NIKKEN FORUM Webinar: The Smart Building in the Valley of the Wind
SEMINAR/EVENT
2025.10.27
How will smart buildings—where digital technology and daily life are closely intertwined—impact people’s lives and bring about changes in the future?
This forum will explore the potential of smart buildings from multiple perspectives. To begin, Mr. Shu Numata, CEO of SynapSpark Inc., will discuss the latest trends and future prospects for smart buildings. Following that,Professor Kazuto Ataka of Keio University will deliver a lecture on the role that technologies such as AI and data play in realizing the prosperous future for both urban and rural areas, as proposed in his book *Hope in the “Valley of the Wind”*.With the theme that the ultimate goal of smart buildings is the enrichment of cities, nature, and people’s inner well-being, we will explore these possibilities together with all participants.
This forum will explore the potential of smart buildings from multiple perspectives. To begin, Mr. Shu Numata, CEO of SynapSpark Inc., will discuss the latest trends and future prospects for smart buildings. Following that,Professor Kazuto Ataka of Keio University will deliver a lecture on the role that technologies such as AI and data play in realizing the prosperous future for both urban and rural areas, as proposed in his book *Hope in the “Valley of the Wind”*.With the theme that the ultimate goal of smart buildings is the enrichment of cities, nature, and people’s inner well-being, we will explore these possibilities together with all participants.
Online event
Friday, November 21, 2025, 4:00 PM–5:30 PM
Participation Fee: Free
Participation Fee: Free
Guest Profile
Kazuto Ataka (Professor, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University; Senior Strategist, LINE Yahoo, Inc.; Representative Director, General Incorporated Association “A Future Worth Preserving”)
After spending 11 years at McKinsey working on product and business development and brand revitalization across a wide range of fields, he joined Yahoo! in 2008.He served as Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) for 10 years starting in 2012, and has held the position of Senior Strategist at Z Holdings (now LINE Yahoo) since 2022 (currently a concurrent role). He has been teaching at Keio University’s SFC since 2016 and has held his current position since the fall of 2018.
Founding Director and Chair of the Skills Definition Committee at the Data Scientist Association.He has been involved in the formulation of various policies related to science, technology, data, and AI, including the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s “New Industrial Structure Vision”; the Cabinet Office /CSTI “AI Industrialization Roadmap” and “University Fund Initiative”; the Digital Disaster Prevention Future Initiative; the certification system for model curricula and programs in mathematical, data science, and AI education; and the formulation of the Intellectual Property Strategy Vision.
In response to a future that seems to offer only urban concentration, he launched this initiative in 2017 with the goal of creating an alternative future where nature and people coexist, leveraging wisdom and technology. Since then, together with experts and local practitioners, he has been deepening the vision by structurally analyzing challenges, and has been conducting repeated studies and initiatives toward its implementation.
He holds a Master’s degree in Biochemistry from the Graduate School of Science at the University of Tokyo and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Yale University. His publications include *Start with the Issue* and *Shin Nihon*, and his forthcoming book is *Hope Called “Valley of the Wind”*.
Founding Director and Chair of the Skills Definition Committee at the Data Scientist Association.He has been involved in the formulation of various policies related to science, technology, data, and AI, including the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s “New Industrial Structure Vision”; the Cabinet Office /CSTI “AI Industrialization Roadmap” and “University Fund Initiative”; the Digital Disaster Prevention Future Initiative; the certification system for model curricula and programs in mathematical, data science, and AI education; and the formulation of the Intellectual Property Strategy Vision.
In response to a future that seems to offer only urban concentration, he launched this initiative in 2017 with the goal of creating an alternative future where nature and people coexist, leveraging wisdom and technology. Since then, together with experts and local practitioners, he has been deepening the vision by structurally analyzing challenges, and has been conducting repeated studies and initiatives toward its implementation.
He holds a Master’s degree in Biochemistry from the Graduate School of Science at the University of Tokyo and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Yale University. His publications include *Start with the Issue* and *Shin Nihon*, and his forthcoming book is *Hope Called “Valley of the Wind”*.
Shu Numata (Representative Director and CEO of SynapSpark, Inc.; President and CEO)
After graduating with a degree in architecture, he joined a foreign-owned PC manufacturer. He later moved to a systems integration company, where he worked as an engineer specializing in network and server infrastructure. Through connections made on a project at that company, he joined SoftBank Corp., where he served as a pre-sales engineer responsible for over 100 client companies.Later, he joined the Digital Transformation Division as a founding member at its inception and was responsible for the smart building and smart city sectors. Following a joint project with Nikken Sekkei in 2021, he was appointed Representative Director President and CEO and CEO of SynapSpark, Inc.
Facilitator
Kenichiro Nakatani
Senior Executive Officer Head of Project Development Department
program
4:00 p.m. – Overview of the Event
4:05 p.m. – Lecture by Mr. Shu Numata
4:25 PM – Lecture by Professor Kazuto Ataka
5:00 PM – Panel Discussion
5:30 p.m. End
4:05 p.m. – Lecture by Mr. Shu Numata
4:25 PM – Lecture by Professor Kazuto Ataka
5:00 PM – Panel Discussion
5:30 p.m. End
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nikkenforum@nikken.jp
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