Event
Senior Associate Director Yuhiko Fujiwara participated as a speaker at OPEN INNOVATION SUMMIT 2026.
(He formerly served in the following roles: Marketing Director, McDonald's Japan; VP of People & Culture, Mercari; and CCO, Japan Digital Agency.)
(Center-left) Yuhiko Fujiwara (Senior Associate Director, CINO & Head of Innovation Strategy Division, OKI)
(Right) Soichiro Murata (CHRO, eiicon Corporation)
At the invitation of eiicon Corporation, which operates AUBA, one of Japan's largest open innovation platforms, Senior Managing Executive Officer Fujiwara participated as a speaker in the session "What Kind of Organization Creates Innovation?" at the AI & Innovation Forum, held as part of OPEN INNOVATION SUMMIT 2026 at Akasaka Intercity on September 11, 2026.
The event attracted many participants from startups as well as major corporations who are involved in creating new businesses. The session was a great success, with the venue filled to capacity and many attendees having to stand.
When Mr. Karasawa explained the various "growth barriers" that organizations encounter as they increase in size, the discussion became particularly lively around the importance of commitment from top management. Many members of the audience also expressed strong agreement with these points.
As the discussion progressed to explore how organizations can continuously generate innovation, regardless of their size from startups to large corporations, Mr. Karasawa and Mr. Fujiwara recognized that their perspectives on the challenges facing organizations and the direction they seek to pursue were remarkably aligned, with design thinking at the core.
The session concluded on a high note, with Mr. Fujiwara making an impromptu proposal: "I would definitely like to do a second talk session with Mr. Karasawa and this group." The audience enthusiastically endorsed the idea.
Through this session, we were once again strongly reminded of the need to take an even more proactive approach to building an organization that can continuously generate innovation.
The Innovation Strategy Office will continue to use opportunities for such exchanges to share OKI's advanced initiatives through its IMS, "Yume Pro," and its approach to company-wide, employee-driven innovation with audiences outside the company, thereby contributing to the mission of "Shaping Next for Society."
(As of October 28, 2026 Innovation Strategy Division)
