HGU

Confirmed Speakers

• Atsuo Okazaki
  Professor, Hokkai Gakuen University, Faculty of Engineering I always have loved watching stars and thinking about the universe since I was a child. And so I became an astronomer. I have been teaching Astronomy at Hokkai-Gakuen University since 1986, after I graduated from a university in Kyoko. Doing research of the universe may sound cool, but I am just an astro-nerd. Because I’m always thinking about what’s going on in the universe, I think I just look like a strange, absent-minded guy. Like many scientists, I am straightforward and dry. Also, I am optimistic and positive (a person from Kansai area, I have a spirit of service as well). Sometimes, people ask me “When you think of the universe, you feel yourself tiny and trivial, don’t you?” However, it is totally the opposite. Although the universe looks too big and remote to have any connection to us, it actually has a close relationship with everything including us. In my TEDxHGU presentation, I will talk about how understanding the universe can encourage us in life.
• Kanae Muraki
  Kanae Muraki Director of Global Development at Crypton Future Media, Inc. While in school, she joined Crypton and developed several social music web services. Currently, she is in charge of US/EU development of Hatsune Miku, including running English facebook page and working with team to develop new music related technology for global market.
• Yoshie Ushimaru
  Born in Hokkaido, Yoshie Ushimaru enrolled in the Faculty of Business Administration and completed two years in the Liberal Studies at Hokkai Gakuen University. After completion of the course, she moved to New York to study English. She graduated from Hunter College, City University of New York, with a degree in Political Science. She was in New York during September 11, 2001, and volunteered as a Japanese interpreter for the American Red Cross. After graduating from college, she returned to Japan and started working in the private sectors. She joined the U.S. Consulate General in Sapporo in 2005, and now handles reference inquiries about the U.S., engages in outreach programs for youth, and promotes studying programs in the U.S. She flew to New York and enjoyed summer courses this July. For this TEDxHGU event, Ms. Ushimaru will talk about her current career, and about the things she discovered at her workplace which she had never imagined during her college years.
• Yoshitaka Ohira
  Ohira Yoshitaka Professor, Faculty of Business Administration, Hokkai-Gakuen University He is a professor in the Faculty of Business Administration at Hokkai-Gakuen University. He teaches introductory business management. The Faculty of Business Administration is the newest faculty at Hokkai-Gakuen University, and is independent from the Faculty of Economics, which was established 10 years ago. Professor Ohira started working at Hokkai-Gakuen University when the Faculty of Business Administration was established. His specialty is business organization, especially as it relates to cross-cultural business practices. His hobby is growing fruits on the balcony. The theme of his presentation is “Galapagos Japan”. In his presentation, he will discuss the idea that Japanese products of world-class quality have unique Japanese characteristics. By applying an approach similar to the way Japanese products are made, he will suggest some ideas on how to enjoy life by trying hard and by believing in oneself.
• Chiyomi Kobayashi
  Chiyomi Kobayashi Hokkai Gakuen University, Faculty of Humanities,4th year student Profile Hokkai Gakuen University, Faculty of Humanities, 4th year student, belonging to the cultural anthropology seminar class. Spent six months at a high school in Christchurch, New Zealand, where big earthquakes have occurred in 2009 and 2011. She studies mainly Ainu culture and food cultures in the cultural anthropology seminar. Speech content What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the name “Ishinomaki”? In my speech, I will talk about the present condition in Ishinomaki through my volunteering experience there. I did a lot of volunteer work as a member of Cannus Tohoku in Ishinomaki, which is the organization of volunteer nurses.I took care of children affected by the disaster, and helped maintaining elderly people’s health. What I saw in Ishinomaki was very different from what the media reports. People in disaster-struck areas still need a lot of support, even one and half year after the disaster. This is the reality in Ishinomaki at this very moment.
• Shoto Mizuno
  Syoto Mizuno HokkaiGakuen-University, Faculty of law, 1st year student After graduating from high school, I have come to pay more attention to the scenery in local communities as I commute between Tomakomai and Sapporo by train. Occasionally, I get off the train and enjoy the atmosphere of the area, which has become my private pleasure. Through these experiences, several questions came up, including "What are the factors that make local communities develop?" and "What aspects do local communities need to develop?" In this presentation, I will convey my views on the development of local communities. I am sure that the audience will come to think about how to help the development of their own local communities!
• Atsumi Watanabe
  Atsumi Watanabe Hokkai-Gakuen University, Faculty of Economics, 2nd year student I was born in Sapporo, Hokkaido, and I graduated from Hokkaido Sapporo Kaisei High School. I am currently studying in the Faculty of Economics at Hokkai-Gakuen University. In junior high school, I took part in a recitation contest as a representative of my school. I belonged to Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and enjoyed talking to people from abroad when I was a high school student. Currently, I am mainly studying Japanese economics, and employment and labor issues in my seminar class. In my presentation, I will talk about the things I try to pay attention to when I meet new people in my daily life. I will also talk about the significant elements in building good relationships with others. I will share three practical communication skills that I have discovered through my experience as a junior high school, high school and university student.
• Hironori Tarumi
  Professor　　Faculty of Law　　Hokkai-Gakuen University Born in 1959 in Fukuoka, Japan, Tarumi stayed in his hometown until 1977. He enjoyed many theatrical plays during his stay in Tokyo from 1977 to 1999. His goal in those days was to be a playwright, but instead he wrote scripts for various TV shows to earn a living. While he was in New York City as an NYU graduate student between 1988 and 1991, he discovered NPOs as society-changing organisms. It became his lifelong research topic. Putting aside his plan to be a social entrepreneur, he eventually became a “scholar of social innovation”. In 1999, he got a job as a public policy professor at Hokkai-Gakuen University in Sapporo, Japan, a post which he still holds. His focus is about how to change society, and more specifically about how to shorten the so-called social distance between people.
• Eri Tsurumaki
  I graduated from Seisa Kokusai High School, as well as in the College of Business and Communications, English and Business course. Then, I did freelance work and worked as a interpreter and translator for a while. I became a big fan of Hokkaido after I worked as a seasonally based worker in Obihiro, Hokkaido, in winter 2010. I moved to Sapporo in 2011. I wanted to study more in University, so I decided to enter the Faculty of Humanities at Hokkai Gakuen University. After my 26 years of ups and downs, I came to the idea that people need “momentary escapes”. 26 years is a very short time, but it's also a long time. 26 years is not long enough to learn everything about life, but it’s long enough to find your characteristics. For me, gaming is a form of entertainment and also a “momentary escape”. I love home video games and arcade games. When I play, I am able to get over my feelings of sadness and disappointment. I am even able to get over suicidal feelings by playing those games. In my presentation, I will talk about how important taking “momentary escapes” is to everyone. I base my presentation on my personal experiences.