Kumamon Appears with Creator Manabu Mizuno! Asia's Design & Innovation Festival 'SYNC' to be Held at Siam Paragon, Bangkok

Nikkei BP (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Tetsuya Iguchi), in collaboration with Fourdigit Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and CEO: Ryo Taguchi) and Thailand's National Innovation Agency (NIA), will co-host "SYNC Design & Innovation in SITE 2026," a large-scale event themed around design and innovation, in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday, June 26, 2026. They announced that the venue has been finalized as "Siam Paragon." Furthermore, a preliminary announcement was made regarding the key speakers and session topics focusing on the "fusion of design and business" and "solving social issues."

Event Website: https://syncforum.asia

About the Venue

The chosen venue, "Siam Paragon," is one of Thailand's premier landmark facilities located in central Bangkok and directly connected to Siam Station. It provides an optimal environment for networking among business leaders and designers from Japan and abroad, as well as serving as a hub for generating new business. *A detailed floor map, including the exhibition area, is scheduled to be released at the end of May.

Special Guest "Kumamon" to Appear! Special Co-starring with Manabu Mizuno

As a special guest for this forum, "Kumamon," Kumamoto Prefecture's Sales Manager and Happiness Manager active since 2010, will be participating. He is scheduled to make a special appearance and share the stage during the session held by Manabu Mizuno, a leading Japanese creative director renowned as the creator of Kumamon.

Key Speakers and Highlight Session Topics (Preliminary Release)

Top runners who have challenged social issues with the power of design and communicated their solutions to the world as businesses will take the stage.

- "Design Strategy Adapting to Climate Change" Eisuke Tachikawa (Representative of NOSIGNER / Board Member of WDO - World Design Organization, a UN special consultative status NGO) Tachikawa is a designer who has handled numerous projects addressing social issues such as climate change mitigation and adaptation, renewable energy, disaster prevention, and regional revitalization. He will discuss the background and aims of "ADAPTMENT," a design strategy that structures adaptation measures for climate change and targets resilient urban development that can adapt to various environments and situations.

- "How 'Kumamon' Was Born: Methods for Connecting Design and Business" Manabu Mizuno (Executive Creative Director / Creative Consultant / Representative of good design company) Mizuno, one of Japan's leading creative directors who turned a Kumamoto PR character into a globally beloved star, will speak about how to connect design with business, sharing actual case studies he has worked on.

- "Manufacturing Starting from Small Encounters: The Power of Design Delivering the Potential of Developing Countries to the World" Eriko Yamaguchi (Representative Director / Chief Designer of Motherhouse Co., Ltd.) Under the philosophy of "creating a world-class brand from developing countries," Motherhouse has walked a "third path" balancing social impact with business. Based on her experience of continually experimenting to "discover" the hidden potential in materials and "translate" them into forms that fit seamlessly into customers' daily lives, she will talk about the essence of design and the future ahead.

In addition, appearances by other top domestic creators and corporate leaders have also been confirmed:

- Kazufumi Nagai (Professor at Tama Art University, Art Director / Creative Director, President of HAKUHODO DESIGN) - Yoshihiro Yagi (Executive Creative Director / Growth Officer at dentsu Japan) - Satoru Yamamoto (Chief AI Officer & Executive Officer at Dentsu Digital / Deputy Chief AI Officer at dentsu Japan) - Akio Kazama (Executive Officer at ZOZO Inc.) *The full list of speakers and the finalized timetable are scheduled to be announced at the end of May.

Future Information Release Schedule

- 3rd Release (scheduled for the end of May): Full program timetable, pre-event highlights guide

Event Outline

- Name SYNC Design & Innovation in SITE 2026

- Date Friday, June 26, 2026

- Venue Siam Paragon, 5th Floor

- Event Website https://syncforum.asia

- Organizer Nikkei BP

- Planning/Production & Co-organizer Fourdigit Inc., National Innovation Agency (NIA)

- Support Creative Economy Agency (CEA)

- Support/Production Cooperation WYZ CONNECTION INC., J-WAVE, iDID

Nikkei BP (Nikkei