Who We Are
Created by the Japanese government, the Japan House project is a point of diffusion of all elements of the genuine Japanese culture to the international community. It is a balanced, innovative, and differentiated place, just like the Japanese people and culture; an environment that conveys hospitality and innovation, offers leisure, and is an active part of the daily lives of many people. An intellectual exchange between Japan and the rest of the world, capable of producing great opportunities and attracting visitors to new experiences and activities. The essence of Japan House is to be surprising every day.
São Paulo was one of three locations chosen, alongside London, England, and Los Angeles, United States, to host a Japan House. Places selected specially to disseminate all the characteristics of Japan, from its ancient culture to innovative perspectives. At Japan House, tradition goes side by side with the future.
Kenya Hara
Creative Advisor
A representative of the Nippon Design Center and professor at the Musashino Art University, in his work Kenya Hara applies a design that aims to show the essence of each piece. He uses the Japanese sense of beauty as a source of ideas. Since 2002, he has participated in the art direction of the MUJI store chain. He created the program for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Nagano Winter Olympics, and was also part of the Aichi exhibition in 2005, showcasing productions rooted in the Japanese culture. He was responsible, among others, for designing the Tsutaya Shoten Daikanyama bookstore and the city of Takeo Municipal Library. In 2015, he was appointed the general producer of Japan House.
Kengo Kuma
Architect
Author of the Japan House São Paulo project in partnership with FGMF Arquitetos, Kengo Kuma is internationally renowned for works in Japan, China, France, Switzerland, Italy, and the United Kingdom. In December 2015, Kuma’s design of the Japan National Stadium was chosen as the central stage of the Tokyo Olympic Games, scheduled for 2020. Kuma is a professor of architecture at The University of Tokyo and holds a Ph.D. from Keio University, in Japan. Author of books and articles, the architect frequently addresses issues involving architecture and the relationship between architectural space and nature in his writings. A few of his projects include the Folk Art Museum of the Chinese Academy of Arts (2015); the Conservatory of Music and Dance Darius Milhaud in Aix-en-Provence, France (2013); the Sunny Hills store, in Omotesando (2013); the Yusuhara Wooden Bridge Museum (2010), and the Noh Stage in the Forest, in Toyoma (1996), the latter three in Japan.
Rubens Ricupero
Honorary President
Rubens Ricupero is one of the most experienced Brazilian public figures. He served as the Minister of Finance, Minister of the Environment, and as Secretary-General of UNCTAD, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. In his diplomatic career, among other positions, he served as a permanent representative to the United Nations and to international organizations in Geneva. He also served as the Brazilian ambassador to the United States and Italy. He developed an academic career at the University of Brasília and at the Rio Branco Institute, which trains Brazilian diplomats. He is the director of Armando Álvares Penteado Foundation’s College of Economics, and chairman of the Fernand Braudel Institute of World Economics.
Carlos Roza
Vice President
Carlos Roza is a Business Management executive with over 25 years of experience in multinational companies. Holding a degree in Economic Sciences, he also earned MBAs from FIA/USP and IBMEC São Paulo (currently INSPER), and studied at the University of Cambridge (England), EM Lyon (France), and Vanderbilt University (United States). He served as the General Director of the Puratos Group, in Brazil, for more than five years, in addition to having held several positions at São Paulo Alpargatas, with special emphasis on the General Direction of Business Units and the General Management of the company’s Foreign Trade Area, where he was on the group responsible for the internationalization of the Havaianas brand.
Natasha Barzaghi Geenen
Cultural Director
Natasha Barzaghi Geenen oversaw the International Relations department of the State of São Paulo Pinacoteca, from 2008 to 2017, and led the international coordination of several exhibitions within the scope of the Year of France in Brazil, which took place in 2009. Between 2007 and 2008, she collaborated with Centre Pompidou, Paris, to study the implementation of the French cultural institution’s project for Latin America. She holds a degree in Plastic Arts from FAAP - Armando Álvares Penteado Foundation; a graduate degree in Cultural Art Mediation - Design and Organization of Cultural Projects from Université de Provence, France, and an MBA in Cultural Assets: Culture, Economy, and Management, from the Getúlio Vargas Foundation, São Paulo.
Claudio Kurita
Operations and Events Director
Holding a degree in Advertising, Claudio Kurita worked for more than 8 years at SPTURIS, the official Tourism and Events agency of the city of São Paulo. He served as a project manager at the SAVE THE CHILDREN Worldwide Alliance, in Mexico, and as the Presidency Account Manager at Blue Tree Hotels. He was a fellow of the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) Youth Leadership Program, in Washington, USA; attended the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Young Leaders Program, in Tokyo, Japan, and studied National Development at the National Defense University (Republic of China), in Taipei, Taiwan. Currently, as a volunteer, he serves as the Secretary of the Deliberative Council of the Bunkyo (the Brazilian Society of Japanese Culture), as the Vice President of the Pan American Nikkei Association, and as the director of the Gaimusho Kenshusei Brazilian Association of Former Fellows.
Ricardo Ferraz
Chief Financial Officer
Ricardo Ferraz holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting, a specialization in Controllership, and an MBA in Financial Management, Controllership, and Audit from the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV). Ricardo built his career in the administrative and financial areas of multinational companies for more than 20 years, and has a broad and diversified experience serving on different positions, such as accounting management, controllership, and financial administrative management, involving economic-financial planning, investment feasibility studies, profitability analyses, and resource investments, among others. He worked for more than 10 years for a Japanese communications company as its Commercial Finance and Statutory Officer.
Executive Assistant Aline Souza
Cultural Supervisor Gabriela Goelzer Bacelar
Cultural Supervisor Miyuki Teruya
Production Manager Cesar Fujimoto
Producer Maria Zelada
Cultural Mediation Hiromi Saito
Educators Felipe Lima e Vinicius Garcia Pires
Press Officer Manager Fernanda Araujo
Public Relations Manager Mayumi Orimoto
Digital Marketing Manager Adriana Pedroso
Digital Marketing Manager Thiago Minoru
Digital Marketing Analyst Gabriela Ono
Digital Marketing Analyst Thelma Nakae
Digital Marketing Assistant Camile Tomé
Copywriter Júlia Casadei
Business Manager Lígia Feichas
Business Development Analyst Beatriz Aoki
Operations Supervisor Bruno Mattedi
Event Supervisor Rebeca Cassab
Educational Analyst Janete Miamoto
Operations Coordinator André Oliveira
Operations Coordinator Eugênio Furbeta
Operations Coordinator Sandra Eleutério
Front Desk Ana Carolina Laguna, Luana Beatriz, Midori Yajima, Isabella Ferreira dos Santos
Supervisors Andrey Jahnel, Felipe de Oliveira
Project Manager - Tourism Chelem Consentino
Financial Manager Elicéia Amarante
Controllership Manager Karin Yoshiura
Financial Analyst Pedro Flores
Financial Administrative Analyst Gustavo Mourão
Human Resources Manager Ana Fernandes
Human Resources Assistant Beatriz Mayumi Saito
SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE
Chair Toru Shimizu
Chieko Aoki
Caio Luiz de Carvalho
Daigo Tamura
Luiz Fernando Furlan
Luiza Helena Trajano
Renato Ishikawa
Thaís Oyama
Yuki Kodera