On December 23, 2025, SS-F hosted “SS-F GALA 2025,” a networking event that brought together researchers from a wide range of fields and corporate supporters at Tsunamachi Mitsui Club. The venue, Tsunamachi Mitsui Club, is a beautiful classical building designed in the Renaissance style and is also a place closely associated with Mitsui Fudosan, a long-standing partner of SS-F.
The theme of this year’s SS-F GALA was “Igniting the Sparks: Voyage to Lightning Lab,” which reflects SS-F’s long journey to its first physical hub, Lighthouse Lab, scheduled to open in April 2026.
As the launch of Lighthouse Lab approaches, we wanted to create a moment for each participant to share their aspirations for the future and to reaffirm a collective commitment to embark on the challenges ahead, guided by the light of the lighthouse.
With this theme, we hoped that the GALA would become a memorable evening that marks the beginning of our shared journey toward Lighthouse Lab.
The event brought together researchers from the SS-F community, along with representatives from our supporter companies. From the moment the doors opened, lively conversations and active exchanges filled the venue.
A New Hub to Open in April 2026 in Kannai, Yokohama
SS-F is an organization that supports the creation of invention and its connection to innovation by fostering interactions among researchers across disciplines and nationalities, as well as exchanges between researchers and people from industry. At the core of SS-F’s philosophy is People-Centric, ideas are born from people, connected to people, and spread by people.
Guided by this belief in shining a light on individuals, SS-F builds networks of knowledge centered on researchers who are taking on the challenge of exploring the unknown. We focus on creating an ecosystem and platform that connects seeds born in research settings to innovation through real-world social implementation.
Mr. Kazunori Yamashita, Appointed Chief Operating Officer, Innovation Promoting Division, Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.
At the fourth SS-F GALA, the evening began with a toast delivered by Kazunori Yamashita, Managing Executive Officer and Head of the Innovation Promotion Division at Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. Following this, Hodaka Kokegucci of SS-F gave a presentation introducing SS-F Lighthouse Lab, a new hub scheduled to open in April 2026 in Kannai, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture.
Hodaka Kokeguchi (SS-F Co-Founder )
The word “Lighthouse” refers to a beacon that serves as a guiding light for those navigating the seas. Lighthouse Lab aspires to be a physical space that embodies SS-F’s philosophy in a tangible form.
The Lab will be equipped with new facilities for research as well as a variety of meeting and collaboration spaces. By bringing together top-level researchers and leaders from industry, Lighthouse Lab aims to create new research domains and to more powerfully advance SS-F’s mission of bridging researchers and industry.
People from Diverse Backgrounds Boarding the Same Ship and Setting Sail Together
At the GALA, participants do more than simply enjoy casual conversations with one another. Each year, a collaboration activity is also organized to encourage deeper communication and more meaningful connections among attendees.
This year’s activity was themed “Voyage to the Lighthouse,” inspired by the upcoming opening of Lighthouse Lab. The activity was thoughtfully designed to encourage participants to share and reflect on their aspirations for building Lighthouse Lab together as a community of SS-F.
First, each participant turned on the penlight they were given and gathered with others according to the group name written on the penlight. Each group was then imagined as a single ship, marking the start of their voyage together.
Participants in the same group, in other words, those aboard the same ship, first introduced themselves and shared what they had worked hard on over the past year, deepening their understanding of one another.
They then assigned roles within the ship: captain, navigator, lookout, and deckhand. The captain facilitated the group discussions, the lookout took on the role of recorder, and the navigator and deckhands helped energize the conversation and keep the discussion lively.
Generating Ideas and Envisioning the Future
With roles assigned, it was finally time to “set sail.”
The members of each ship then took turns sharing what they hope to achieve ten years from now.
However, every voyage comes with its own “storms.”
In this activity, these storms represented the challenges that inevitably arise on the path to realizing one’s future aspirations. Participants brainstormed what those challenges might be, wrote them on sticky notes, and added them to their navigation books.
At each table, challenges such as “difficulty in communicating research to the general public,” “fundraising,” and “translating research into real-world applications” were raised. Each time, participants responded with nods and comments like “Exactly” or “We’ve all been there,” sharing a strong sense of mutual understanding.
So how can these storms be overcome? One answer lies in meeting new companions and gaining fresh ideas and strengths through those encounters. With this in mind, two groups merged into one, listing the shared visions of their original ships and creating a new, unified vision for their newly formed vessel.
Exciting visions from each boat included “Live a long, healthy life doing what you love,” “Ecosystem creation,” and “A world where everyone can thrive doing what they love”.
Of course, even a newly formed vision comes with its own storms.
To explore how these challenges might be overcome, the crew members discussed how they would like to make use of Lighthouse Lab and what they would hope to see there.
With that, the voyage came to an end, and the activity concluded with a collective call of “To the Lighthouse!”
Deeper Connections Give Rise to New Discoveries and Inventions
After the collaboration activity concluded, we asked participants to share their impressions of this year’s GALA.
“I really appreciated the opportunity to reconnect with people I can only meet at SS-F events, as well as to make new connections. The activities also gave us great opportunities to engage in deeper conversations.”
“At academic conferences, researchers do interact with one another, but usually only within similar fields. Here, being able to connect with researchers from unexpected disciplines was truly stimulating.”
“I usually interact only with other researchers, so it was refreshing and enjoyable to talk with people from companies who are not researchers. This was my second time attending, and I would love to join again for a third.”
“As a first-time participant, I was quite nervous, but thanks to the thoughtfully designed activities, I was able to get to know others well, which made the experience very positive.”
“The venue and the food were wonderful. In particular, the activities were planned with a creative, out-of-the-box approach, and I could really feel the organizers’ spirit of challenge. Although the environment was a bit lively, the event was run with ingenuity, making it a very meaningful and worthwhile initiative.”
“I’m really looking forward to Lighthouse Lab.”
“Being able to regularly meet and exchange information with other SS-F Inventors like this is, in itself, extremely valuable.”
At the GALA, participants were able to experience the diversity of the SS-F community by connecting with people from research fields and industries they would not normally encounter. Many attendees expressed their appreciation for the thoughtfully designed collaboration activities, noting that they enabled deeper and more meaningful interactions—far beyond what could be achieved through casual conversation alone.
Takanori Takebe (SS-F Founder)
Even after the final commemorative photo was taken, the smiles and energy showed no sign of fading, and conversations among participants continued well beyond the scheduled close.
Through this year’s GALA, we strongly felt that the SS-F community is continuing to grow and evolve.
We are filled with anticipation as we look ahead to the new Lightning Lab, wondering what kinds of inventions—and innovations—will emerge from this space in the years to come.
