Kickoff Event: Keys to Succeeding in the Japanese Healthcare Market – Presented by the Japan Society of Northern California and RAPS

Name: Kickoff Event: Keys to Succeeding in the Japanese Healthcare Market – Presented by the Japan Society of Northern California and RAPS
Start: 2025-09-04T16:00:00-07:00
End: 2025-09-04T18:15:00-07:00

Sep 04 2025, 4:00 pm - 6:15 pm

Hybrid Event

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

650 Page Mill Road
Palo Alto, 94304-1050 United States
+ Google Map

Hybrid program

Join us for an overview of the Japanese healthcare market and a tips for building your business there. This special event is designed to prepare healthcare innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors for success in the Japanese market – and as a kickoff for our U.S.-Japan Healthcare Conference, taking place in Tokyo and Osaka from September 15–20.

The program will feature two panels with deep experience navigating the Japan healthcare market. The first panel will give an up-to-date view of Japan’s healthcare landscape, including:

Emerging market trends and strategic developments
Key regulatory changes and their implications for foreign companies
Current funding opportunities and investment dynamics

The second panel will feature entrepreneurs and investors who have participated in the US-Japan Healthcare Conference and who have had extensive experience working in Japan and building cross-border partnerships. They will share tips on topics such as:

Engaging Japanese stakeholders
Putting your best foot forward
How to pick a strategic partner

The program will conclude with an interactive audience Q&A, followed by a networking reception. People planning to attend our US-Japan healthcare Conference in September are highly encouraged to attend.

Event Details

Date & Time:
Thursday, September 4th, 2025, 4:00 PM – 6:15 PM
*Doors open at 3:30 PM

In-person Location: Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati | 650 Page Mill Rd, Palo Alto, CA 94304

Parking: Please use the WSGR lot in front of the building. There should be ample empty spots.

Admission:
FREE!

Agenda:
3:30 Doors Open
4:00 Host Welcome – Elton Satusky (WSGR)
4:03   Program and Partner Introduction – Steve Pollock (JSNC)
4:10- 4:50   Panel: Japan Market Update – Market Trends, Regulatory Developments, Funding Environment
– Moderator: Tomoko Ishikura
– Panelists: Hikaru Saito (Saisei Ventures), Yoshimasa Shimoto (CMIC), Yuko Terasawa (Nozomi MedAlliance)
4:50-5:30    Panel: Making the Most of Your Visit to Japan
– Moderator: Kirk Zeller
– Panelists: Peymon Ghazi (Malcova), Mika Nishimura (Gilde Partners), Scott Xiao (Luminopia)
5:30-5:35 Closing Remarks – Steve Pollock
5:35-6:15 Networking with light refreshments (courtesy of WSGR)

–

Partner

Generously Hosted by

Co-Organizer

Panel 1: Japan Market Update – Market Trends, Regulatory Developments, Funding Environment

Moderator: Tomoko Ishikura | Managing Partner, Kicker Ventures

Tomoko is a Managing Partner at Kicker Ventures with extensive experience across various sectors of healthcare in diverse countries and business cultures. Before founding Kicker, she served as a Business Development Advisor to Nipro and worked at Axios International in France, UNICEF in Rwanda, and PwC’s PRTM and Aqumen Biopharmaceutical in Japan. A trained pharmacist and molecular biologist, she holds an MBA from INSEAD and an MS from Kyushu University.

A strong advocate for women in venture, Tomoko is active in the U.S. female VC community, speaks at major global conferences, and mentors in leading accelerator programs—guiding the next generation of healthcare entrepreneurs and investors.

In addition to her role at Kicker, she teaches meditation classes in San Francisco and brings thoughtful, practical approaches back to her work, helping foster a valuable and authentic community in the healthcare industry.

Hikaru Saito, Ph.D. | Partner, Saisei Ventures

As a partner of Saisei Ventures, Dr. Saito is responsible for Japan operations including company creation, integrating Japanese science and technology with the Western ecosystem. Prior to joining Saisei, he started career as a research scientist at Astellas Pharma Inc. and then as a Senior Manager of Business Development and as a Senior Investment Manager at Astellas Venture Management, a CVC arm based in Silicon Valley, USA, where he was a lead role for deal process, due diligence and transactions for venture investments in RNA therapeutics, cell and gene therapy. He was providing business support to portfolio companies based on the expertise, experience, and global network. Prior to joining Astellas, he was a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, and a Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. He received his B.S. in Biotechnology and M.S. and Ph.D. in Biomolecular Molecular Engineering from Tokyo Institute of Technology.

