DE&I Talk Session

A Talk with Sputniko!

We hosted a talk with Sputniko!, an artist and the CEO of Cradle Inc., who works across a wide range of fields, including management, higher education, and entertainment. The session explored transformative approaches to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I).

Discussion themes:

Why, how, and who drives transformation toward a diverse organization?
Why is the empowerment of women important?
Challenges faced by minorities in the workplace
The commitment of President Yasunori Ogawa (as of February 2023) to DE&I from a management perspective

Profile: Sputniko!

Hiromi Ozaki, known as Sputniko!, was born in Tokyo. She graduated from Imperial College London with degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science, and completed a Master’s in Design Interactions at the Royal College of Art (RCA). Her RCA graduation project, Menstruation Machine, Takashi's Take, gained widespread attention. She was an assistant professor at MIT Media Lab and an Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo. Currently (February 2023), she is an Associate Professor in the Department of Design at the Tokyo University of the Arts.

Talk with Keiko Kojima

We also held a discussion with Keiko Kojima, an essayist and media personality who has publicly shared her experience of living with a disability. The session focused on the significance of disability inclusion at Epson.

Discussion Themes:

Epson's history of hiring people with disabilities
Why Epson changed its target employment rates
What does "reasonable accommodation" really mean?
Personal insights from being diagnosed with ADHD and reflections on societal structures
Costs and resistance associated with reform—Is DE&I a corporate responsibility or a mission?

Profile: Keiko Kojima

Keiko Kojima is an essayist, media personality, visiting researcher at the Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, University of Tokyo, and special researcher at the Showa Women's University Institute of Contemporary Business. She is a member of the B'AI Global Forum and MeDi. In her column Keiko Kojima's Dual Real Talk on Nikkei DUAL, she shared that she was diagnosed with mild ADHD after the age of 40, in June 2024.