NOBORU OKADA

Producer / Music Director / Live Performance Director
Born in Tokyo.
In 1987 he joined Nichion, Inc. as a music and master recording production director. After working on a wide variety of music productions, he joined Epic Sony in 1991.
While serving as Head of the Production Division, Executive Officer and Chief General Manager at Epic Records Japan, he produced master recordings for a great many artists, including Yoshiyuki Osawa, Ruriko Kubo, JUN SKY WALKER(S), Maki Otsuki, Yuka Kawamura, T.M.Revolution, The Gospellers, Ikimonogakari, Kiyoe Yoshioka and AIESH. He joined agehasprings in 2023. He is also highly regarded for developing artists, drawing on an immense knowledge of every corner of the studio.

RIKIYA KATAOKA

· Turned a deeply unprofitable hotel into a profitable one using social media alone
· 20 million views on his very first post
· 30,000 new followers from a single post
· Holder of two YouTube Silver Play Buttons
Media appearances include Unbelievable, NHK documentaries, ZIP! and Sukkiri, among many others.
Author of 16 Insider Tricks for Turning the Unknown into the Famous
Special Lecturer, Seibu Bunri High School
Representative Director, Saiken Consulting Inc.
Representative Director, Short Video Laboratory Inc.

Nadya Kirillova

Creative Director / Picture Book Author
Born in Leningrad, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, Russia), she was educated at local schools in six countries: Russia, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, the United States, and Canada.
After joining an advertising agency, she has worked on a wide range of projects in Japan and around the world, including the 2012 IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings, “Omoshiroi Jiyu Kenkyu” (Morinaga & Co. and JAXA), “Sound of Honda / Ayrton Senna 1989,” and the launch of Japan's professional women's soccer league, the WE League.
In 2015, she was ranked No. 1 in the world among copywriters.
Drawing on her own experiences of being educated across six countries, she has developed and led numerous original workshops. Her books include Nadja, the Six-Country Transfer Student: Discoveries Along the Way (Shueisha International), Karaage Beach (Bunkyosha), and For Those Who Have No Role Model (KADOKAWA).
She has received numerous international awards, including the Cannes Lions Titanium Grand Prix and the D&AD Black Pencil, and has served on judging panels for major international creative awards including Cannes Lions, D&AD, Clio Awards, and The One Show.
She also created the name “HIROSHIMA CONTI-NeW FeS.”

FANTASTIC NEGRITO

FANTASTIC NEGRITO, whose real name is Xavier Dphrepaulezz, is a singer-songwriter from Oakland, California.
Despite living in an environment where he was constantly exposed to the risk of death, including being attacked with guns, he made his major-label debut. However, in 1999, he suffered life-threatening injuries in a traffic accident, forcing him to suspend his musical career.
In 2014, he made a comeback through street performances in Oakland, and in 2015, he won NPR's Tiny Desk Concert competition.
The following year, he released The Last Days of Oakland under the name FANTASTIC NEGRITO and won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album. He went on to win the same award for Please Don't Be Dead and Have You Lost Your Mind Yet?, making him a three-time consecutive Grammy Award winner.
Today, he is widely recognized as one of the leading artists of the contemporary blues scene.

YUJI MAEDA

President and CEO, SHOWROOM Inc.
Born in Tokyo in 1987. After graduating from Waseda University's School of Political Science and Economics in 2010, he joined UBS Securities. In 2011, he moved to the company's New York office, where he worked in equity sales for institutional investors in North America.
In May 2013, he joined DeNA and launched the live-streaming platform SHOWROOM later that year. In August 2015, SHOWROOM Inc. was established as an independent company through a corporate spin-off.
In 2017, he published his first book, Jinsei no Shōsan, which sold more than 160,000 copies and became a bestseller. His more recent book, Memo no Maryoku, sold 170,000 copies within just two days of its release and has now surpassed 770,000 copies, including digital editions.

GYUTAE

Represented by Asobisystem.
Active as a Beauty Creator and model, with a combined social media following of more than three million. Known as a “makeup revolutionary who redefines beauty,” he draws attention for transformative makeup that crosses gender, nationality and genre, giving hope and inspiration to many. He received the Best Styling Award 2022 and Nail of the Year 2023. His first-ever creator collaboration product with the cosmetics brand excel sold out immediately, generating a major response. He has also earned high praise from cosmetics brands in Japan and abroad through brand ambassadorships and joint product development. He is the author of If You Don't Have It, Just Draw It On and the photo book FULL MOON.

