Tom Standage is deputy editor of The Economist and editor of the yearly “The World in..” series. He is also responsible for the newspaper’s digital strategy and the development of new digital products, including Espresso and Economist Films. He joined The Economist as science correspondent in 1998 and was subsequently appointed technology editor, business editor and digital editor. He is the author of six history books, including “Writing on the Wall” (2013), “The Victorian Internet” (1998) and “A History of the World in 6 Glasses” (2005). He studied engineering and computing at Oxford University and has written for other publications including the New York Times, Daily Telegraph, Guardian and Wired, taking a particular interest in the internet’s cultural and historical significance.

Kaori Iida - Editor of NHK’s “News Watch 9”
In her previous roles as NHK’s economic correspondent in Washington DC, tech correspondent in Los Angeles, she has reported on some of the world’s major events and interviewed world leaders in business, government and finance from Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, Christine Lagarde to Lady Gaga. She was the anchor for NHK’s nightly business news program from 2010 through 2014.

Noah Sneider is The Economist’s Tokyo Bureau Chief, covering Japanese politics, business, society and culture. Prior to this he covered Russia and the former Soviet Union as Moscow Correspondent. Before joining The Economist, he reported for a range of publications, including The New York Times and The New Republic. His writing has also appeared in Harper’s, The Atlantic, and Slate, among others. He is a member of the third generation in his family to live and work in Japan.

Andrijana Cvetkovikj is the Director of the Economist Corporate Network in North Asia.

Andrijana is on the Board of Del Sole Corporation (listed on the Jasdaq), has a PhD from Nihon University, an Executive MBA from the Fox School of Business TUJ, is a former Ambassador to Japan for Macedonia; former visiting Associate Professor at Kyoto University, and current lecturer at Temple University and is involved in a number of scientific and artistic organizations in Japan and around the world, including being on the Advisory Board of the OIST Foundation.

She is a committed advocate on diversity, inclusion, and the UN’s SDGs, promoting these as a speaker at the World Economic Forum 2016, UN’s Conference for Climate Change in Tohoku and other international events. She's been living in and connected to Japan for over a decade, and speaks Japanese.

Pere Jovanov is a Macedonian cellist, born in 1986, residing, teaching and performing in Japan.
Graduated in cello performing arts from the Conservatory of music G. B. Martini - Bologna (Italy) in 2013.
His repertory includes classical, as well as film music, pop, rock, Macedonian music.
In 2015 he won the Tokyo Metropolitan ''Heaven Artist'' audition and was given a license to perform cello in public places in Tokyo.
In 2019 he released his first CD - ''il Canto del Violoncello''