Company

Philosophy

Let's design an exciting future society together

CHOWA GIKEN Corporation (CGC) was born as a university-launched venture from the Graduate School of Engineering at Hokkaido University, a leader in the social implementation of AI. Today, we collaborate with many universities and research institutes and value a culture of challenging highly specialized issues while satisfying our curiosity in a lab-like atmosphere. This culture is one of the things that attracts so many researchers. Our mission is not to be a critic, but to contribute to the value of corporate services and products by using the results of academic research. The world has begun to change at an amazing pace due to AI. And we at CHOWA GIKEN Corporation (CGC) are the people who will contribute in creating this exciting future.

Our Strengths

University-launched venture born from AI laboratory

Our goal is to contribute to the resolution of our clients difficult problems and the creation of new services using cutting-edge, and academic AI research. CHOWA GIKEN Corporation (CGC) is Founded in 2009 as as accredited venture from Hokkaido University. It is one of the few advanced AI ventures with a university-based background. The results of our work have been highly praised, and we have received awards from the Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry's "300 Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Small Business Enterprise" and the Sapporo Chamber of Commerce and Industry's "Northern Entrepreneurship Award".

Collaboration with a number of university laboratories

Since its establishment, we have collaborated with AI laboratories in many universities to ensure highly specialized research and development capabilities. We are collaborating with the Harmonic Engineering (Hidenori Kawamura Laboratory) at Hokkaido University, Keiji Suzuki Laboratory at Future University of Hakodate (public university), Masato Yamamoto Laboratory at Hokkaido University, AI Lab at the Regional Collaboration Research Center at Sapporo City University, Yamashita Laboratory at the National Tokyo College of Technology, Komatsugawa Laboratory at Chitose University of Science and Technology (public university), Yasuda Laboratory at Hokkaido University of Information Technology, and others.

Academic Expertise and Culture

Inheriting the philosophy of implementing the results of university research into society, our research environment is characterized by an open and free research environment that resembles a laboratory. Thorough discussions are held daily by employees with a keen sense of intellectual curiosity in order to find solutions to our customers' problems.

Company Profile

company name
CHOWA GIKEN Corporation (CGC) (certified venture from Hokkaido University) 
Location
〒001-0021 Sapporo Branch- Office 305, Hokkaido University Business Spring, West 12th Street, kitaku kita 21 jō, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
〒103-0007 Tokyo Branch - Office 301, TKM Nihonbashi Tower, 1-10, Nihonbashi Hamacho 2-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
AI SAMURAI JAPAN Limited (Bangladesh subsidiary) - South Breeze Center (9th Floor), Building N.5, Road No.11, Block-G, Banani, Dhaka-1213
Founding date
2009/11/4
Number of
Employees
83 (57 full-time employees, 10 directors, 10 part-time employees, 6 advisors)
Capital Stock
100,000,000 YEN(capital reserve of 100,000,000YEN)
Business Overview
AI implementation consulting, AI research and development. AI Implementation. Operations, provision of AI engines, and human resource development.
Chief Executive
 Officer (CEO)
Takuya Nakamura
Board Member
Tetsuya Kurokawa, Director
Shinji Suzaki, Director
Daisuke Konaka, Director
Hidenori Kawamura, Co-founder, Professor of Hokkaido University, Outside Director.
Keiji Suzuki, Co-founder, Professor, Future University of Hakodate.
Makoto Yasuda, Outside Director
Yoshimi Abe, Corporate Auditor (full-time)
Masakazu Hasegawa, External Corporate Auditor
Tadashi Kawami, External Corporate Auditor
主要取引先
Aeon Hokkaido Co., Ltd., Cresco Co., Ltd., Kotobuki Sangyo Co., Ltd., The Sun Strategic Solutions Co., Ltd., Nikko Co., Ltd., East Japan Telecom Telephone Co. , Ltd., Hitachi Solutions East Japan Co., Ltd., Fusion Co., Ltd. Company Flare Service Co., Ltd., Hokkaido Part-time Job Information Co., Ltd., Hokkaido Gas Co., Ltd., Hokkaido Shimbun Co., Ltd., INSIGHT LAB Co., Ltd., awl Co., Ltd., AI TOKYO LAB Co., Ltd., etc. (titles omitted, in alphabetical order)

Company History

November 2009
Establishment of CHOWA GIKEN Corporation (CGC) in Sapporo, Japan,
as a venture company of the Hokkaido University Harmonic Engineering Laboratory
June 2014
CHOWA GIKEN Corporation (CGC) starts to attract attention as in Mr. Toshiyuki Takei, Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and Mr. Makoto Sugiura, Director-General of the Hokkaido Bureau of Telecommunications, visited the company to observe the research results.
July 2017
Relocated our headquarters to the Hokkaido University Business Spring located North of Hokkaido University Campus.
October 2017
Certified by Hokkaido University as a Hokkaido University Venture Company
May 2018
Opened office in Nihonbashi, Tokyo to expand Companies operations.
January 2019
Received the "Northern Entrepreneur Award" by the Sapporo Chamber of Commerce and Industry
June 2019
Selected by the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Hiroshige Seko, as one of the "300 Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Small Business Enterprises"
December 2019
Opened a subsidiary in Dhaka, Bangladesh
and established a cooperation with the University of Dhaka

