Shizuoka Shimbun and Shizuoka Broadcasting to Host Shizuoka Design Management Summit 2026 on June 24, 2026

Shizuoka Shimbun and Shizuoka Broadcasting will hold the Shizuoka Design Management Summit 2026 on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. The summit is designed to help companies in Shizuoka Prefecture address challenges such as strengthening brand power, driving business growth, and attracting talent. It will be held in a hybrid format, combining an in-person event on the first floor of the Shizuoka Shimbun and Shizuoka Broadcasting headquarters with an online stream. The summit will bring together practitioners from various fields, including Professor Akira Nakagawa of Shibaura Institute of Technology, who has worked on more than 300 projects for organizations such as NHK and Oriental Land; Sozosha, which transforms people’s passion into regional assets through Takumishuku in Shizuoka City’s Aoi Ward; Asahi Group Japan, which is working to implement design as a management resource; and the design division of TBS Television, which unites organizations through brand redefinition. The event will offer practical insights for reframing design not as decoration or a cost, but as a strategy and investment that accelerates management decisions and organizational transformation. The summit aims to redefine Shizuoka’s competitiveness by positioning design as a central management strategy that generates profit. Many companies in the prefecture currently face serious challenges, including price competition, hiring difficulties, and declining organizational cohesion. The key to overcoming these issues is not simply improving appearances, but implementing design management by incorporating a design perspective into the core of business management. However, the misconception that design is merely decoration or a cost continues to hinder brand renewal and prevent companies from moving beyond outdated methods, limiting the potential of regional businesses. Shizuoka Shimbun and Shizuoka Broadcasting planned this summit as a co-creation partner that goes beyond the role of regional media, working alongside local companies to maximize their value and strengthen their organizational power and vitality. The goal is to update perceptions of design into management strategy and investment, sharpen the competitiveness of Shizuoka companies nationwide, and create a turning point where the entire region can share in growth. The summit is aimed at business leaders asking whether design can ultimately increase sales. It will address issues such as escaping price competition and shifting to high-value-added businesses, failing to articulate a company’s appeal and therefore missing potential recruits and customers, and struggling with unclear organizational direction, leadership messages that do not reach employees, and low employee engagement. The summit will provide hints for these questions without easy answers by using design as a powerful management tool. The summit has three key features. First, a keynote lecture will clarify the full picture of design management and align perspectives that strengthen business management. Professor Akira Nakagawa of Shibaura Institute of Technology, a practitioner behind numerous successful works and an expert in design management and spatial UX, will explain why design management is needed now and present the logic of value creation and thinking frameworks. This will provide participants with a common language for shifting design from decoration to management infrastructure. Second, a distinguished lineup of speakers will reveal the thinking processes behind success. Professionals from Asahi Group, Sozosha, TBS Television, and other front-line organizations will speak around the themes of management, region, recruitment, and organization, sharing not only completed case studies but also real trial-and-error processes and concrete methods for moving organizations. Third, the event will not end with discussion; it will create a co-creation space through both in-person and online participation. At the physical venue on the first floor of the Shizuoka Shimbun and Shizuoka Broadcasting headquarters, a networking session will help speakers and participants build connections and generate concrete business insights and new opportunities for co-creation. The online stream will share the excitement in real time, offering a co-creation space that transcends location and helps shape Shizuoka’s future. Some guest speakers are scheduled to join the networking session from 18:00. Event details: The event name is Shizuoka Design Management Summit 2026. It will be held on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, from 12:50 to 19:00, with reception starting at 12:30. The format is hybrid, with the in-person venue limited to the first 50 participants and a YouTube LIVE stream. The physical venue is the first floor of the Shizuoka Shimbun and Shizuoka Broadcasting headquarters at 3-1-1 Toro, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka City. Participants are asked to use public transportation. The online stream is planned for YouTube LIVE, and the viewing URL will be sent to applicants. Participation is free. The event is open to executives, designers, creators, and all business professionals interested in design management and branding. Applications should be submitted through the official website. Official website URL: https://bc.at-s.com/ShizuokaDesig Ma ageme tSummit2026?utm_sou ce=p &utm_medium= efe al&utm_campaig =shizuokadesig 2026. The organizers are Shizuoka Shimbun and Shizuoka Broadcasting under Shizuoka Business Compass, with cooperation from Vivivit, Inc. Speakers include Akira Nakagawa, Professor at the College of Engineering and Design, Shibaura Institute of Technology; Yuichi Tanaka of Asahi Group Japan’s FCH Department and Design Firm; Akane Sakamoto of Asahi Group Japan’s FCH Department and Design Firm; Tomo Suzuki, Head of the Corporate Planning Office at Sozosha Inc.; Daichi Komiya, President and CEO of Vivivit, Inc.; Yoshiaki Sato, Creative Director at Taki Corporation; Takushi Ota, Head of the Design Management Department at the TBS Television Design Center; and Hayato Masuda, Expert Special Appointee at the TBS Television Design Center and member of the Akasaka Entertainment City Business Division. The organizer commented: “Design does not belong only to someone with good taste. It is a weapon for every business leader seeking to open up the future of their company, and it is the passion itself of creators who walk alongside them. We hope this summit will help rediscover the wonderful value held by companies in Shizuoka and support a new standard in which management and design move forward hand in hand. We sincerely look forward to your participation.”