Tech Osaka Summit 2027

After graduating from the Senior High School attached to Osaka Kyoiku University, President Kumanogoh enrolled in the Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Osaka in 1985 and graduated in 1991. In 1997, he completed the Department of Internal Medicine of the Graduate School of Medicine of the University of Osaka, obtaining Doctor of Medicine. After serving as assistant and assistant professor at the Research Institute for Microbial Diseases (RIMD), Dr. Kumanogoh became professor at RIMD in 2006 and served as professor at Immunology Frontier Research Center (IFReC) for 5 years from 2007. Later, he worked as professor at the Graduate School of Medicine of the University of Osaka, vice president of the University of Osaka, dean of the Graduate School of Medicine of the University of Osaka, executive advisor to the University of Osaka President, member of the Administrative Council of the University of Osaka, and in April 2025, he became the 19th President of The University of Osaka. Dr. Kumanogoh worked as associate member of the Science Council of Japan (SCJ), member of the Osaka Prefectural Medical Measures Council, member of The Life Science Committee, member of the Commission Considering the Direction of Medical Education in the Future, member of the Council for Science and Technology of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). He was conferred the title of Osaka University Distinguished Professor in 2017,and was subsequently awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2025.

Born in Osaka, Japan, he founded SAKURA internet Inc. in 1996 at the age of 18 while studying at the National Institute of Technology, Maizuru College. The company was listed on the Mothers Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2005 and is now listed on the Prime Market.
In addition to leading SAKURA, he is committed to nurturing the next generation of entrepreneurs and engineers. He serves as a Project Manager for the "MITOU Program," an exploratory IT human resources development project of the Innovation Platform Agency, Japan (IPA), and as a Board Member of Kamiyama Marugoto College of Design, Engineering and Entrepreneurship.
He also serves as an outside director of several companies and contributes to the continued growth of Japan's IT and digital industries through a number of leadership roles. He is Chairman of the Information Technology Federation of Japan (IT-REN), Chairman of the Software Association of Japan (SAJ), Chairman of the Japan Data Center Council (JDCC), Vice President of the Japan Internet Providers Association (JAIPA), and Managing Director of the Kansai Association of Corporate Executives (Kansai Keizai Doyukai).
He also serves on several Japanese government councils and expert panels, including the Cabinet Office's expert panels on AI strategy and strategic policy, as well as committees under the Cabinet Secretariat's Council on Japan's Growth Strategy.
He currently resides in Okinawa.

Doctor of Engineering. After working as a research fellow at the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and a researcher in the Kitano Symbiotic Systems Project, ERATO, he joined Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR) in 2002. He has served as Director since 2019. He is a principal investigator in the Avatar Symbiotic Society Project, Moonshot R&D Program Goal 1. His research and development includes cybernetic avatars and networked robotics. He also served as a program officer in the Program of Start-up Incubation from Core Research (SCORE), which was part of the Program for Creating Start-ups from Advanced Research and Technology of the Japan Science and Technology Agency to focus on entrepreneur development and the social implementation of cutting-edge technology.