Access

Sapporo Head Office

Address

〒001-0021
Office 305, Hokkaido University Business Spring, West 12th Street, kitaku kita 21 jō, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan

Google map

Tokyo Branch Office

Address

〒103-0007
Office 301, ACN Nihonbashi bldg, 1-10, Nihonbashi Hamacho 2-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Google map

AI SAMURAI JAPAN Limited (Bangladesh Subsidiary)

Address

South Breeze Center (9th Floor), Building N.5, Road No.11, Block-G, Banani, Dhaka-1213

Google map

Management and Advisors

  • Chief executive officer (CEO)
    Takuya Nakamura

    Sapporo AI Lab Manager
    1986 Graduated from Keio University with a degree in Commerce. 1986 Worked at the Hokkaido Takushoku Bank and Hitachi Software Engineering, 2011 joined CHOWA GIKEN Corporation (CGC)as the CEO; during which He has given many lectures on business introduction of AI and regional revitalization, such as "Forum for the Future Pioneered by Cutting-Edge Technology" at the Junior Chamber of Commerce of Japan, NTT Data Management Research Institute's "New Regional Development Model by Rural and Cutting-Edge Technology", and the Hokkaido Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry's "New Entry Promotion Symposium for Robot-related Business".
  • Director, COO and General Manager of Research and Development
    Tetsuya Kurokawa

    1998 Graduated from the Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University.
    1998 Joined the Japan Digital Research Institute, where he was involved in the production of financial accounting packages.
    1999 joined Accenture in As a manager and IT consultant, during which he has been involved in numerous system conceptualization,implementation, operation and maintenance projects mainly for telecommunications, manufacturing and energy companies.
    October 2019 joined CHOWA GIKEN Corporation (CGC)
    As Tokyo Branch Manager; in March 2020, he was appointed Manager of the Research and Development Department; and in June 2020, he was appointed to the company's Board of Directors.
  • Director (Administration)Shinji Suzaki

    After graduating from university in 1998, he worked in the administrative sector for more than 20 years, with a wide range of experience based on accounting, taxation, and corporate planning. About 12 of those years were spent at a local EMS (Electronics Manufacturing Service) company, where he played a central role as the accounting manager and core member of the IPO preparation office, serving as the contact person for securities firms, auditing firms, and the TSE, and directly listing the company on the TSE 1st section in 2016. After that, he worked in the corporate strategy office of a semiconductor manufacturing company, and in 2020, he became the director and CFO of an AI venture company in the same industry as our company. He joined Chowa Giken in June 2022 (General Manager of HR and GA Department). In the same month, he was appointed as Executive Officer, and in November 2022, he was appointed as Director (in charge of administration).

  • DirectorDaisuke Konaka

    He started his career as an engineer at Toyota Motor Corporation, and after working as a consultant, telecommunications carrier, and start-up in Japan and abroad, he joined Chowa Giken in July 2021 and became a director in February 2023. He is in charge of business development, sales, marketing, and overseas business promotion divisions.
  • Outside DirectorMakoto Yasuda

    He joined North Pacific Bank, formerly known as Sapporo Bank, in 1997. In 2005, he transferred to Fusion Corporation, where he was involved in introducing data analysis services for major trading companies and distributors. From 2013, he has been serving as an Executive Director in charge of the management department. As part of his responsibilities, he led the IPO preparation team, and in February 2017, he successfully achieved listing on the Ambitious Market of the Sapporo Stock Exchange.
  • Outside Director, Co-founder
    Dr. Hidenori Kawamura

    Professor at the Hokkaido University Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Laboratory of Harmonious Systems Engineering. Director of Sapporo AI Lab.
    Director of Fusion Corporation, Oulu Corporation, INSIGHT LAB, Sankuree, Cresco, Interpark, Super Hotel, Anabuki Kosan, Nikko, Big, and several other companies. After working as an assistant and associate professor at Hokkaido University , he became a professor in the Laboratory of Harmonious Systems Engineering at the same university in 2016. In 2007, he was a visiting scholar at the University of Michigan. He is interested in artificial intelligence research, and has been engaged in research on neural networks, deep learning, machine learning, evolutionary systems, multi-agent systems, data mining, and robotics. He has published many papers on artificial intelligence. He has established several startups in the field of AI.
  • Outside Director, Co-founder
    Dr. Keiji Suzuki

    Professor of the Department of Complexity and Intelligence at Future University Hakodate.
    Deputy Director of the Center for Future AI Research at Hakodate University. 2015 Appointed as a professor of the Department of Complexity and Intelligence at Future University Hakodate, His areas of expertise include artificial intelligence, deep learning, machine learning, tourism informatics, multi-agent systems, autonomous distributed robot control, and complex systems engineering.
  •  Corporate Auditor (full-time)Yoshimi Abe

