Atsunobu Kasagi

Atsunobu Kasagi is an Innovation Specialist at the Silicon Valley office of the Kobe City Government, where he works to promote global innovation in Kobe by building partnerships with U.S. tech companies and universities, as well as attracting foreign businesses to the city. He is also currently enrolled in the Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) program at the University of Washington.

Since 2019, Kasagi has led the international expansion of Kobe’s startup ecosystem, supporting local entrepreneurs in entering global markets and attracting tech companies and startups from the U.S. West Coast to Kobe. One of his major accomplishments includes launching the Microsoft AI Co-Innovation Lab in Kobe, a collaborative initiative with Microsoft and Kawasaki Heavy Industries that fosters innovation through AI technologies. He also partnered with the global accelerator 500 Global to plan and manage the 500KOBE program, helping startups scale and connect with international opportunities.

More recently, he has been actively promoting industry-academia-government collaboration in Kobe, working with Kobe University and local companies to foster U.S.-Japan partnerships in medical engineering and to develop AI and digital talent.

Prior to his work with the Kobe City Government, Kasagi served as Manager for International Affairs at the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai), where he contributed to strengthening U.S.-Japan economic relations. He organized business delegations to Washington, D.C., and Silicon Valley, and helped develop policy proposals for the Japanese government.

Kasagi began his career at NTT DOCOMO, where he gained extensive experience across domestic marketing, global business strategy, M&A, and human resource development.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of Tsukuba. He also writes and speaks on topics such as generative AI and startup trends in the U.S., and his work has been featured by JETRO, Nikkei, and Forbes Japan.