116th Anniversary
35th Award of Honor Gala
Friday, November 19, 2021

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The Modernaworld isexpanding.

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welcome

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Award of Honor

Christophe Weberjapansociety2021Prog111621FAOL.indd 4

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Award of Honor

Rajeev Venkayya

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Award of Honor
Chief Executive Officer
Moderna, Inc.
Stéphane Bancel has
served as Moderna’s
Chief Executive Officersince October 2011 andas a member of Moderna’s board of directors
since March 2011. Before joining the Company,
Mr. Bancel served for five
years as Chief Executive
Stephane Bancel
Officer of the French
diagnostics company
bioMérieux SA. From July 2000 to March 2006, he servedin various roles at Eli Lilly and Company, including as Managing Director, Belgium and as Executive Director, Global
Manufacturing Strategy and Supply Chain. Prior to Lilly,
Mr. Bancel served as Asia-Pacific Sales and MarketingDirector for bioMérieux.
Mr. Bancel currently serves on the board of directors ofIndigo. He is currently a Venture Partner at Flagship Pioneering. Mr. Bancel holds a Master of Engineering degreefrom École Centrale Paris (ECP), a Master of Science inchemical engineering from the University of Minnesota,
and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Moderna, Inc.
In 10 years since its inception, Moderna has transformed
from a science research stage company advancing programs in the field of messenger RNA (mRNA), to an enterprise with a diverse clinical portfolio of vaccines and therapeutics across six modalities, a broad intellectual property
portfolio in areas including mRNA and lipid nanoparticle
formulation, and an integrated manufacturing plant thatallows for both clinical and commercial production at scale
and at unprecedented speed. Moderna maintains allianceswith a broad range of domestic and overseas governmentand commercial collaborators, which has allowed for thepursuit of both groundbreaking science and rapid scalingof manufacturing.
Most recently, Moderna’s capabilities have come together to allow the authorized use of one of the earliest andmost effective vaccines against the COVID 19 pandemic.
Moderna’s mRNA platform builds on continuous advances
in basic and applied mRNA science, delivery technology
and manufacturing, and has allowed the development oftherapeutics and vaccines for infectious diseases, immuno
oncology, rare diseases, cardiovascular diseases and auto
immune diseases. Today, 24 development programs areunderway across these therapeutic areas, with 16 programs
having entered the clinic. Moderna has been named a top
biopharmaceutical employer by Science for the past sixyears. To learn more, visit www.modernatx.com

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11/17/21 12:56 PMunited nations messageUnited Nations
Under-Secretary- Generaland High Representativefor Disarmament Affairs.
Ms. Izumi Nakamitsu
assumed her position
as Under-SecretaryGeneral and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs on 1 May
2017. Prior to taking on
this post, Ms. NakamitIzumi Nakamitsu
su served as Assistant
Administrator of theCrisis Response Unit at the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) since 2014.
She has many years of experience within and outside theUnited Nations system, most recently as Special Adviser
Ad Interim on Follow-up to the Summit on Addressing
Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants between
2016 and 2017. She was previously Director of the Asiaand the Middle East Division of the United Nations De-partment of Peacekeeping Operations between 2012 and2014, and Director of the Department’s Division of Policy,Evaluation and Training, from 2008 to 2012.
Between 2005 and 2008, Ms. Nakamitsu was Professorof International Relations at Hitotsubashi University inTokyo, where she also served as a member of the Foreign
Exchange Council to Japan’s Foreign Minister, and as avisiting senior adviser on peacebuilding at the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Between 1998 and 2004,
she was the Chef de Cabinet and Director of Planning andCoordination at the International Institute for Democracy
and Electoral Assistance, based in Stockholm, Sweden.
Other past positions included being a member of the United Nations Reform Team of former Secretary-General Kofi
Annan, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR, and in UNHCR field operationsin the former Yugoslavia, Turkey and northern Iraq.
Born in 1963, Ms. Nakamitsu holds a Master of Science
degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University
in Washington, D.C., and a Bachelor of Law degree fromWaseda University in Tokyo.

E N T E R T A I N M E N TAdler Fellows
Elisa Sunshine – Soprano
Kseniia Polstiankina-Barrad - Pianist
Adler Fellowship Program
Named for Kurt Herbert Adler, San Francisco Opera’s legendary former general director, the Adler Fellowship Program is a multi-year
performance-oriented residency for opera’s most promising young artists. Originally founded in 1977 as the San Francisco AffiliateArtists Opera Program, the Adler Fellowship is one of the world’s most prestigious programs for advanced training. The program haslaunched the careers of many of the artists performing on the San Francisco Opera stage and on stages around the world.

