[Seminar] Latest Trends in the U.S. Stadium and Sports Business

[Instructor] Hiroyuki Sakai, President of MANAGEMENTIVA Co., Ltd. (Former Community Manager of Real Madrid CF) [Key Lecture Content] The 2026 Soccer World Cup, held in North and Central America with the United States as a sports business powerhouse, concluded with great success. However, it is also true that events occurred behind the scenes that far exceeded imagination. Many new trends in activities were confirmed around the local stadiums. What has changed in business, and how? Was it successful or not? What hints can we gather for the future? Which aspects should the Japanese sports industry adopt? Furthermore, the relationship with politics that attracted attention. It has been said that this should ideally be separated... Using the World Cup as a case study, I will discuss the latest business situation.

[Speaker] Mr. Takaki Miyazaki, President and CEO of NTT Circulast Corporation Director Ms. Saori Koga [Key Lecture Content] Resource circulation is becoming increasingly important from the perspectives of decarbonization and resource security, with rising expectations particularly for non-ferrous metals such as copper. However, there is a challenge in that the "flow of goods" supporting resource circulation and the "flow of information" conveying their value are disconnected, leading to insufficient communication of characteristics such as the origin of recycled materials and environmental impact, resulting in the circulation value not being properly recognized and evaluated in the market. In this lecture, we will introduce the background behind the establishment of NTT Circulast by NTT and Mitsubishi Materials, as well as the business concept that connects the flow of information and goods. Additionally, we will discuss future prospects for realizing a market where circulation value is chosen, taking into account trends in international standardization (ISO).

[Speaker] Yuto Noro, Partner Attorney at TMI General Legal Practice [Lecture Topics] 1. EU Digital Regulations and the EU Cyber Resilience Act (1) Recent important EU digital regulations and the EU Cyber Resilience Act (2) What is the EU Cyber Resilience Act? (3) Problematic cases 2. Scope of Application of the EU Cyber Resilience Act (1) Products with digital elements (2) Logical or physical data connections placed on the market / direct or indirect (3) Important products / critical products 3. Specific Regulations of the EU Cyber Resilience Act (1) Obligations of manufacturers (2) Obligations of importers (3) Obligations of distributors 4. Practical Responses to the EU Cyber Resilience Act (1) Methods of practical response (identifying target products / gap analysis / implementation) (2) Examples of practical responses (technical implementation / documentation implementation / operational implementation) 5. Q&A / Business Card Exchange

[Speaker] Mr. Kimihiro Horiuchi, President and CEO of Data Driven Consulting Inc. [Key Lecture Content] We are confident in the strategies created in collaboration with our internal elite and external consultants. However, we are not achieving the results we desire. Many companies facing such challenges share a common issue: a lack of execution power to realize their strategies. On the other hand, when we talk about increasing execution power, it involves complex factors such as sales, human resources, organization, and marketing, making it difficult to find effective solutions. In this lecture, we will introduce a method for building an organization with overwhelming execution power by thoroughly refining the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle, which should be practiced by everyone, aimed at business owners and middle management who are struggling with such concerns.

[Speaker] RAUL Co., Ltd. President and CEO Kenji Eda, Director of the Energy Information Center [Key Lecture Content] With the expansion of renewable energy adoption, there is growing interest in Virtual Power Plants (VPP) that utilize small grid-connected storage batteries, as well as storage batteries for homes, stores, and businesses, solar power generation, and electric vehicles (EVs). This lecture will clarify the differences between low-voltage grid-connected storage batteries and VPPs, the structure of equipment and operations, the structure of revenue generation, and the roles of key players from the basics. Furthermore, we will discuss overseas examples from Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom, explaining the differences with Japan and key points for commercialization. Without delving deeply into complex systems or technical details, we will clearly introduce practical perspectives on entry methods, challenges and risks, and future market outlooks. [Lecture Items] 1. Basic overview of low-voltage grid-connected storage batteries and VPPs 2. Structure of equipment and business for low-voltage grid-connected storage batteries 3. How storage batteries and VPPs generate revenue 4. Overview of VPP and aggregation business 5. Case studies of storage batteries and VPPs overseas 6. Challenges of commercialization, entry methods, and future outlook 7. Q&A / Business card exchange