JO SASAHARA

Born in Shizuoka Prefecture, 32 years old, now in his 13th year living in Germany.
He devoted himself to football until he graduated from high school, but was unable to turn professional, and moved to Germany at the age of 19. With no acquaintances and unable to speak the language, he struggled alone in an unfamiliar environment. In 2021 he seized the chance to work in football as front-office staff in Cologne, and today he works alongside figures he once watched on television, such as Kazuyuki Morisaki. While Japanese players competing in Europe has become commonplace, he is working hard as a Japanese staff member to match their achievements.

MIKINORI SUGINO

He joined Fuji Television in 2014. He currently serves as chief director of Atarashii Kagi and as director of ENGEI Grand Slam and THE MANZAI, among other programmes. He was chief director of FNS 27-Hour Television in 2024.

JIRO NISHIDA

Media Innovation Producer
Representative Director, Association for the Future of Television
CCIO, Shizuoka Shimbun and Shizuoka Broadcasting System
CCO, Eviry Inc.
Born in Osaka in 1965. He joined Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation in 1989. After working as a director on “11PM,” he was involved in the launch and production of “Downtown DX.” After leaving Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation in 2025, he has been active across a wide range of fields beyond television. At the age of 50 he made his major-label debut with Nippon Crown under the name “Nj,” and his FM Osaka radio programme “Nj on the radio!” continues to do well.

MATTHIAS BERG

Born in 1961. Overcoming a congenital disability, he competed for Germany in athletics and skiing, winning a total of 26 medals (12 gold, 9 silver, 5 bronze) at the Paralympic Games and World Championships — making him one of the most successful para-athletes in the world. As an international French horn player he has also been honoured at many competitions in Germany and abroad, performing with orchestras worldwide and releasing solo CDs. As a lawyer, he leads a staff of more than 300 at a government agency in Baden-Württemberg. A remarkable individual who has realised three dreams at once.

KAZUYUKI MORISAKI

He began playing football in his second year at Yano Elementary School alongside his younger brother Koji, and joined the Sanfrecce Hiroshima youth team from Yano Junior High School. In 1999, in his third year of high school, he was registered with the top team as a Type 2 player, and on November 20 of that year he made his debut against Gamba Osaka as the club's first high school J.League player. After formally joining in 2000, he was a key player from his first professional season, winning the J.League Best Young Player Award (Rookie of the Year) that same year. In 2016 he became the 14th player in history to reach 400 J1 appearances, and the following year he reached 500 J.League appearances. A “one-club man” who spent his entire youth and playing career at Sanfrecce Hiroshima, he is a club legend who contributed to three J.League titles. He retired at the end of the 2018 season and now works for Sanfrecce Hiroshima in youth development and youth scouting.

HIROAKI YAZAKI

Born in Tokyo in 1981.
After graduating from Keio University's Faculty of Economics, he joined Fuji Television in 2004. He directed the popular comedy program “Hitoshi Matsumoto no Suberanai Hanashi” and later served as chief producer of “IPPON Grand Prix.”
In 2024, he was involved in producing “FNS 27-Hour Television: Japan's Most Fun School Festival!”
He currently produces programs including “Atarashii Kagi,” “Nanika 'Omoshiroi Koto' Nai no?” and “Tsukkomi Star.”
“Atarashii Kagi” has gained tremendous popularity among children and teenagers, and he has been involved in some of the show's most popular segments, including “School Hide-and-Seek.”

RINA（Togenashi Togeari, Vo.）

A vocalist born in 2007 in Hiroshima Prefecture.
At the age of 14 she was scouted after posting singing videos on social media, and took part in Girl's Rock Audition, hosted by agehasprings, where she was selected from a field of more than 10,000 candidates. From February 2023 she began performing as the vocalist of Togenashi Togeari, the band tied to the Toei Animation original anime Girls Band Cry. In 2025 she performed at Nippon Budokan, and in 2026 she completed successful tours in Japan and overseas. More recently she has broadened her activities, including releases on which she features as a solo vocalist. She possesses a world-class appeal in the upper register and a “core” to her voice that never gets buried in any arrangement, conveying a powerful sense of will — a truly rare talent. Her twin strengths as a singer and an actor are drawing considerable attention both in Japan and abroad.

SHIGEKI OKUBO

Special supporter for Sunday, December 6. Main DJ of HFM’s Okubo Shigeki no 9jiraji.