Event Report: Ireland Japan Business Awards 2024
On 15th November, the 2024 Ireland Japan Business Awards was held in the prestigious Conrad Tokyo.
Each year the Ireland Japan Chamber of Commerce (IJCC) is privileged to commemorate significant milestones and achievements of the Ireland-Japan business community amongst our Team Ireland colleagues, esteemed guests and members of the IJCC.
Guests enjoyed fully staffed bars from our generous sponsors The BUSKER Irish Whiskey and DIAGEO, paired with a Guinness Cheese station from Mycella on arrival. The scene was set with videos from our valued sponsors on-screen to the backdrop of traditional Irish music from our guest musicians.
Our Awards MC, Hugh Kennedy, a long-time IJCC member and Head of Business Development at Mori, Hamada & Matsumoto, opened the event with a greeting to our guests.
Ambassador of Ireland to Japan, H.E. Damien Cole, then shared his welcome remarks, highlighting the Chamber as an important entity in strengthening trade and ties between Japan and Ireland.
IJCC President, Yoshihiro Tsuchiya followed and shared his opening address on behalf of the Chamber. He called attention to the significant growth of the IJCC in the past few years as the Chamber has surpassed the highest number of members on record year after year. He also extended his thanks to all IJCC board members, Chamber members, and supporters, past and present, for all their contributions to the IJCC.
MC Hugh then announced our first giveaways for the night - the table prizes - generously sponsored by The BUSKER, Toyoko Inn, and ONODA Inc. Guests eagerly checked their nametags for a special sticker to claim the spectacular prizes on each table.
The dinner course began shortly after, with a beautifully arranged standard and vegan menu featuring flavours of Ireland, serviced by the wonderful Conrad service team.
As guests enjoyed their 4-course dinner, Fiona Toyama, IJCC Regional Committee member proceeded with the raffle of our grand prize of the evening, a 1-night stay for 2 in a bay view room at the Conrad Tokyo. The room watched in great anticipation as the Wheel of Names spun, announcing our winner on-screen. The grand prize was delivered to the winner's table by one of our fantastic event volunteers. Many thanks again to IJCC Corporate member Conrad Tokyo for their generous prize sponsorship.
This year, every attendee received a branded tote bag and bottle magnet exclusively designed for the 2024 Ireland Japan Business Awards and a copy of the Japan’s Tourism Industry whitepaper courtesy of our Platinum Sponsors The Busker and Nikkei ScoutAsia.
The remaining prizes were silently delivered directly to the winner's tables over the remainder of the dinner service. Many thanks again to all our prize sponsors, who brought joy and excitement to our attendees with their beautiful gifts:
Nikkei ScoutAsia, Bord Bia, Diageo, Calderwood Images, Ode Inc, Irish Pub An Sólás, ONODA Inc, Dubarry by Fortune Corporation, Man-Woo and Mycella
Finally, the highly anticipated awards ceremony began. MC Hugh Kennedy invited Ambassador Cole and President Tsuchiya to join onstage to start the proceedings.
The IJCC were delighted to present engraved trophies to each awardee, with thanks to our Branding Sponsor imageMILL for the brilliant trophy design.
This year we had 3 award categories: Entrepreneur of the Year, Exporter of the Year (sponsored by Enterprise Ireland) and Company of the Year. The room stood still as our MC proceeded to announce the winners for each award category.
Entrepreneur of the Year Award - William Ryan
Mr. William Ryan, Co-founder of Irish Pub An Sólás, received the award onstage and shared his comments at the podium.
“I am truly delighted and honored to accept the Entrepreneur of the Year award for 2024. This wouldn’t have been possible without my two fantastic Japanese business partners, our amazing team, and, most importantly, our loyal customers.”
https://www.instagram.com/an_solas/?hl=en
The Exporter of the Year award is kindly sponsored by Enterprise Ireland. Our MC invited Neil Cooney, Japan Director of Enterprise Ireland, to join the stage to introduce the award and announce the winner for this category.
Exporter of the Year Award (sponsored by Enterprise Ireland): GridBeyond
Mr. Miguel Sakamoto, Country Manager, GridBeyond Japan accepted the award on behalf of GridBeyond and shared a few words on receiving the Exporter of the Year award.
