Main Venue Program

Motomi Kawakami was born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1940. After graduating with an M.F.A. from Tokyo University of the Arts, he worked at Angelo Mangiarotti Architects in Milan from 1966 to 1969. In his work covering areas such as product, interior and environment design, he seeks to create objects and places that embrace humanity. Kawakami’s numerous accolades include a Mainichi Design Award, a Kitaro Kunii Industrial Design Award, a Good Design Gold Award, a Tanaka Award from the Japan Society of Civil Engineers, an iF Design Award, a German Design Award and an AACA award. He is also a former Chairman of the Japan Institute of Design Promotion.

A Japanese designer active on the world stage, Naoto Fukasawa was born in 1956. Rather than expressing individuality as a designer, he is renowned for diligent design that visualizes the thoughts of people in their everyday lives. Fukasawa engages in design spanning a vast array of fields, from everyday items to precision electronic devices, mobility, furniture, interiors and architecture. His ability to strike at the essence of a subject through design, and his ideas and expression have received national and international acclaim. His status as one of the world’s most impactful designers is demonstrated by the numerous awards he has received, including a Collab Design Excellence Award in 2024. Fukasawa founded THE DESIGN SCIENCE FOUNDATION and serves as Vice President at Tama Art University and Curator of the Japan Folk Crafts Museum.

Keiji Ashizawa founded his eponymous practice, Keiji Ashizawa Design, in 2005 and is also co-director of Ishinomaki Laboratory, which was initially founded as a public workshop following the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. Based on a motto of “Honest Design,” Ashizawa values craft in his pursuit of comprehensive design at home and abroad, spanning areas from architecture and interiors to furniture. His product design portfolio includes work with furniture brands such as Karimoku Case, KOKUYO and Audo Copenhagen, with recent architecture projects including TRUNK (HOTEL) YOYOGI PARK and eight Blue Bottle Coffee locations in Japan and overseas.

Born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1976, Jin Kuramoto graduated from Kanazawa College of Art in 1999 with a major in industrial design. He worked as an industrial designer at a home appliance manufacturer before establishing JIN KURAMOTO STUDIO in Meguro, Tokyo in 2008. Through his approach of communicating each project’s concept and story with clear formative expression, he is engaged in design development across diverse genres, including furniture, home appliances, eyewear, and automobiles. Kuramoto values the process of exploring function and construction through repeated trial and error, directly engaging with materials as he continuously prototypes in a studio full of inspiration and new discoveries.

Ha Partners founder Felix Conran is an architect and product designer. Based in Higashiyoshino, Nara Prefecture, he established Ha Partners in 2024 to foster rural revitalization in Japan through the power of design. The company works closely with local communities and experts to combine traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design, and launched its first building material product earlier this year, straight-grain flooring tiles made using locally-sourced cedar.

Born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1975, Seiichi Saito studied architectural design at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, where he received a Master of Science degree in Advanced Architectural Design (MSAAD). He founded Rhizomatiks Co., Ltd. (currently Abstract Engine Co., Ltd.) in 2006. After leading an internal architecture department, Saito formed Panoramatiks in 2020. Based on the theme of “CREATIVE ACTION,” Panoramatiks connects government bodies, businesses and individuals as it works to resolve issues through interdisciplinary initiatives spanning fields including regional design, tourism and digital transformation, being involved from conceptualization to implementation. Saito has served as Chairperson of the Good Design Award Judging Committee since 2023 and was the Expo Co-creation Program Director for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan.

Motomi Kawakami was born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1940. After graduating with an M.F.A. from Tokyo University of the Arts, he worked at Angelo Mangiarotti Architects in Milan from 1966 to 1969. In his work covering areas such as product, interior and environment design, he seeks to create objects and places that embrace humanity. Kawakami’s numerous accolades include a Mainichi Design Award, a Kitaro Kunii Industrial Design Award, a Good Design Gold Award, a Tanaka Award from the Japan Society of Civil Engineers, an iF Design Award, a German Design Award and an AACA award. He is also a former Chairman of the Japan Institute of Design Promotion.

A Japanese designer active on the world stage, Naoto Fukasawa was born in 1956. Rather than expressing individuality as a designer, he is renowned for diligent design that visualizes the thoughts of people in their everyday lives. Fukasawa engages in design spanning a vast array of fields, from everyday items to precision electronic devices, mobility, furniture, interiors and architecture. His ability to strike at the essence of a subject through design, and his ideas and expression have received national and international acclaim. His status as one of the world’s most impactful designers is demonstrated by the numerous awards he has received, including a Collab Design Excellence Award in 2024. Fukasawa founded THE DESIGN SCIENCE FOUNDATION and serves as Vice President at Tama Art University and Curator of the Japan Folk Crafts Museum.

Keiji Ashizawa founded his eponymous practice, Keiji Ashizawa Design, in 2005 and is also co-director of Ishinomaki Laboratory, which was initially founded as a public workshop following the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. Based on a motto of “Honest Design,” Ashizawa values craft in his pursuit of comprehensive design at home and abroad, spanning areas from architecture and interiors to furniture. His product design portfolio includes work with furniture brands such as Karimoku Case, KOKUYO and Audo Copenhagen, with recent architecture projects including TRUNK (HOTEL) YOYOGI PARK and eight Blue Bottle Coffee locations in Japan and overseas.

Born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1976, Jin Kuramoto graduated from Kanazawa College of Art in 1999 with a major in industrial design. He worked as an industrial designer at a home appliance manufacturer before establishing JIN KURAMOTO STUDIO in Meguro, Tokyo in 2008. Through his approach of communicating each project’s concept and story with clear formative expression, he is engaged in design development across diverse genres, including furniture, home appliances, eyewear, and automobiles. Kuramoto values the process of exploring function and construction through repeated trial and error, directly engaging with materials as he continuously prototypes in a studio full of inspiration and new discoveries.

Ha Partners founder Felix Conran is an architect and product designer. Based in Higashiyoshino, Nara Prefecture, he established Ha Partners in 2024 to foster rural revitalization in Japan through the power of design. The company works closely with local communities and experts to combine traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design, and launched its first building material product earlier this year, straight-grain flooring tiles made using locally-sourced cedar.

Born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1975, Seiichi Saito studied architectural design at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, where he received a Master of Science degree in Advanced Architectural Design (MSAAD). He founded Rhizomatiks Co., Ltd. (currently Abstract Engine Co., Ltd.) in 2006. After leading an internal architecture department, Saito formed Panoramatiks in 2020. Based on the theme of “CREATIVE ACTION,” Panoramatiks connects government bodies, businesses and individuals as it works to resolve issues through interdisciplinary initiatives spanning fields including regional design, tourism and digital transformation, being involved from conceptualization to implementation. Saito has served as Chairperson of the Good Design Award Judging Committee since 2023 and was the Expo Co-creation Program Director for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan.