IHJ Cultural Lobby
Interdisciplinary Talk #7 “Art and Industry — Illuminating Invisible Systems” with Masahiro Ito and Takashi Homma
IHJ Cultural Lobby Interdisciplinary Talk #7
"Art and Industry — Illuminating Invisible Systems"
Speaker: Masahiro ITO (CEO of PowerX) and Takashi HOMMA (Photographer)
Moderator: Yuko HASEGAWA (Director of Art and Design, International House of Japan)
CEO of PowerX, Founder of the Setouchi Art & Industry
Masahiro ITO
In December 2000, while still in high school, Masahiro Ito founded YAPPA Corporation. The company provided solutions across a wide range of industries using Java-based 3D technologies.
In 2014, YAPPA joined Start Today Co., Ltd. (now ZOZO, Inc.) through an acquisition. After serving as CEO of ZOZO Technologies, Ito was appointed Director and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of ZOZO in 2019. He led the development of innovative products and new business initiatives, including ZOZOSUIT and ZOZOMAT.
In 2021, he founded PowerX, Inc. With a mission to support the stable supply of renewable energy, the company develops and manufactures large-scale battery energy storage systems, provides electricity services, and operates a broad range of energy-related businesses.
Photographer
Takashi HOMMA
Born in Tokyo in 1962.
In 1999, he received the 24th Kimura Ihei Award for his photobook Tokyo Suburbia (Korinsha Press). His publications include Fun Photography: A Photography Class for Good Children (Heibonsha) and Takashi Homma’s Creative Appropriation: What I Learned by Trying It—An Introduction to Contemporary Visual Literacy (Shinchosha).
His recent photobooks include TOKYO OLYMPIA (Nieves) and Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (MACK).
From 2023 to 2024, the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum hosted his solo exhibition Revolution 9.
At the 2025 Setouchi Triennale, he collaborated with UNHCR on SONGS: that tell the stories of refugees, a photography project documenting refugees. The exhibition was presented at Takamatsu Port as part of the festival.
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