“We are more than happy to be selected by the IJCC for the Exporter of the Year Award in 2024.
The Japanese market is in full growth, and this reflects the support of all our partners and customers in this country. Next year the market is expected to enter a more mature stage, and the GridBeyond GK team is prepared and ahead of the curve for a new phase. The whole GridBeyond GK team is deeply grateful for the trust in our service and for going forward together in a not simple market like Japan.”
Company of the Year Award - SoftBank Corporation and Cubic Telecom
Takuo Obayashi, Director of SoftBank Corp.’s Cubic Telecom Integration Office accepted the award on behalf of both companies and shared a winner's speech at the podium on receiving the Company of the Year Award.
We were also honoured to share special video remarks by Cubic Telecom on their company and what it means for them to receive the award with SoftBank.
https://youtu.be/-_OWZGQk2YI?si=LDqlF2s0ejJET4DK
Comment by Takuo Obayashi, Director of SoftBank Corp.’s Cubic Telecom Integration Office, SoftBank Corp.:
“We at SoftBank Corp. are deeply honored to receive the Company of the Year Award from the Ireland Japan Chamber of Commerce (IJCC). This recognition is a testament to the strong and fruitful partnership between Ireland and Japan. Our collaboration with Cubic Telecom has been incredibly successful, and we are excited about the future possibilities this partnership holds.”
Comment by Barry Napier, CEO of Cubic Telecom:
“On behalf of the entire Cubic Telecom team, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Ireland Japan Chamber of Commerce (IJCC) for this prestigious award. At Cubic, our mission is to lead the way in shaping the future of software-defined vehicles and other high-value mobile assets through the power of global connectivity.
Our partnership with SoftBank Corp., announced late last year, marked the largest software deal ever in Ireland—an achievement that reflects not only the dedication of our team but also the growing ties between Ireland and Japan. Together with SoftBank, we are set to provide innovative connectivity solutions to leading vehicle manufacturers around the world, and I am truly excited for what lies ahead.”
The Ireland Japan Chamber of Commerce extends a very warm Comhghairdeas again to all the award recipients: William Ryan, GridBeyond, SoftBank Corp. and Cubic Telecom.
A very special thanks to branding sponsor imageMILL for designing the IJBA 2024 logowork, event invitations, trophies, and the event and awards animation videos and helping us bring the IJBAs to life every year.
imageMILL, is a creative agency dedicated to producing impactful visual storytelling with a focus on sustainability, social and environmental issues. Known for their powerful films and strategic branding campaigns, imageMILL collaborates with companies and NGOs to create meaningful narratives that drive positive change. Their work combines artistry and purpose, bridging culture and sustainability to inspire global awareness and action. From advertising to purpose-driven content, imageMILL is redefining how brands can contribute to a better world.
Services include - Branding, Film making, Content creation and advertising
To learn more about imageMILL, please visit their website and social channels:
Website https://www.imagemill.jp/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/imagemill/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/imagemill.jp/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/imagemill/
This event could not have been successful without our devoted team of staff and volunteers. We would like to thank our brilliant volunteers Tom Toi, Megumi Ikeda, Kazumi Yokota, Kenji Aoki and Barry Dowling for all their tireless efforts behind the scenes.
A special acknowledgement to all our musicians who provided top-class entertainment to our esteemed guests throughout the evening. Thank you to Dai Komatsu, Eriko Mizukami, Yukari Narita and Koji Nagao for their beautiful scene-setting Irish music. We would also like to thank Masaya Ishiii, our talented photographer, and IJCC Events Intern Mizue Takasato, for putting together a highlight reel of the Awards.
Lastly, we would like to extend our warmest thanks to IJCC Platinum Sponsors Toyoko Inn, the BUSKER and Nikkei ScoutAsia for their continued, sustaining support of the Chamber.
We closed the evening's celebrations with an IJCC tradition, a sanbonjime led by our longest-serving Director, Philip Greenan.
Go raibh míle maith agat to everyone who attended this year's Ireland Japan Business Awards and helped us celebrate our thriving community. We were honoured to bring the community together for this annual tradition and we sincerely look forward to welcoming you all again next year.