LEVANES Corporation, on behalf of the City of Sendai, is promoting the Sendai-Tohoku Expansion Program (STEP), which supports startups from Sendai and the Tohoku region in their efforts to solve global problems. As a part of this program, we will offer a program for startups aiming to expand their business overseas from Sendai/Tohoku and for local companies seeking new business opportunities,Global business seminars ("Learn from the Pioneers of Global Expansion!" series) will be held seven times from August to December. series) will be held approximately seven times from August to December.The following is a list of the most common problems with the

Click here to see the past implementation reports.
Session 1 Lecturer: Mr. Kengo Suzuki, Co-founder and Executive Fellow
Session 2 Lecturer: Mr. Shingo Akao, President, Ball Wave Corporation
Lecturer: Mr. Ken Matsui, CEO and Representative Director, ugo Co.

In the 5th session (October 23), we invited Mr. Hideaki Itami, Director, Asia Region, Platinum Bio Corporation, to talk about "Obtaining Local Evidence through Collaboration with Research InstitutionsHe will give a lecture titled "The Future of the Business and Research Community. In this project, we will do our utmost to support the process of startups facing real local challenges and growing while integrating business and research. We look forward to welcoming all deep tech startups who want to join the challenge of "changing the world with the power of deep tech.

5th: Global Business Seminar
Date: Tuesday, October 23, 2025, 16:00-17:00 
Location: Urbannet Sendai Chuo Building 4F/Conference Room C (4-4-19 Chuo, Aoba-ku, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture)
Title: Collaboration with Research Institutes to Obtain Local Evidence
Organized by: City of Sendai, Operated by: Riverness Inc.

Special Presentation: Mr. Hideaki Itami, Director, Asia Region, Platinum Bio Co.
Moderator: Yuko Ueno, General Manager, Group Development Business Division, Liverness, Inc.

*Non-startup companies entering this program are also welcome to participate. If you wish to participate, please register by clicking on the application button or on the linked page.
https://id.lne.st/project/sendai_gbp/regist/basic_info/1

Platinum Bio Inc.
Director, Asia Region
Mr. Hideaki Itami

He has been mainly responsible for European business for more than 30 years at an automobile manufacturer. He was stationed in Belgium and Germany for more than 10 years, leading European business (marketing, sales, and service). In 2023, he joined PlatinaBio and is mainly responsible for business development in the Southeast Asia region.

LIVERNESS Corporation
General Manager, Group Development Business Headquarters
Yuko Ueno

D. in Science. While in school, he explored the origin of life through his study abroad experience in the U.S. In 2013, he joined LIVERNESS, Inc. In the Human Resource Development Division, he developed U.S. training programs for young Japanese researchers. After two years as a general manager of the division, he became the editor-in-chief of the booklet "Founding Support" and engaged in dialogue with many venture executives. Later, after gaining experience in assisting Japanese deep-tech startups to enter Southeast Asia and Southeast Asian startups to enter the Japanese market, he became the General Manager of the Group Development Business Division in October 2021. He aims to establish a knowledge platform that integrates Southeast Asia and Japan in order to maximize the RIVERNESS Group.

Inquiries regarding this matter
(Contact: Mai Inoue, Saito, Ishizawa)
TEL：03-5227-4198 E-mail：[email protected]