Alessandro Coviello was born in Italy and is a graduate of the University of Venice. He came to Japan to study Japanese while in university. Later, he worked as a chef while employed at a company importing high-quality mozzarella cheese and prosciutto from Italy. Between 2016 and 2017, he appeared on TV as a food researcher. He has also held foreign cuisine classes featured in magazines, and held cooking demonstrations at international exhibitions. Today he works as a marketing supervisor for Barilla Japan while working as a chef in Hachijojima Island. He also creates menus that fuse Japanese and Italian cuisine using ingredients from the island.

A native of France, Sara Millot graduated from the department of Japanese language at the University of Toulouse, before studying at Waseda University. In 2017, she came to Japan again as a coordinator for international relations at Tsuruoka City in Yamagata Prefecture, and was assigned to the tourism and products division. Since 2020 she has been in charge of developing travel products and providing tourism information as a chief of the DEGAM Tsuruoka Tourism Bureau Business Section. In 2018 she coordinated a collaborative project between Niigata City and Tsuruoka City for the Japonismes event held in Paris, while in 2020 she acted as a consultant for The Grand Dewa Route Project. She is also engaged in a wide range of other inbound-related activities, such as training English-Japanese and English-French tour guides and developing adventure tourism products for Tsuruoka City.

Born in Osaka, Hitoshi Sugiura moved to the U.S. in 2009. There, he refined his sensibilities and acquired various skills at Michelin-starred restaurants in Los Angeles and New York under James Beard Foundation award-winning chef Joachim Splichal . For two consecutive years from 2014, he served as Japanese representative chef for a reception party of the Japanese Delegation to the United Nations held at the United Nations Ambassador’s Residence in NYC. Using his international food experience, he is currently a leading authority on vegan and plant-based cuisine in Japan. He is also the recipient of numerous awards. He is currently a firm advocate of “Social Food Gastronomy,” and develops social contribution and innovation on the international stage by using his diverse perspectives.

Laetitia Da Costa was born in France and came to Japan on an exchange scheme between a school in Paris and Japan. Although she once returned to France, her interest in Japan remained, and she re-enrolled and graduated from Keio University. After working in Tokyo in advertising, art curation, translation and interpreting, she joined Japan Experience, a travel agency with its head office in France, in 2011. As a founding member of the Japan branch, she was in charge of building partnerships with locals and developing new products, and was appointed product manager. In 2022 she acquired a qualification in experience design. Using her extensive experience and global outlook, Da Costa is designing the value of Japan’s tangible and intangible assets.

Born in the U.S., Nemo Glassman graduated from Willamette University and came to Japan in 2002 as part of the JET Program, taking residence in Saga Prefecture. In 2010, he set up Plus Alpha Japan in Kyoto, a company provides events and Japanese content for foreign tourists on an introductory basis. In 2019, he established Sea Tech Trading, implementing a primary industry digitalization project with the Fisheries Agency, and in 2021 he set up Food Tech Trading. Working with the Japanese government, Japanese food manufacturers, major Japanese corporations, and major IT companies in the U.S., he is promoting the digitalization of Japan’s primary industries and supply chains, and working to reform export operations.

Koichiro Shimura took over as the second generation owner of Tempura Ono in 2006. Since then, he has been serving his own, unique style of tempura for predominantly VIP guests from overseas. While working as an international chef, he has also visited Yamagata Prefecture, Hokkaido, and other areas to strengthen his relationships with producers. He is also involved in various activities, such as lecturing at Waseda University and International Christian University, and taking charge of supervising Japanese cuisine on world cruise ships. In 2016, he was appointed as a Cool Japan regional producer. During the pandemic, he focused his efforts on Shimura Department Store activities, which connects producers nationwide with consumers. In July 2020, he opened his second restaurant Tenne Shimura Masa in Ginza.

After graduating from the School of Political Science and Economics at Waseda University, Takeshi Natsuno joined Tokyo Gas. He later acquired an MBA from the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania. Following a stint as vice-president of a startup company, he joined NTT Docomo. Here he launched an array of services including i-mode and Osaifu-Keitai, and served as an executive officer of Docomo. Currently, in addition to being a special visiting professor at Kindai University, he also serves as president of KADOKAWA, president of Dwango Co., Ltd., and as an outside director of a number of companies. He also acts as Chairman of the Council for Promoting Regulatory Reform of the Cabinet Office, and has participated in various governmental committees.

Born in Tochigi City in Tochigi Prefecture, Kenichi Watanabe graduated from Gakushuin University before joining KDDI and the Asahi Shimbun Company. He went on to study social media marketing and media strategy at the University of California San Diego and international business at the University of Washington. He returned to the Asahi Shimbun Company after returning to Japan, and worked on a collaborative project with the Japanese government. In 2008, he was then dispatched to the Office for the Promotion of Regional Revitalization at the Cabinet Secretariat. He established the regional production company Genki Japan in 2010, the public-private social production company XPJP in 2015, and a space design company Space SAGA in 2021. He currently develops a range of collaborative projects nationwide with governments, businesses, media outlets, and citizens across Japan. He also serves as a visiting professor at the Kyoto University of the Arts, a visiting professor at the Tohoku University of Art and Design, and a researcher at the Graduate School of System Design and Management at Keio University. One of his hobbies is playing lacrosse.