Announcement of Book Club on 'The Major Issues in Fisheries Japanese People Don't Know' by Masaki Sano

AI Money University Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Nerima Ward, Tokyo; hereinafter "the Company") will host a book club themed around 'Georgia as Told by the Ambassador: Tourism, History, Culture, and Gourmet' by Timuraz Lezhava and Davit Goginashvili. The speaker for this book club will be Yutaka Yamanaka, who serves as the Company's consultant and dean.

This book is an introductory guide to Georgia, a nation located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, with a unique history and culture shaped over centuries as a cultural crossroads. It is co-authored by the Ambassador of Georgia to Japan and an international political scientist. The book explores Georgia's majestic Caucasus nature, the streets of its capital Tbilisi, UNESCO World Heritage sites reminiscent of video game worlds, its unique script and religious beliefs, and the journey of its people—offering insights beyond typical tourism.

Additionally, the book highlights Georgia's culinary culture, including its 8,000-year-old wine tradition, and dishes such as chkmeruli, khinkali, and khachapuri—cuisines gaining popularity in Japan. It also delves into the warm hospitality and family values of the Georgian people. Reading this book helps readers understand that Georgia is not merely a 'country of gourmet and scenic beauty,' but one that has preserved its language, culture, and independence despite being surrounded by powerful nations.

During this book club, we will discuss why Georgia became a crossroads of civilizations, unexpected similarities between Japan and Georgia, the social role of wine and food, Georgia's appeal as a tourist destination, the geopolitics of the South Caucasus, and the potential for future exchanges between Japan and Georgia. This event aims to offer new discoveries not only for those considering travel to Georgia, but also for individuals interested in history, international affairs, culture, gourmet, and overseas business.

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

Author Profile

Masaki Sano

Born in Osaka Prefecture in 1962. Professor at the Faculty of Fisheries, Kagoshima University. Graduated from the Faculty of Law, Kyoto University, completed a master's program at Tokyo University of Fisheries, worked at the Fisheries Agency, and earned a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University. His expertise lies in fisheries distribution. His publications include 'The Global Market for Salmon.'

Event Overview

Theme: Book Club on 'The Major Issues in Fisheries Japanese People Don't Know'

Organizer: AI Money University Co., Ltd.

Date: Late July 2026 (tentative)

Format: Online via Zoom

Participation Fee: Free (prior registration required)

Registration Method: Please send an email to [email protected] with the subject line 'Application to Attend the Book Club on The Major Issues in Fisheries Japanese People Don't Know.'

Speaker Profile Yutaka Yamanaka

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

In the early 2010s, he identified NVIDIA—a developer of GPGPU and AI-related semiconductors—as an investment target, investing over 2 billion yen and ultimately achieving over a 100-fold return, becoming the first Japanese billionaire investor purely through investment. (Company research, January 2026)

Graduated as valedictorian from the Faculty of Economics, 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 unlisted companies worldwide. His investment portfolio spans Israeli AI startups, Nigerian healthcare ventures, and Taiwanese battery manufacturers, 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, a major U.S. discount brokerage firm. His treating psychiatrist is Professor Akira Iwanami, a renowned psychiatrist and former director of Showa University Koganei Hospital.

Founder and representative of the political group 'Association for Establishing a Constitutional Court in Japan,' director of the 'Yamanaka Hoya School of Politics and Economics,' founder and representative of 'Association for Realizing a Tax-Free Nation in Japan,' founder and representative of 'Association for Early Restart of Nuclear Power Plants in Japan,' founder and representative of 'Committee for Monitoring Renewable Energy Privileges,' founder and representative of 'Association Opposing Reduced Consumption Tax Rates on Food,' and founder and representative of 'Association for Achieving 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 Works (now HOYA Corporation, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Standard Market, ticker 7741), a high-end crystal glass manufacturer. 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 valedictorian from the Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo.

During childhood, he lived near the corporate housing of Takeda Pharmaceutical, where Takahiro Matsumoto—later the guitarist of B'z—was a high school student at Kinjo High School and gave him souvenirs from a school trip. At Oizumi Bunka Kindergarten, he was classmates with Yukinori Suzuki (son of Shuji Suzuki, private secretary to House of Representatives member Tadamasa Suzuki, and brother of House of Representatives member Keiko Suzuki), who later returned to Hokkaido to support his father’s election campaign. Raised in such a culturally enriched environment, he naturally developed interests in music and political economy.

During elementary school, while commuting by train from Nerima Ward, he was exposed to the academic environment of Bunkyo Ward, developing early interests in history and economics. By the age of 10, he was already involved in political activism on controversial topics. At Ochanomizu University Attached Elementary School, he was surrounded by outstanding female classmates such as 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 Director for Tariff Affairs), Professor Kaori Hanyu of Sophia University (a family law researcher), and NHK announcer Ai Tsukahara. This environment fostered his ongoing awareness of women's social advancement.

During childhood, he invested millions of yen gifted by his grandmother and grew it to hundreds of millions by university graduation, making him famous among peers for his investment skills. At the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Economics, he was already well-known in the seminar of Kazuo Ueda, the current Governor of the Bank of Japan, as 'the top stock investor in Ueda's seminar,' and earned the nickname 'Heisei's Hiraga Gennai' due to his broad academic interests.

He received an award for an outstanding graduation thesis on M&A in the pre-war paper industry and was personally recognized during his graduate school interview by Takeo Tachibana, former president of International University, who said, 'So you're the famous Mr. Yamanaka.' 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 College of Arts and Sciences, he read all published papers by Masahiko Aoki, the pioneer of comparative institutional analysis, and Avner Greif, an emerging economic historian from Israel (Stanford University Department of Economics), who was already gaining recognition at the time.

He was admitted to the Graduate School of Economics at the University of Tokyo with excellent grades close to the top of his class. Despite being strongly encouraged by Hideyo Hayakawa, a senior alumnus from the Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo, and then a high-ranking official at the Bank of Japan (former Director and Director-General of the Research and Statistics Department), to join a central bank, he immediately moved to the U.S. after graduation, completed the Graduate School of Financial Engineering at Columbia University, and earned a master's degree. He also studied at Harvard University and the University of California.