June 28, 2018

MEDIA ALERTFive Japanese Start-up Companies To Be Featured At
Eighth Annual Japan-US Innovation Awards Symposium at Stanford
San Francisco, CA – The Japan – U.S. Innovation Awards Program proudly announces five
Japanese startup companies to be featured in the 2018 Innovation Showcase, as part of theJapan-U.S. Innovation Awards Symposium at Stanford University on Friday, July 13, 2018.
The Innovation Showcase recognizes young, rapidly growing companies founded in Japanaround exciting technologies and highly innovative business ideas having the potential for major
worldwide impact. These companies were selected from a highly competitive field of candidates
demonstrating outstanding promise and success in gaining international traction.
The following top executives of the 2018 Innovation Showcase Companies will participate inthis year’s Japan-U.S. Innovation Awards Symposium. The Japan – U.S Innovation Awards isorganized by the Japan Society of Northern California in cooperation with the Stanford
University US-Asia Technology Management Center.
oABEJA, Inc. https://abejainc.com
Takanori Ogata, Co-Founder & Chief Research OfficerABEJA enables firms to carry out sophisticated analyses with accumulated data using aplatform that integrates state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence technologies, including IoTand deep learning.

oAstroscale Pte, Ltd http://astroscale.com
Chris Blackerby, COO
Astroscale, the first private company to develop solutions to mitigate the hazardous
build-up of debris in space, has a mission to secure long-term spaceflight safety andorbital environmental sustainability for the benefit of future generations.

oInfostellar Inc. https://www.infostellar.net
Dr. Naomi Kurahara, Co-Founder & CEO
Infostellar develops and maintains a ground services solution for satellite antennas thatconnects ground stations around the world in a shared network, while managing thevarious processes required to match satellites with appropriate antennas and deliver
data securely.

oispace inc. https://ispace-inc.com
Takashi Hakamada, Founder & CEO
ispace is a private lunar exploration company centered on micro-robotics whose vision
is to expand our living sphere and help create a sustainable world where the Earth andMoon are one ecosystem.

oLPixel Inc. https://lpixel.net
Yuki Shimahara, Founder & CEO
LPixel is a leader in advanced image analysis and processing technology encompassing
the life science field, and is dedicated to offering research facilities and medicalinstitutions top-tier image analysis and medical diagnosis technologies, both of which
are powered by AI.

Each senior executive will share the story of the company’s innovation and subsequent progressin a panel discussion to be moderated by Ken Yasunaga, Managing Director, Innovation
Network Corporate of Japan. The Innovation Showcase is also arranging connections for thefeatured companies with Bay Area experts in strategic startup growth.
According to Awards Program Steering Committee Chair, Richard Dasher, “Every year we areseeing more and more impressive startups in Japan and this year was no exception. Thecompanies selected for the 2018 Innovation Showcase underscore the broad range oftechnology-intensive innovation underway in Japan today, including space-related services, bigdata, life sciences, and IoT. We are proud to play a part in helping bring these exciting, dynamic
young companies to the heart of Silicon Valley.”
The 2018 Japan-U.S. Innovation Awards Symposium also will include awards for threeEmerging Leader companies, Foghorn Systems, Inc. and WeWork from the US and MUJIN, Inc.
from Japan. Dr. Yoky Matsuoka, Chief Technology Officer at Nest, will deliver keynote remarks.
Symposium attendees will be able to see first-hand the exciting products and services offered byeach Showcase company in a variety of exhibits. There will also be unmatched opportunity tonetwork with thought- leaders who are active at the intersection of Japanese creativity andSilicon Valley entrepreneurship and innovation.
Now in its eighth year, the 2018 Japan-U.S. Innovation Awards Symposium will be held July13, 2018 at the Stanford University Arrillaga Alumni Center from 1:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Additional information and registration is available at: http://www.usjinnovate.org.
Media Contact:
Yuriko Tadayuri@usajapan.org

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