a young Norwegian Member of Parliament known for his innate leadership qualities. Mr. Gulati has served as a Deputy Minister of Law and Justice of Norway at the young age of 25, and has also served as a Deputy Minister/State Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office. Mr. Gulati, additionally, is a member of the standing committee on Justice as well. Backed by his immense expertise and knowledge of the country of Norway, he is nurturing and taking the relationship between India and Norway to new heights.

Mr. Shantanu Jha

Co-Founder, Edufront

Mr. Shantanu Jha

Co-Founder, Edufront

Shantanu Jha is a co-founder at Edufront, a company harnessing artificial intelligence to transform education for the world’s most underprivileged children. He began his career by founding Beaconsfield Capital Management, a quantitative hedge fund based in Boston, London, and Monaco, where he serves as Chief Investment Officer and developed the underlying engineering and investment frameworks. He can be characterised as a tech visionary, strategist and a tactician, who believes in consistently delivering mission-critical results, overcoming complex business challenges and make high-stakes decisions using experience-backed judgment, strong work ethic and irreproachable integrity

Ms. Rubina Dewan

Secretary General ICF & ADO

Ms. Rubina Dewan

Secretary General ICF & ADO

Ms. Rubina Dewan is a Communications Strategist with a passion for New Media. She holds a Master’s degree in Multimedia Journalism from the reputed Media School of Bournemouth University. Ms Dewan has worked as a journalist during the tumultuous “People’s War” of Nepal reporting on various political and socio-economic issues such as the Maoist conflict, food security, conservation, environment and development. She has worked as a News Anchor and Producer. She is the founding Chairperson of Media Accountability Foundation (MAF), which aims to promote media literacy and ethics in journalism. She is the Secretary General of India Center Foundation.

Ms. Sveta Banerjee

Executive Member

Ms. Sveta Banerjee

Executive Member

Sveta Banerjee is a TEDx speaker, TV-Presenter, Founder and Managing Director of Impact Investing School and Impact Community Camomile, Co-Founder and President of Galileo International Impact Investing Centre and Board Member of SIIA (Swiss Impact Investment Association). Sveta is the Impact Investing & Sustainable Finance Ambassador of the Diplomatic World Institute. She is an impact investing expert and is actively raising awareness and educating various stakeholders about this topic around the world with the main purpose to transform finance into the force for good. “Moving private capital into impact investing will help to solve social and environmental challenges and add meaning, purpose, and inspiration to the actors from the financial sector”. Sveta is a keynote speaker, trainer and guest lecturer. She has nearly a decade of experience in Swiss Financial Sector as client advisor and investment specialist for reputable Swiss and international institutions (Société Generale, J.Safra Sarasin). Sveta has in-depth experience in fundraising, project management and acts as finance coach and strategic advisor for social entrepreneurs.

Mr. Norihiko Ishihara

Managing Partner Sun Investment LLC.

Mr. Norihiko Ishihara

Managing Partner Sun Investment LLC.

Mr. Norihiko Ishihara is CEO and President of VLC Holdings Co., Ltd. and also manages Sun Investment LLC, an investment and advisory firm for international businesses and deals initiated by Japanese companies. He is a founder and shareholder of Forbes in Japan. Mr. Ishihara is also co-founder of Miyako Capital, a venture capital firm affiliated with Kyoto University. Previously, Mr. Ishihara worked at Goldman Sachs Investment Banking Division Financial Institutions Group where he engaged in M&A advisory, financing, and principal investments, as well as in the global fixed income and currency team in Goldman Sachs Asset Management. He graduated from Keio University with a B.A. in law.

Mr. Lalit Bakshi

Executive Member

Mr. Lalit Bakshi

Executive Member

Mr. Lalit Kumar Bakshi is the Chairman of the Golden Eagle Group inc. Mr. Bakshi has been one of the longest serving members of the Japan India business cooperation committee. Mr. Bakshi has been key in facilitating various important Indo-Japanese infrastructural projects including the Metro, Bullet Train and many more collaborations in the Automobile and Pharmaceutical Industries. Mr. Bakshi has been highly instrumental in the confluence of India-Japan and the strengthening of their bilateral relations.

Mr. Subha Bhattachan

Group Chairman SilverPeak Global

Mr. Subha Bhattachan

Group Chairman SilverPeak Global

Mr. Bhattachan is the Chairman of the SilverPeak Global Group which is based in India, Japan, South Korea,
Philippines and Nepal. He has closely worked with the Nagasaki Prefecture of Japanand the local government of Kitakyushu. SPG works towards vocational training of workforce and provision of job opportunities post training. Mr. Bhattachan has previously worked as a consultant in opening up study programs and also possesses experience with the FMCG industry. He is highly interested in the sectors of Social Innovation and Cross-Cultural Issues.
Mr. Bhattachan was listed in the 20 Most Influential Entrepreneurs of Japan 2020 by the APAC Entrepreneur Magazine.

Mr.Prince Kitenge

Executive Member

Mr.Prince Kitenge

Executive Member

Prince Kitenge is the co-founder & president of the “Kitenge Yesu & Bateme Bibi” foundation (F.K.Y.B.B), which works on initiatives that aim to promote and strengthen the social and economic development of rural areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He has been working closely with DRC’s Presidency on national development projects initiated by the cabinet of the High Representative and Special Envoy of the President. He also has several years of experience as a corporate finance consultant working for large consulting firms in Belgium.

Mr. Varun Kapur

Management & Financial Consultant

Mr. Varun Kapur

Management & Financial Consultant

Varun Kapur is a Venture Capital and Private Equity professional, having invested in growth stage startups across Middle East and Africa in a variety of sectors including FinTech, Travel, HealthTech, Mobility, Cybersecurity, Logistics, FoodTech and more. He is also involved in investments and initiatives focused around impact and sustainability including renewable energy and agriculture. Varun is fascinated in exploring the future of society and how global developments are shaping mindsets, relationships, health, business and spirituality.

Dr. Manasi Shirgurkar

Executive Member

Dr. Manasi Shirgurkar

Executive Member

India-Japan Foundation (IJF) will be an organization dedicatedly working towards strengthening the India-Japan Global Partnership (IJGP), towards establishment of the Alternative Development Model (ADM) framework.

IJF is inspired & based upon the work of more than two decades of India Center which catalysed the work of India-Japan Global Partnership.

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