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11/17/21 12:56 PMgreetings
President Japan
Society of Northern
California
Warm welcome to our35th Annual Award ofHonor Gala!
I am very pleased that we
can hold this year’s Galain person for the first timein two years at the War
Memorial Opera House
where the San FrancisTakahide Akiyama
co Peace Treaty wassigned 70 years ago.
On this special occasion, it is our great honor to present theAward of Honor to Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited
and Moderna, Inc., the two excellent companies that havemade tremendous contributions to protect the lives of thepeople in Japan and advance the relationship between theUS and Japan in the amidst of the continuing Coronavirus
pandemic.
Our mission to promote understanding and friendshipbetween the US and Japan at grassroots does not change
under any circumstances and I am pleased to report that, forthat purpose, we are able to continue a high level of activities
by presenting many meaningful events in such areas as art
and culture as well as business and technology with an emphasis on connecting Silicon Valley/San Francisco ecosystem
of innovation and entrepreneurship with Japan and also by
providing high quality Japanese language classes taught bypassionate teachers.
The progress that we are making in these difficult times has
been brought forth by the challenging spirit of our small but
dedicated team and by strong encouragement and support
from many corporate sponsors, collaborators, and individual
members as well as our board members. Thank you.
We will continue to evolve in the right way in the ever-changing world with our purpose intact in many years to come.
Thank you very much for your participation and continued
support.

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11/17/21 12:56 PMgreetings
Chairman of the Board
Japan Society ofNorthern California
Welcome to the 35th Japan
Society of Northern California annual Gala Awards
Dinner. Since we lastgathered in person for thisevent, much has changed.
The US and Japan havesuffered a historic pandemic which brought significant
Larry Greenwood
economic dislocation andgrowing inequality. And weboth have new leaders who have committed to step up efforts
to fight COVID, restore prosperity and achieve social justice ina highly volatile world. The pandemic has reminded us of theenormous power of technology and a dynamic private sector
that, in partnership with government, is given the freedom andopportunity to harness it. We are privileged to honor two of
those companies, Moderna and Takeda, who are helping toquell COVID through the rapid development and distribution ofvaccines around the world.
One constant in these trying times is the strong friendship andalliance between the US and Japan. 70 years ago, Americans
and Japanese came together to sign the peace treaty that formally ended a horrific and devastating war, marking the rebirthof a partnership that remains strong today. The foundation ofthat relationship rests on grassroots support based on friendship, shared values, and mutual respect between the peopleof Japan and America. The mission of the Japan Society is tonurture that relationship through our programs and expand
knowledge and understanding of each other.
I would like to thank Gala Chair Nobuko Saito Cleary for her
masterful planning of the Gala; President Takahide Akiyama for
his leadership during a challenging year; our Board of Directorsfor their wise advice and assistance; the Society’s staff for thehard work of putting on more than 40 programs this year; andall our sponsors without whose support we could not do asingle program. And most of all thank YOU all this evening foryour valuable support of our mission.

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Gala Chair &Board Member
Esteemed guests,
Thank you for joining us
this evening for the 35th
Annual Award of Honor
Gala. This year, we arecommemorating the 70th
anniversary of the signingof the San Francisco
Peace Treaty. This special
moment was the start ofNobuko Saito Cleary
the friendship between
the United States andJapan that is still flourishing today. The fact that we could holdthis event at the actual site of this historic event is extremely
memorable. And, we are happy that we were able to present
an in-person event this year.
The Award of Honor recipients this year are an important partof the recovery from the pandemic. Takeda Pharmaceutical
Company Ltd. and Moderna, Inc. have played significant rolesin the successful fight against the Corona virus. We are proudto present the awards to their leaders, Christophe Weber,
Stephane Bancel and to Dr. Rajeev Venkayya, who is with us today.
As Gala chair, I feel pride that these great awardees will join
the extraordinary ranks of other honorees through Japan
Society’s history.
I am honored that we have a message from Ms. Izumi
Nakamitsu, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and High
Representative for Disarmament Affairs. She symbolizes themany countries that were represented at the signing of the San
Francisco Peace Treaty.
I am grateful to the generosity of many friends and sponsors. I
am pleased to welcome Consul General Hiroshi Kawamura toSan Francisco and the gala. I also extend my appreciation toTakahide Akiyama, JSNC President; Larry Greenwood, Board
Chair; the Gala Committee and the JSNC staff.
I hope you will enjoy the ambiance of the beautiful setting ofthe San Francisco War Memorial Opera House and the fellowship of being together in person. Congratulations to the honorees and thank you to everyone for attending and supporting
the Japan Society Northern California.

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Japan Society
History

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San francisco
Peace Treaty

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Annual Award ofHonor Recipientsjapansociety2021Prog111621FAOL.indd 13

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35th Award of Honor
Gala Sponsors

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thank you

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leadership circle
committee, staff

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board of directors

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Congratulations
2021 Gala Award Recipients
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Mr. Christophe WeberandModerna, Inc., Mr. Stéphane Bancel

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T:3"T:7.5"

salesforce.com/360

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Better Health,
Brighter Future
Takeda is a global, values-based,
R&D-driven biopharmaceuticalcompany committed to discoveringand delivering life-transforming
treatments and vaccines that havea lasting impact on society.
Since our founding in 1781 ina market stall in Osaka, Japan
our values endure by putting
patient needs first, building trustwith society, strengthening ourreputation, and developing thebusiness - in that order.

www.takeda.com

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