Yoshimasa Shimoto, Ph.D. | Partner, Consulting and Navigation Unit, CMIC

Yoshimasa Shimoto has provided strategic consulting and navigation to companies seeking to enter the Japanese pharmaceutical market. Prior to joining CMIC, he served as the Executive Vice President at Daiichi Sankyo RD Novare, overseeing the execution of clinical studies. At Daiichi Sankyo, he also had served as Vice President of Global Project Management and Asia Development, responsible for portfolio/project management of R&D and clinical study implementation in the Asian region, respectively. Dr. Shimoto received a PhD from the University of Tokyo and completed a research fellowship at the University of Michigan.

Yuko Terasawa , Ph.D. | Co-Founder, Nozomi MedAlliance, K.K. & Co-Founder, J-Biosciences, K.K. & Principal Consultant, BiomedwoRx Life Science Consulting

20+ years of combined business development and drug discovery experience with an
extensive global network in biotech/pharma/medtech. She supports cross border business development and partnerships between US/global and Japanese organizations to grow valuable innovations in healthcare.
Yuko is skilled at seeing the value of bringing together technologies from different organizations to enable synergistic product development. She has established and managed over 20 strategic partnerships to accelerate development. She has experienced every stage of therapeutic development: research, lead discovery, preclinical, and clinical development. She has supported the growth of multiple startups as an advisor to emerging biotechs. She earned a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in Nutritional Sciences and Molecular Biology, with a B.S. from UC Davis in Physiology.

Dr. Peymon Ghazi | Co-founder & CEO, Malcova

Dr. Peymon Ghazi is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Malcova, where he has guided three radiological-health technologies from concept to clinical trials. He now leads the company’s push to commercialize novel imaging solutions for breast-cancer detection and ischemic-stroke diagnosis.
Before launching Malcova, Dr. Ghazi held positions as a scientist, engineer, and manager in the radiological-device industry. He earned a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering and completed a Business Development Fellowship, both at the University of California, Davis, where he currently serves on the College of Engineering advisory board.

Mika Nishimura | Operational Partner, Gilde Healthcare

Over the last 30 years as a life science executive, Mika has built an exceptional track record of leading businesses from inception to scale across different clinical segments, technologies, and business models.

Mika is an independent director on the boards of SI Bone, Inc., Accuray, Inc., NEC Corporation, and HOYA Corporation.

Since 2011, Mika has been an Operational Partner with Gilde Healthcare Partners, a life-science-focused venture fund with over $2.7B under management.

Mika has an MBA from Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration and a BA in Economics from Yale University.

Scott Xiao | Co-Founder & CEO, Luminopia

Scott Xiao is the Co-Founder and CEO of Luminopia, a therapeutics company developing software-based interventions at the intersection of ophthalmology and neuroscience. Their lead product is a novel, FDA-approved treatment for amblyopia, the leading cause of vision loss in children. Instead of having to wear an eye-patch, patients get to watch their favorite TV shows as therapy with Luminopia within a kid-friendly VR headset. The technology was developed in collaboration with leading researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital and MIT, and the company has partnered with beloved media companies including Nickelodeon, PBS Kids, and Sesame Workshop to provide an engaging experience for kids. Luminopia was the first VR based therapeutic to receive FDA approval for any medical condition, and the product is now being prescribed by numerous top children’s hospitals and eye institutes across the country. For Scott’s work in pioneering healthcare innovation, he was named to the MIT Tech Review’s Innovators Under 35 and the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for healthcare. Luminopia was also recognized as one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2023.

Panel 2: Making the Most of Your Visit to Japan

Moderator: Kirk Zeller, DBA

Kirk Zeller is medical device industry veteran whose entire career has been dedicated to commercializing medical device technologies around the world and building medical device companies. Kirk completed most of his undergraduate studies in Japan, started his career as a heart valve sales rep in Japan, and has spent much of his career helping companies get into international markets with a particular focus on Japan. Kirk served on the board of US-Japan MedTech Frontiers prior to it becoming US-Japan Healthcare Connection. He is a Council Leader of the US-Japan Council and co-chair of the U.S.-Japan Council Healthcare Group. He has co-founded and served on the boards of numerous companies as well as provided fractional leadership and been a long-time mentor of early-stage medical device companies. In 2023 three of the companies he mentored made it to MedTech Innovator Top 5 companies and the company he co-founded, Progressive NEURO, Inc was an official 2024 MedTech Innovator Cohort company. Kirk received an award from United States Congressman Adrian Smith and is on Congressional Record for his entrepreneurial endeavors during COVID.

Full Bio