Speakers

Jun Watanabe is the Chairman of Sony Block Solutions Labs Pte. Ltd. He joined So-net Entertainment Corporation (now Sony Network Communications Inc) in 2011. After serving as President and Representative Director of the company, he assumed his current position in 2023. With over 20 years of experience in business development and expansion, he now focuses on exploring new business opportunities in the Web3 infrastructure sector within Sony Network Communications Labs Pte. Ltd., now Sony Block Solutions Labs Pte. Ltd., and leads the development and operation of the “Soneium” blockchain.

Inspiring Co-creation: Sony Group’s Web3 Vision and the Role of Soneium

Abstract: Driven by its purpose to “Inspire the world with emotion through the power of creativity and technology,” Sony Group is pioneering Web3 to foster a new era of co-creation between creators and fans. This presentation will clarify Sony’s unique Web3 vision, moving beyond speculative applications to address the fundamental challenge of recognizing and empowering fan contributions in traditional entertainment ecosystems. We will introduce Soneium, Sony’s proprietary Ethereum layer-2 blockchain, which serves as an open, verifiable foundation for recording and proving creator-fan interactions. The discussion will highlight how NFTs and tokens, supported by our Fan Marketing Platform, are deployed to incentivize engagement, create unique experiences, and enable fans to become active co-creators. Through successful collaborations with various partners and internal initiatives, we will demonstrate the tangible steps Sony is taking to build a boundary-transcending digital experience, ultimately realizing a future where shared emotion and creativity flourish.

Kazumasa Omote received his Ph.D. degree in information science from the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST), in 2002. He worked at Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. during 2002-2008 and was engaged in research and development for network security. He was a Research Assistant Professor during 2008-2011 at JAIST, an Associate Professor during 2011-2016 at JAIST, and an Associate Professor during 2016-2022 at the University of Tsukuba. He has been a Professor at the University of Tsukuba, since 2022. His research interests include applied cryptography, network security, and blockchain security. He was the General Co-Chair of ACNS 2023 International Conference. He received the WISTP 2019 Best Paper Award. He also serves as a board member of the Japan Virtual and Crypto Assets Exchange Association (JVCEA).

Towards Malware-Resistant Signature Generation for Blockchain Systems

Abstract: With the growing adoption of blockchain systems, including crypto assets and smart contracts, users are increasingly required to sign their own transactions. At the same time, serious risks such as private key leakage and malware-driven manipulation are becoming more prominent. This talk explores how to ensure that only valid signatures are generated in blockchain systems under two constraints: (1) smart contracts cannot hold private keys, and (2) user devices may be compromised by malware. Furthermore, as concrete examples, we present our research on two approaches: an incentive-based off-chain delegated signing scheme, and a cold wallet system that integrates TrustZone, Trusted UI, and eID cards.

Hidenori Nakazato received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaing in 1993 and is currently a Professor at Department of Computer Science and Communications Engineering, Waseda University. He has experience in industry for more than 15 years and joined Waseda University in 2000. His research interest includes converging networking and computing, network protocols and algorithms, and their performance issues.

Cooperative and Decentralized Digital Twin Ecosystem

Abstract: A digital twin is a critical enabling technology to construct smart city services that help improve city life. To provide services in good quality, the digital twin must reflect up-to data state of the city. Keeping digital twins up-to-date requires massive effort potentially involving many IoT devices, human resources, and organizations including municipalities, companies, other organizations, and even individual citizens. We pursued a project called “Decentralized Digital Twin EcoSystem” and D2EcoSys for short which develops the ecosystem to make digital twins up-to-date by cooperation of many entities through an incentive mechanism. In other words, we exploited sharing economy concept to maintain digital twins. This talk introduces D2EcoSys project and its outcomes. It also introduces the current activities of our team.

Suvendu Pati is the Chief General Manager of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), heading the FinTech Department. The key responsibilities include Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), FinTech – regulatory approach / framework, FinTech Innovation, Regulatory Sandbox, RegTech, Suptech, account aggregator, P2P lending, policies relating to virtual digital assets, emerging technologies, and other activities of the RBIH. He represents India in the Financial Stability Board, Basel’s Working Group on Unbacked Crypto Assets.

Application of Blockchain technology: Opportunities and Challenges

Abstract: The address covers the evolving role of blockchain within the broader trajectory of financial-sector innovation. It reviews the technology’s progression towards emerging applications in programmable settlement, asset tokenisation, cross-border payments, and central-bank digital currencies. The discussion provides an assessment of the opportunities and the challenges, particularly those related to scalability, transaction throughput, interoperability, privacy, governance, and integration with existing financial infrastructures from a policy standpoint. Emphasis is placed on the need for technological solutions to align with user needs and public-policy objectives rather than technical novelty alone. Drawing on India’s regulatory experience, including the RBI’s facilitative role, innovation-focused initiatives like regulatory sandbox, the talk illustrates how an enabling environment can support responsible experimentation. It concludes by underscoring the complementary and collaborative roles that academic fraternity, practitioners, and the regulator can play in advancing well-governed and operationally feasible blockchain applications that deliver meaningful real-world value.

Ikkei Matsuda is the CEO of Digital Platformer, a pioneering firm at the intersection of finance and digital identity. His vision is rooted in his earlier experience as an investment banker based in London, where he covered the Emerging, Newly Industrialized, and Middle East and African markets. Witnessing significant challenges in cross-border money transfer and identity verification became the core motivation for his entrepreneurial endeavors in digital finance. Ikkei co-founded Soramitsu, a leading blockchain company that successfully developed Bakong, the world’s first central bank digital currency (CBDC) for the National Bank of Cambodia. Bakong has achieved remarkable financial inclusion, serving over 15 million users. Building on this success, Digital Platformer now provides two key solutions in Japan: i) Japan’s first tokenized deposit platform, issued in partnership with Hokkoku Bank. ii) An advanced DID/VC (Decentralized Identity/Verifiable Credential) platform for regional governments and financial institutions, aiming to revolutionize trust and data flow. Beyond finance, Ikkei is a respected pioneer in the deep-tech startup ecosystem in Japan, having initiated various acceleration programs across the country. He holds an MBA from INSEAD and a Ph.D. in Medicine from Hokkaido University.

Addressing the Challenges of the Renewable Energy Era: A new approach for Decentralized Energy Trading and RWA Tokenization

Abstract: As renewable energy adoption accelerates, supply and demand mismatches are leading to escalating problems, including grid congestion and output curtailment. This inefficiency is a major barrier to a smooth transition to clean energy.To overcome this, we propose an innovative approach that utilizes blockchain technology to treat carbon-free energy as a Real World Asset (RWA).By tokenizing energy and enabling transparent and highly reliable Peer-to-Peer (P2P) trading, we can dramatically boost market efficiency. Furthermore, implementing distance-based incentives will encourage local consumption, simultaneously reducing transmission losses and alleviating stress on the grid. This approach will contribute to the establishment of an energy system that is flexible, transparent, and sustainable, thereby robustly supporting the realization of a carbon-free society.