    Graduated from the Faculty of Law, Hokkaido University in 1976.
    He joined Nomura Securities Corporation, and during his 35 years there, he worked as a regional branch manager, Headquarters Business Management Department Deputy Manager, Headquarters Group Corporate Department Deputy Manager, Nagoya Corporate Finance Department General Manager. After that, he moved to Takara Printing Corporation, where he continued to serve as Planning Department General Manager, Disclosure Translation Department Manager(Operating Officer), Osaka branch General Manager (Managing Executive Officer). As an expert in finance and disclosure, he has a wealth of experience and wide-ranging insight cultivated in his duties.
  • Technical Advisor
    Dr. Masato Yamamoto

    Professor, Laboratory of Autonomous Systems Engineering, Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University. Director of the Japan Association of Tourism Information.
    Completed the doctoral program at Hokkaido University in 1996. After working as an assistant professor and associate professor at Hokkaido University,
    he became a professor in the Autonomous Systems Engineering Laboratory at the same university. He is an alumnus of the Harmonious Systems Engineering Laboratory at Hokkaido University. His research interests include complex networks, deep learning, optimization, meta-heuristics, artificial life, and evolutionary robotics.
  • Technical Advisor
    Dr. Michio YAMASHITA

    Associate Professor, Laboratory of Harmonious Systems Engineering, Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University.
    He completed the doctoral program at Hokkaido University in 2002. After that he was working as a researcher at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in 2003, he became an associate professor at the Laboratory of Harmonious Systems Engineering, Hokkaido University in 2017. He is also an alumnus of the Harmonious Systems Engineering Laboratory at Hokkaido University, specializing in multi-agent, intelligent agents, reinforcement learning, deep learning, etc.
  • Technical Advisor
    Dr. Hiroyuki Iizuka

    Associate professor at the Laboratory of Autonomous Systems Engineering, Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University.
    After serving as Assistant Professor at Osaka University, he became Associate Professor at the Laboratory of Autonomous Systems Engineering, Hokkaido University in 2013. He is an alumnus of the Harmonious Systems Engineering Laboratory at Hokkaido University, specializing in artificial life, complex systems science, deep learning, and VR.
  • Technical Advisor, PhD (Information Science)
    Soichiro Yokoyama

    Assistant Professor, Laboratory of Harmonious Systems Engineering, Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University.
    Completed the doctoral program of the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University in 2016 with a shortened period of time. In 2017, he was appointed Assistant Professor in the Harmonious Systems Engineering Laboratory at Hokkaido University. He specializes in combinatorial optimization problems, scheduling problems, deep learning, and machine learning.
  • Co-Principal Investigator, PhD (Information Science)
    Akihiro YAMASHITA

    Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Tokyo National College of Technology. He is a member of the National Colleges of Technology Programming Contest.
    Completed the doctoral program of the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University in 2010 with a shortened period of time. 2017, he became an assistant professor at Tokyo National College of Technology before becoming an associate professor at the same school. He is an alumnus of the Harmonic Engineering Laboratory at Hokkaido University, specializing in recommendation systems, data mining, and intelligent systems.
  • Financial Advisor
    吉原 暢一

    President of the Capital Policy Institute, Inc.
    Graduated from the Faculty of Law at Keio University in 1985. After working for Nippon Godo Finance (now JAFCO), Mizuho Securities, Plutus Consulting, and others, he became an advisor to Harmonix Corporation. Specializes in capital policy and fund raising.

Awards

Selected as one of the "300 Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Small Business Enterprises" in fiscal year 2018.

On June 6, 2019, we received a letter of appreciation from the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Hiroshige Seko, as a group of researchers contributing to the improvement of productivity in Japan through AI.

Awarded the "Entrepreneur of the North" Encouragement Award in 2018

On January 23, 2019, the company received an Encouragement Award from the Sapporo Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the Northern Entrepreneurship Award; as a leader in the AI business in Hokkaido. The Encouragement Award is given to the managers of companies with good business performance and high expectations for future business development, and the company was selected from among about 1,400 companies for its unique management system and its pursuit of cutting-edge technology to improve its performance.

Winner of the TSUBASA Alliance "Finovation Challenge" Special Jury Prize

On April 27, 2018, the Company's "Measures to Revitalize Local Economies Using Interest-Analytical Apps to Change the Flow of People" was awarded the Judges Special Prize at the FinTech Business Competition, co-sponsored by four domestic banks and the T&I Innovation Center.

Awarded the title of “Certified Venture from Hokkaido University”

On October 13, 2017, we were awarded the title of Certified Venture from Hokkaido University by Director Nishii in recognition of our achievements in creating new AI research and business models in collaboration with laboratories at Hokkaido University and other universities in Hokkaido.