2021 Japan-U.S. Innovation Awards Symposium Emerging Leaders confirmed! Color and Astroscale to be awarded.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, June 21, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Japan – US Innovation Awards Program <https://www.usjinnovate.org/>; proudly announces the winners of the SunBridge Emerging Leader Award for 2021. Each year, this award recognizes one high-growth company from Japan and one from the U.S. that are already beginning to transform a major industry or value chain.

The 2021 SunBridge Emerging Leader Award - U.S. winner is Color <https://www.color.com>, which has dramatically increased access to critical health services through population health programs that are convenient, and cost-effective for everyone, while the SunBridge Emerging Leader Award - Japan goes to Astroscale <https://astroscale.com/>, a pioneer in outer space debris tracking and removal.

The Japan - U.S. Innovation Awards Program, the longest running annual program in the Bay Area celebrating the links between Silicon Valley and Japan innovation, is produced by the Japan Society of Northern California <https://www.usajapan.org/>; in cooperation with the Stanford University US-Asia Technology Management Center <https://asia.stanford.edu/>.

The CEOs of Color and Astroscale will accept their awards at the 2021 Japan-U.S. Innovation Awards Symposium on July 8, 2021, which will also include a panel discussion on innovation by top executives of the two firms. This year, the Symposium will be presented in online-only format in two parts: Part A on July 8 (by Zoom from 4:30 - 7:00 pm, Pacific time) includes the presentation of the Emerging Leader Awards and a first-hand report on U.S. - Japan cooperation in innovation by Mr. Mike Tso, CEO of Cloudian <https://cloudian.com/>, one of five Japanese startup companies featured in the Innovation Showcase of the Awards Program in 2015.

Part B on July 15 from 4:30-7:00 pm, Pacific Time (July 16, 8:30-11:00 am, Japan Time) will feature a keynote talk by Ms. Tomoko Namba, Chair of DeNA Co. and the first-ever woman named as a Vice Chair of the heavyweight Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), and also presentations and discussion by five exciting Japanese startups in the Award Program’s Innovation Showcase (announcement forthcoming).

Awarded every year since 2011, prior U.S. winners of the Emerging Leader Award include Tesla Motors (2011), Square (2012), Zoom Video Communications (2019) and Beyond Meat (2020). Prior Japan winners include SanBio (2011), which later had Japan’s largest IPO, Line Corporation (2014), Preferred Networks (2017), which became Japan’s first unicorn, and Spiber (2020).

Awards Program Steering Committee Chair Dr. Richard Dasher, Director of the US-Asia Technology Management Center at Stanford, who will host the Symposium, expressed his excitement at the selection of Color and Astroscale as this year’s SunBridge Emerging Leader Award winners, noting that, “This year we are delighted to feature two highly entrepreneurial firms that have successfully taken on some of the most pressing challenges facing mankind, both here on earth and in space.”

The Emerging Leader Awards are sponsored by SunBridge Corporation, the premier partner and investment firm for leading enterprise IT companies to enter the Japan market. SunBridge Founder and Chairman Allen Miner <https://www.linkedin.com/in/allenminer/>; helped create the Japan - U.S. Innovation Awards Program 11 years ago and served as the first Chair of the Awards Program Steering Committee.

For more information on the Symposium, including speakers and participants, and to register, please visit <http://www.usjinnovate.org/>:

Astroscale <https://astroscale.com>; develops technologies and informs international policies with the aim of reducing orbital debris and supporting long-term sustainable use of space. It was previously recognized at the Japan-US Innovation Showcase of the Innovation Awards Program in 2018. The firm works with customers to prepare satellites for end-of-life, active debris removal and life extension restoration.

Color <https://color.com> is a leader in distributed healthcare and clinical testing. Color partners with schools, employers, and governments to make population-scale healthcare programs accessible, convenient, and cost-effective for everyone. Programs include proactive COVID-19 testing with Harvard and the Morehouse School of Medicine, distributed workforce testing with the Teamsters Union, Takeda, and Salesforce, national K-12 COVID-19 testing with Thermo Fisher Scientific, vaccination software with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the million-person All of Us Research Program with the National Institutes of Health.

Japan Society of Northern California <https://www.usajapan.org/>;
Since its founding in 1905, the Japan Society of Northern California has advanced US-Japan mutual understanding in a global context. The Society offers an array of programs and networking opportunities for people and organizations in the Bay Area with a strong interest in Japan. It is the go-to place for US-Japan insights, opportunities, collaboration, and networking. The Japan Society is a dynamic link connecting the world-renowned innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem of San Francisco/Silicon Valley to a resurgent Japan.

Stanford University US-Asia Technology Management Center <https://asia.stanford.edu>;
The US-Asia Technology Management Center (US-ATMC), is an industry-funded center in Stanford University under the Stanford Global Studies initiative. Established in 1992, the US-ATMC conducts education and research into innovation and emerging business trends in technology-intensive industries. Its courses and public programs provide Stanford students and the Silicon Valley community with knowledge and analytical capabilities that are important to global success in high-tech fields in the 21st century.


Media Contact:

Tomomi Komura
Japan Society of Northern California
tomomi@usajapan.org