![]() ![]() Rather than taking up salaried employment again, I decided to set up my own business offering my computer science skills to the company I had previously worked for. I enjoyed that role, but when Japan’s economic bubble burst, I began wondering what I could do to help. After some time, I married and became a full-time housewife. What prompted you to become and entrepreneur and to establish Proassist?Īfter graduating from university in the 1980s, Japan’s economy was booming, and I found work as a systems engineer at a major company in Osaka. ![]() I see this as an important step in supporting women in leadership positions and promoting a more inclusive corporate culture in Japan. So far, the group has organized seven lectures, and is proving an invaluable forum for female professionals to gain insights and expand their professional network. The group invited various women in leadership positions within the KANSAI Association’s member companies to share their experiences. I also took advantage of my position to establish the "Josei Leader Juku” discussion group for female leaders. I would like people, regardless of their gender, to be valued for their talents. Then thankfully, in 2022, when in-person activities were restored, we began implementing these recommendations through " Jitsugen – Jikko” (implement and achieve) committees, which emerged from the committee that had developed our recommendations. That’s why, in my first year, we developed various recommendations to foster greater collaboration and networking. In my role as the Representative Director, my priority was to strengthen the Association, and advance its development by collaborating with new partners and thereby expand its network. But the pandemic only served to underscore the importance of “collaboration” and “networking,” which were key priorities for me in strengthening KANSAI’s role and development. When I took up my role in May 2021, we were in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which made things difficult because all our meetings had to be held remotely. (Photo: Courtesy of Proassist Ltd.) What were your key priorities during your tenure as Director of the KANSAI Association of Corporate Executives? Noting that patents have been essential to the company’s The Japanese software solution company Proassist, Ltd., In Proassist,” says Kyoko IKOMA (above), CEO of “Intellectual property has always played a central role ![]() IKOMA discusses the importance of fostering cooperation, diversity, and inclusion for more effective innovation ecosystems. In an interview with the WIPO Magazine, Ms. The Kansai region is one of Japan’s leading economic blocs. IKOMA served as the Representative Director of the KANSAI Association of Corporate Executives. From Spring 2021 to Spring 2023, in the footsteps of CEOs from many of Japan’s leading companies, Ms. IKOMA is an inventor, an entrepreneur and CEO of Proassist, a software business solutions company. Kyoko IKOMA*, CEO of Proassist is one of a number of trailblazing women in Japan who are seeking to promote a more inclusive corporate culture in the country. At present, Japan lags behind other major economies with women occupying just 15.5 percent of executive roles in major companies. In June 2023, Japan unveiled plans to promote gender equality, setting a target for women to hold at least 30 percent of executives positions in top companies by 2030. The interview is published posthumously with the kind agreement of her family and Proassist, of which Ms. Ikoma sadly passed away in August 2023, following the recording of this interview in Spring 2023.
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