Director, Sustainable Development of Tourism Department, UNWTO Headquarters. After a career as a banker and a lieutenant colonel in the German air force, he joined UNWTO headquarters in 1997. Since then, he has held various positions, including Chief of the Risk and Crisis Management Department, and currently serves as Director of the Sustainable Development of Tourism Department. He oversees the INSTO (International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories) and works on issues such as climate change, sustainable consumption and production, and facilitating travel. He holds a doctorate from Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany, and was awarded the ITB scientific award for his research on tourism crisis management.

Graduated from Department of Natural Environmental Studies, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo. Professor (Environmental Studies).
After conducting research related to the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources in developing countries, she worked at WWF (World Wildlife Fund) Japan since 2005 and collaborated with domestic and foreign governments and corporations to implement environmental conservation projects. In 2014, she became an associate professor at the Faculty of Regional Development Studies at Toyo University, then in 2020, she became a professor at the Faculty of International Tourism Management at Toyo University. She has held her current position since 2022. Her expertise is in environmental conservation. Her main research theme is the symbiosis between people and nature, and she conducts research fieldwork on the protection of nature in regional communities. Ecotourism and sustainable tourism are very important as tools.
In her book, “Sustainable Tourism - From the Perspective of Global Sustainability” (single author, Koyo Shobo), she describes the relationships between worsening global environmental issues and tourism.

Caroline Anderson has worked for the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) since 2000 and currently serves as the Planning Director, overseeing the development and implementation of HTA's strategic plan and each county's Destination Management Action Plan (DMAP), program evaluation, and response to congestion issues at popular tourist destinations called hotspots. Prior to that, as Director of the Community Enrichment program, she managed HTA's Human Resource Development Program, promotion of “Made In Hawaii”, improvements to the visitor experience, as well as the Enrichment Program, which promotes enhanced community-based tourism projects. She worked as a brand manager for HTA from its inception in 2004 to 2018, overseeing marketing contracts in the United States, Europe and Latin America, in addition to HTA's tourism conferences. Born and raised in Hawaii and part of Hawaii's vibrant tourism industry, she works with communities, tourism industry partners, and other state and county agencies to make Hawaii better. Caroline holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Travel Industry Management from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and a Master of Science degree in Urban Area Planning.

Asuka Hamakawa is the CEO of Earth Company. After graduating from Boston University, she worked at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, earned a master's degree in climate change research from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Center for Pacific Islands Studies with the aim of contributing to solving climate change, and has since been involved in disaster relief and climate change activities with NGOs. In 2014, he received the “Unsung Heroes of Compassion Award” from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. In 2018 and 2021, she was named a “Woman of the Future” and “100 Most Respected Japanese People in the World” by Newsweek magazine, and in 2022 she was selected as one of the “Asia 21 Young Leaders”.

Naoto Endo was born in 1976 in Yonezawa, Yamagata Prefecture. After graduating from the Faculty of Economics at Fukushima University, he worked at Asahi Tech Co., Ltd. (currently Asahi Brains). After living in Australia and training at Nasu Onsen’s Sansuikaku, he returned to Yonezawa and started working at the Suzunoyado Tofuya Ryokan in 2004. While working at the ryokan, he focuses on community development in Onogawa Onsen.
In 2013, he became the Representative Director of Tofuya Ryokan. He also holds occasional independent seminars. The themes of his lectures include “Creating a System that Continues to Generate Repeat Customers”, “Onogawa Onsen, Yonezawa Hattou’s Community Development”, “How to Use Subsidies, Mass Media, and Social Media”, “Using Waste Onsen Heat as a Fuel! Heat Pumps for Zero Kerosene Use.”
Ten years ago, Tofuya Ryokan reduced its costs through energy management (zero use of kerosene via heat exchange of waste water), and is now focused on environmentally friendly saunas, with new initiatives that link to the SDGs such as water baths that do not use chillers and bath brooms (vihta) using non-standard prefectural materials.

Akinobu Ishimatsu joined the former Aso Town Agency in 1989, and in February 2005, he became the Commerce and Industry Section Manager of the Aso City Community Development Commerce and Tourism Section due to the merger of municipalities. In April 2005, he was dispatched to the Aso Design Center, and in 2008, he began to study the Aso Geopark Concept at the Design Center. He contributed to gaining Japan Geopark Certification in 2009 and the World Geopark Certification in 2014.
Born and raised in Aso. During the former Aso-cho period, he was involved in organizing and establishing the “ASO Rural Space Museum”, which incorporated the ideas of French ecomuseums, as part of efforts to develop “Roadside Station Aso”. Even today, he works on the front line to implement sustainable community development initiatives.
He continues to take on the challenge of sustainable tourism, such as promoting tourism utilizing the Aso Geopark and promoting tourism through a partnership agreement with JR Kyushu.

Yoshinobu Funahashi was born in Osaka in 1982. He discovered horse riding in high school and became enthusiastic about equestrianism (obstacle jumping) as a student. After graduation, he was involved in the breeding of racehorses in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture and Hokkaido. He decided that he wanted to create a place where retired horses could spend their final years in peace, and moved to Hachimantai City, Iwate Prefecture.
Focusing on compost using horse manure and geothermal power, in 2014 he established the Hachimantai Geothermal Utilization Project. It sells mushrooms and a variety of seasonal vegetables produced based on circular agriculture.
“There are only three industries in Japan in which horses are directly involved: horse racing, horse riding, and horse meat. I want to add the new industry ‘compost from horses’.” Yoshinobu says “My dream is to sell horse manure compost, produce and sell delicious vegetables, run a stable, protect the landscape and environment where horses roam at the foot of Mt. Iwate, and increase the number of places for retired racing horses in Japan and overseas through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) using the same mechanism in order to create happy spaces for both horses and people.”

Reiko Hamanaka grew up on Teshima, a remote island located in the Seto Inland Sea between Kagawa and Okayama prefectures with a population of about 800, until she was 17 years old, and then went to study in Australia. She studied hospitality and hotel management and has ten years of specialist experience in a wide range of accommodation and tourism businesses, such as being an eco-tour guide approved by Ecotourism Australia (advanced) and working with inbound travel agencies on tour planning and itinerary creation.
In 2018, she returned to Teshima with her Australian husband and son, and established a limited liability company “Tokuto” the following year.
Starting in 2021, she renovated an 80-year-old old house as an accommodation and experience facility for high-quality travelers with a strong artistic and environmental orientation, and established the agriculture, forestry, and fishery guest house “Tokuto.” She has cultivated 990 m2 of abandoned farmland, provided sustainable farming experiences for people who wish to take part, and cooperated with other accommodation operators (agriculture, forestry, and fishery guest houses) by mutually accepting field harvesting and fishing experiences.

Born and raised in Ishikawa, Japan, Mitsue worked for the Marubeni Corporation before moving to Hawaii in 1992 where she started work as a Customer Service Representative for the Kualoa Ranch. In her second year she was promoted to Operation Manager, and soon took on the additional role of Director of International Sales & Marketing, with a focus on the Japan and Asian markets. Mitsue then moved to Pac Rim Marketing Group to serve as the PR Manager until being offered the position of Director of International Sales & Marketing for the Oahu Visitors Bureau, where she oversaw the Japan and Asian Markets from 2000 to 2008. In 2009, Mitsue was offered the position of Director of Sales at Hawaii Convention Center. After one year she decided a change of pace was in order, and she helped launch a non-profit organization with Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro. In 2011, she formed a team with A. LINK, LLC and launched a company which competed for and was awarded the State contract to promote Hawaii to Japan. In her new and present role, she serves as Japan, Country Director for Hawaii Tourism Japan.