USC Global Conference 2017 opens in Tokyo

TOKYO — The 2017 USC Global Conference opened at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo today with nearly 500 people at the welcome dinner to kick off the three-day event. Guests were treated to a special performance by legendary violinist Midori Goto, Distinguished Professor at the USC Thornton School of Music.

The conference runs through Saturday and features presentations and discussions among USC researchers, regional business leaders and other global executives and academic leaders.

The energy of Tokyo in 2017 in many ways mirrors the energy of our worldwide Trojan Family in 2017.

C. L. Max Nikias

“This is a special moment for so many of us, to come together like this in the city of Tokyo … this icon of culture and change, this beacon of possibility,” USC President C. L. Max Nikias said. “The energy of Tokyo in 2017 in many ways mirrors the energy of our worldwide Trojan Family in 2017.”

The event will focus on how the impact of technology on our lives continues to accelerate and widen. Kazuo Hirai, president and CEO of Sony, will be the featured keynote speaker in a conversation with USC School of Cinematic Arts Dean Elizabeth Daley during Friday morning’s opening session.

“In less than a generation, USC has grown from a very good regional university to a global academic powerhouse,” said Michael Quick, USC provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, in his opening remarks to the conference attendees.

“But the 21^st century is calling, and over the next couple of days, you will hear how USC is answering that call.”

Participants at the Global Conference learn how USC, as the world leader in creative technologies, has been at the forefront of turning creativity into reality in sectors including the sciences, humanities, engineering, medicine, entrepreneurship, the arts and entertainment. Renowned scholars from USC will engage in discussions with leading Japanese experts to explore how to improve and enhance lives worldwide.

Prominent leaders

Prominent Japanese business leaders participating in the conference include: Koji Murofushi, sports director of the Tokyo Organizing Committee for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games; foreign policy expert Yukio Okamoto, a former special adviser to two prime ministers of Japan and president of Okamoto Associates; and Naoki Sato, president and CEO of Nikkatsu Corp., Japan’s oldest film studio.

USC’s Global Conference series is a biennial event held in major world cities that brings together renowned academics and influential business leaders to present and discuss the latest research results across the full range of academic disciplines and their influence on the Pacific Rim.