Roundtable by The Japan Times #5 (Sho Okiyama, M.D.)

Roundtable: Sustainability with Ross Rowbury #5

Due to safety reasons regarding COVID-19, the Feb. 3 edition of Roundtable by The Japan Times will be held without the participation of an audience. To the applicant for Live Attendance, we will contact you directly to process a refund. Live streaming will be done as planned

The English-language events will invite readers of The Japan Times to be guest speakers. Ross Rowbury (former representative of Edelman Japan), who has a deep knowledge of Japan and boasts a wide network both here and abroad, will sit down in the role of host with Japanese and non-Japanese to discuss their lives in Japan. Held once a month, the format of the roundtable will include time for panel discussions with the participation of the audience

For our special speaker, Rowbury will invite Sho Okiyama, CEO and founder of Aillis Inc., who is developing an AI device for early and accurate detection of influenza.

Sho Okiyama, M.D.
Sho Okiyama is the CEO and founder of Aillis Inc., a Tokyo-based startup developing an AI device for early and accurate detection of influenza. Although the flu is a common infectious disease, it changes rapidly and there are still many challenges in diagnosis. The device Aillis is developing takes a completely new approach using machine-learning techniques to identify influenza follicles — blister-like swellings that are early indicators of the disease — from throat images.
He is also a doctor specializing in emergency medicine who has worked as an emergency physician at the Japanese Red Cross Medical Center, as a flight doctor traveling where needed on a remote island and as a ship’s doctor. Prior to founding Aillis, he was the executive officer of the Japanese health care company Medley Inc. He earned his medical degree from the University of Tokyo in 2010.

Ross Rowbury
Ross Rowbury has observed Japan while living and working here for four decades. Commencing his career in finance in Tokyo in the early 1980s, he later moved into public relations and communications, holding senior positions at Gavin Anderson & Co. (now Kreab) and PRAP Japan. Most recently, he headed the Edelman business in Japan for 10 years until July 2020. Ross is studying to become a kataribe (traditional storyteller) of Japanese legends while doing freelance consulting for a number of firms on their Japan business strategy. He is also visiting professor of Asian marketing at Doshisha University in Kyoto.