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The 17th Yukaria Friendship Meeting: Embracing a New Era in Healthcare

Yukaria Inc., based in Chiyoda, Tokyo, is thrilled to announce that the 17th Yukaria Friendship Meeting will take place at the Toranomon Hills Forum on Saturday, July 4, 2026. This year's event will focus on the overarching theme of "Japan's Healthcare at a Historical Turning Point."

The meeting will start at 11:00 AM and conclude at 4:30 PM, with doors opening at 10:30 AM. It is essential to note that registration is required as attendance is free but limited.

Event Highlights

The agenda includes a prominent panel discussion titled "How Will AI Change Hospitals? – Insights from the Frontline Players about Today and Future Perspectives," starting at 3:00 PM. This session will feature influential speakers such as Tadashi Araki, Executive Director of Fujitsu, and Makoto Ono, Senior Account Manager for Healthcare at NVIDIA. The discussion will be moderated by Kazuaki Ogawa, Yukaria's Executive Officer and Healthcare Head, as they delve into AI’s current applications and its prospective future role in medical environments.

Notably, the keynote speeches will also be significant focal points of the day:
1. Keynote 1:
- Time: 11:10 AM
- Speaker: Shionuma Ryojun, Abbot of Jigen-ji Temple
- Topic: "Observing People – The Unchanging Forces Supporting Evolving Medicine"

2. Keynote 2:
- Time: 1:30 PM
- Speaker: Masatomi Minami, Professor at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine
- Topic: "Innovation in Medicine through Digital Transformation – What Technology Changes, What Doctors Must Preserve"

Throughout the day, we will explore the ideal vision for healthcare and nursing from the perspectives of technology, medicine, and spirituality in this crucial historical moment.

Agenda Overview

• - 11:00 AM - Opening Remarks by Yukaria's President, Hideo Misawa.
• - 11:10 AM - Keynote 1 by Shionuma Ryojun.
• - 12:10 PM - Lunch Meeting.
• - 1:30 PM - Keynote 2 by Masatomi Minami.
• - 2:30 PM - Presentations on DX / AI Initiatives in Partner Medical Institutions.
• - 3:00 PM - Panel Discussion: How Will AI Change Hospitals?
• - 4:00 PM - Closing Remarks by Yukaria Board Member Jun Furukawa.
• - After the meeting, there will be an informal gathering for about one hour.

About Yukaria Friendship Meeting

Since 2007, Yukaria has organized the Friendship Meeting to foster connections among the management of partner medical institutions and share insights from the Yukaria Group and hospital activities. After a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic post-2020, the meeting rebranded to the "Yukaria Friendship Meeting" in 2024, inviting a broader range of stakeholders, including academia, pharmaceutical companies, financial institutions, and investors. A new logo symbolizing the "Circle of Connecting Friends" (Yukaria Ring) has been introduced.

We aspire that the Yukaria Friendship Meeting will pave the way for achieving our vision of the "Industrialization of Healthcare" and foster a growing community dedicated to this cause. For registration, please visit: Registration Link