On April 4th, the IJCC co-hosted the following event with the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ), British Chamber of Commerce in Japan (BCCJ), Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Japan (CCCJ) and Swedish Chamber of Commerce & Industry in Japan (SCCJ). The event was held in the fantastic Google Shibuya events space.

The evening started with an opening remarks and keynote address by Roman Matla, APAC Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Google and Moriaki Kida, Chairperson and CEO, EY Japan. It was inspiring to learn about their lifelong commitment to supporting and growing DEI as leaders in their fields.

Following this, the panel of speakers then took to the stage. Panelists Miyuki Hirose, Japan Market Lead, WEConnect International and Founder, Pink Rose, Loren Fykes, President & Co-founder of Pride Business Alliance Japan (PBAJ), and APAC DEI Program Manager at Google and Dr. Jackie F. Steele, PhD. Political Scientist and Founder/CEO, enjoi Japan K.K shared their own personal stories in their DEI journey in a the context of a business, entrepreneurship and academia backdrop in Japan. Moderator Hayden Majajas, Global Head of DE&I for Takeda also shared some of his own experiences, whilst facilitating discussion amongst the panelists.

Thanks again to the ACCJ team for organising a fantastic event to start off Pride month in Japan.

We're delighted to support DEI events and initiatives as part our commitment to building a more inclusive chamber.

If you are interested in learning more about DEI at the IJCC, please get in touch with our DEI Committee Manager Brietta O'Leary.