Year: 2017

立石 亮 Ryo Tateishi

Born in 1985. After graduating from the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo, he joined Mitsubishi Corporation in 2010. Following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, while working in the shipping business, he also continued volunteering in Ishinomaki on a personal basis. In 2012, he transferred to the Environment and CSR Promotion Department’s Reconstruction Support Team, where he was mainly responsible for investment and financing projects for small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurs in the affected areas, as well as a winery project in Fukushima as part of agricultural support. He is currently enrolled in the MBA program at Stanford Graduate School of Business, focusing his studies on “new forms of social value created by corporations.”

野藤 弓聖 Misato Noto

Born in 1989 in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture. Inspired by a mother who loved Western music and movies, developed an early admiration for English and foreign cultures. Moved to Tokyo upon entering the School of English Studies at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. During the third year of university, took a year off to study abroad at a university in the UK, focusing on international relations. After graduation, returned to Aomori and worked as a public servant for three years. Later married a Trinidad and Tobago national met during the study-abroad period and relocated to Trinidad and Tobago. Currently pursuing a long-held dream of becoming a subtitle translator, while also volunteering as a TED Talks subtitle translator and teaching Japanese to local residents.

Profile on TED