Courses & Events

2026 Japan-U.S. Innovation Awards Symposium

Thursday, Jul 16, 2026

10:30 am - 05:00 pm

The Japan – U.S. Innovation Awards Symposium is the signature event of the Innovation Awards Program presented by the Japan Society of Northern California in cooperation with the US-Asia Technology Management Center. It is the longest running annual program in the Bay Area celebrating the links between Silicon Valley and Japan innovation. Each year, the Japan – U.S. Innovation Awards selects one innovative high-growth company from Japan and one from the U.S. that are already beginning to transform a major industry or value chain.

The symposium will include:

• 2026 SunBridge-John Thomas Emerging Leader Awardees: Sakana AI (Japan) and Anthropic (U.S.)
• Innovation Showcase to recognize five exciting Japanese start-up companies: HACARUS (Artificial Intelligence), I Peace, Inc. (Regenerative Medicine), KORTUC (Cancer Therapeutics), Ookuma Diamond Device (Advanced Semiconductors) & Pale Blue (Space Technology)
• Keynote and panel discussions
• Lunch

Registration:

• This event will be FREE for Stanford ID holders – please use your Stanford.edu email address when registering.

For additional details and registration, please go here.