INTERVIEW

Born in 1971 and raised in the United Arab Emirates, she received a BA in Commerce from Waseda University, followed by an MSc in Business Journalism from Boston University. After working for Kao Corporation, she established Loftwork Inc. in 2000. The company handles over 550 projects each year relating to digital, business, community and space design. She operates FabCafe, a digital manufacturing café, and also MTRL, a workspace facility that offers hands-on production materials. She has performed numerous roles, including working as assistant director at MIT’s Media Lab (since 2012) and as a member of the Good Design Award’s Judging Committee (2013 to 2015). In 2015 she was appointed as president of a government-private-sector joint venture aimed at boosting the creating of local industries through forest restoration and manufacturing (known as “HIDA no MORI de KUMA wa ODORU”).