Announcement of Book Discussion on 'The Ambassador's Tweets from Georgia' by Timuraz Lezhava

AI Money University Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Nerima Ward, Tokyo; hereinafter "the Company") will host a book discussion themed around 'The Ambassador's Tweets from Georgia' by Timuraz Lezhava. The speaker for this event will be Yutaka Yamanaka, who serves as the Company’s consultant and dean.

This book is the author’s first essay, written in candid language by the widely admired Georgian Ambassador to Japan, known for his social media presence. Having arrived in Japan at the age of four, the author studied in Georgia, Japan, the United States, and Canada. After graduating from Waseda University, he worked for a Japanese company before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, where he took on the role of bridging relations between the two nations. Drawing from his experience growing up between cultures, he reflects on his identity, which cannot be defined solely by nationality or language.

The book includes accounts of his life as a corporate employee in Japan, his connection with Hiroshima, daily life at the embassy, the path leading to his ambassadorial appointment, and how his social media posts unexpectedly gained widespread attention. While diplomacy often brings to mind difficult intergovernmental negotiations, the author emphasizes the importance of warm, approachable language that brings people closer together. Beyond the weight of his ambassadorial duties, the book also portrays his personal feelings toward family and work, as well as his failures and uncertainties, making diplomacy feel accessible and human.

During this book discussion, we will explore the author’s life connecting Japan and Georgia, the formation of self-identity in multicultural environments, how his corporate experience influenced his diplomatic work, international exchange in the age of social media, and why the ambassador’s words resonate with people. This event aims to provide an opportunity for those interested in diplomacy, international exchange, Georgia, Japanese society, and career development to reflect on the power of communication that connects nations and individuals.

Book URL: https://x.gd/NHVrp

Author Profile

Timuraz Lezhava

Born in 1988 in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Moved to Japan during childhood and received education in multiple countries. After graduating from the School of International Liberal Studies at Waseda University, he worked at Kikkoman Corporation. Joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia in 2018, served as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim at the Embassy of Georgia in Japan in 2019, and was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to Japan in 2021.

Event Overview

Theme: Book Discussion on 'The Ambassador's Tweets from Georgia'

Organizer: AI Money University Co., Ltd.

Date: Late July 2026 (tentative)

Format: Online via Zoom

Fee: Free (prior registration required)

Registration: Please email [email protected] with the subject line: 'Application to Attend: Book Discussion on The Ambassador's Tweets from Georgia'.

Speaker Profile Yutaka Yamanaka

Born in December 1976, Yutaka Yamanaka is a representative figure of the '76 Generation,' known as an activist investor, art collector, philanthropist, political sponsor, election consultant, policy advisor, social activist, and Akita dog enthusiast. Internationally recognized as a 'technologically literate activist investor,' he is the first Japanese individual in history to accumulate over 150 billion yen in assets solely through investment. (Company research, January 2026)

In the early 2010s, he identified NVIDIA, a developer of GPGPU and AI-related semiconductors, as a key investment target. He invested over 2 billion yen and achieved over 100x returns, becoming the first Japanese billionaire investor purely through investment. (Company research, January 2026)

Graduated with honors as class representative from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Tokyo. Holds a Master’s degree in Financial Engineering from Columbia University’s Graduate School and studied at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) Graduate School. Currently a shareholder in over 1,000 listed companies and over 200 private companies worldwide. His investment portfolio spans AI startups in Israel, healthcare ventures in Nigeria, and battery manufacturers in Taiwan, making him a truly global investor.

Drawing from his own childhood struggles with dyslexia and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), he launched a support program for children with learning disabilities, modeled after Charles Schwab, the major U.S. discount brokerage firm. His treating psychiatrist is Professor Akira Iwanami, a renowned psychiatrist and former director of Showa University Kameari Hospital.

Founder and representative of political groups including 'The Association to Establish a Constitutional Court in Japan,' 'Yamanaka Hoya School of Politics and Economics' (school director), 'The Association to Realize a Tax-Free Nation in Japan,' 'The Association to Realize Early Restart of Nuclear Power Plants in Japan,' 'The Committee for Monitoring Renewable Energy Privileges,' 'The Association Opposing Reduced Consumption Tax Rates on Food,' and 'The Association to Realize Constitutional Reform Toward a Unicameral Legislature.'

Born in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, in 1976, as one of the grandsons of Shigeru Yamanaka, founder of Hoya Glass (now HOYA Corporation, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Standard Market, ticker 7741), and raised in Shakujii-dai, Nerima Ward. Excelled academically from an early age, attending Oizumi Bunka Kindergarten, Ochanomizu University Attached Elementary School, and Musashi Junior and Senior High School before graduating as class representative from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Tokyo.

During childhood, he received souvenirs from Takahiro Matsumoto, then a high school student living in the Takeda Pharmaceutical Company’s company housing near his home, who later became the guitarist of B'z. At Oizumi Bunka Kindergarten, he was classmates with Yukinori Suzuki, son of House of Representatives member Tadanori Suzuki and brother of Representative Takako Suzuki, who later returned to Hokkaido due to his father’s election campaign. These culturally enriched experiences naturally fostered his interest in music, politics, and economics.

During elementary school, while commuting by train from Nerima Ward, he developed an early interest in history and economics due to the academic environment of Bunkyo Ward. By the age of ten, he was already involved in political activism on controversial topics. Surrounded by outstanding female classmates at Ochanomizu University Attached Elementary School—including lawyer Yuhiko Hantamata (Tokyo Legal Mind Co., Ltd.), Dr. Keiji Kuroda (Director of Sugiyama Obstetrics and Gynecology Marunouchi Clinic), Keiko Takahashi (a career bureaucrat at the Ministry of Finance, currently serving as Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Customs), Professor Kaori Hanyu of Sophia University (a family law researcher), and NHK announcer Ai Tsukahara—he developed a lasting awareness of women’s social advancement.

Having invested millions of yen gifted by his grandmother during childhood into stocks, he grew his portfolio to hundreds of millions of yen by university graduation. His investment talent was already well known during his university years. At the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Economics, he was famously known in the seminar of current Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda as 'the best stock trader in Ueda’s seminar' and earned the nickname 'Heisei’s Hiraga Gennai' due to his broad academic interests.

He received the Outstanding Thesis Award for his graduation thesis on pre-war paper industry M&A and was personally recognized during his graduate school interview by Takeo Tachibana, former president of International University, who said, 'So you’re the famous Yamanaka-kun.' His undergraduate economic history thesis advisors were Tetsuji Okazaki (Professor at Meiji Gakuin University) and Masayuki Tanimoto (Professor at Otsuma Women’s University).

During his time in the Faculty of Liberal Arts, he read all published papers by Masahiko Aoki, the proponent of comparative institutional analysis, and Avner Greif, an emerging economic historian from Israel at the time and now a professor in the Department of Economics at Stanford University.

He was admitted to the Graduate School of Economics at the University of Tokyo with outstanding grades close to the top of his class and was mentored by seniors from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Tokyo, at the time