🇯🇵 Japan Facilitators
TL;DR
Your hosts. The strongest documented profiles are Miyazato (concrete durability, leads the Hokuriku SIP outline) and Nishida (concrete NDT, gives the intro lecture). Several other KIT names have little English-language footprint — listed here with their roles from the official agenda so you can place them in the room.
Kanazawa Institute of Technology (KIT)
Prof. Shinichi Miyazato — ⭐ confirmed, central host
- Professor, Dr. Eng., Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering, KIT.
- Research: concrete durability & steel corrosion — chloride-induced corrosion, partial cover thickness, silane/silicate penetrants and lithium-nitrite inhibitors, HPFRCC; recent work on “triage” for deteriorated concrete (JSCE-342).
- Role 7/21: opening speech + “Outline of the Hokuriku SIP Project.” Also supervises three JICA students (concrete lab).
- Hook: corrosion/durability + SIP — squarely in your domain. ResearchGate
Prof. Ryoichi Suzuki
- Professor, KIT (associated with KIT’s Project Education Center / project-based learning).
- Role 7/21: main facilitator of the Forum — the person running your presentation sessions. Worth understanding his facilitation style (structured peer feedback).
Prof. Toru Shiotani
- Professor, KIT. Role 7/21: “Positive Wrap-Up.”
- ⚠️ Do not confuse with Tomoki Shiotani of Kyoto University, the world-famous acoustic-emission authority — different person, same surname & field cluster. Toru Shiotani’s English profile is thin; confirm his specialty on site.
Prof. Yuko Kobayakawa
- Professor, KIT. Role 7/21: wrap-up (with Shiotani). English profile thin.
Prof. Shoji Takechi
- Professor, KIT. Role 7/21: runs the pre/post self-evaluation. (Appears in the agenda though not in the original participant list.)
Dr. Panitha (Thai) & Dr. Yuki
- Dr. Panitha — Thai researcher at KIT; a natural language/culture bridge for your team.
- Dr. Yuki — fluent in English & Japanese; coordination/interpretation support.
Shizuoka Institute of Science and Technology
Prof. Takahiro Nishida — ⭐ confirmed
- Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering.
- Research: concrete NDT / non-destructive evaluation, elastic-wave & acoustic-emission methods, crack investigation; contributor to JCI’s Practical Guideline for Investigation, Repair and Strengthening of Cracked Concrete Structures (2022).
- Role 7/21: intro lecture, “Understanding Efficiency and Strategy for Maintenance and Management.” Directly tied to the 7/22 NDT hands-on. ResearchGate
Nippon Koei (now ID&E Holdings)
Ms. Okamoto
- Facilitator from Nippon Koei — Japan’s first independent consulting-engineering firm (est. 1946); designs/supervises roads, bridges, transportation worldwide; long-standing JICA / ADB / World Bank partner across 100+ countries.
- Relevance: the industry/consulting voice, and a likely link to the Hokuriku SIP field implementation and to the JICA students’ home countries. n-koei.co.jp
Confidence
Miyazato and Nishida are well-documented and matched to their agenda roles. Suzuki, Shiotani, Kobayakawa, Takechi, Panitha, and Yuki are presented from the official agenda; their detailed research profiles weren’t publicly findable in English — treat specialties as to confirm on site.