Indo-Pacific
Future Association
IPFA is a Tokyo-based general incorporated association that facilitates cross-border dialogue and collaboration across the Indo-Pacific region. Rather than making introductions, we design context. Rather than brokering deals, we build pathways of trust. Since our founding in January 2026, we have been quietly and steadily advancing multilateral exchange between Japan, the United States, and partners across the region.
| Official Name | Indo-Pacific Future Association (IPFA) |
| Established | January 22, 2026 |
| Headquarters | Toranomon Hills Business Tower 15F, 1-17-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo |
| Legal Form | General Incorporated Association (with Board of Directors and Auditor) |
| Public Notice | Electronic notice (ipfa.info) |
| Fiscal Year | April 1 – March 31 |
The Indo-Pacific is the defining region of our time — home to the world’s fastest-growing economies, its most complex geopolitical dynamics, and its greatest potential for cooperation. Yet invisible barriers persist: institutional asymmetries, cultural distance, and a deficit of sustained trust between the organizations that should be working together.
Government diplomacy alone cannot build the person-to-person trust that lasts. Commercial intermediaries optimize for transactions, not relationships. And one-time conferences create connections that fade within weeks.
IPFA was founded to fill this gap.
We are not a broker, a lobbyist, or an event company. We are a neutral, non-profit platform that designs the conditions under which meaningful dialogue can take place — and meaningful relationships can endure. We start small, prepare thoroughly, and measure success not by the size of our events but by the depth of the trust we help build.
Mission
To promote neutral cultural and educational exchange and multilateral cooperation, contributing to mutual understanding and peaceful development across the Indo-Pacific.
Vision
Contributing to an Indo-Pacific where diverse stakeholders can cooperate as equals.
Three Founding Pillars
Economy
The foundation of a prosperous society
Politics
Building fair systems
Faith & Values
Cultivating ethical and cultural values
IPFA is a General Incorporated Association under Japanese law — a non-profit legal entity that represents no particular company or government body. This institutional independence is the foundation upon which we create trusted spaces for diverse stakeholders. We are funded through donations, sponsorships, and commissioned projects, not transaction fees or success-based commissions.
Yoshiyuki Shimizu is the Representative Director and President of the Indo-Pacific Future Association (IPFA). He brings over two decades of international business leadership at one of Japan's foremost chemical companies and more than a decade of front-line engagement in shaping Japan's trade and economic diplomacy. At Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd., he spent 20 years in the company's international and corporate planning divisions before joining the executive ranks, where he headed the subsidiary overseeing China and Asia operations while leading the company's secretariat, legal, general affairs, public relations, CSR, and government relations functions. He served as Managing Executive Officer and subsequently as Standing Advisor before retiring from the company. He holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Tokyo and an MBA from the University of San Francisco, where he was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma. At Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), he chaired the Economic Diplomacy Committee Planning Division, the Trade Policy Committee Planning Division, and the Trade Policy Committee Economic Partnership Promotion Division over a combined tenure of more than a decade, taking a leading role in drafting numerous Keidanren policy recommendations on diplomacy and trade. He continues to serve as Counselor at the Keidanren Institute for Policy and Economy, and remains active as an advisor or director at a wide range of corporations and organizations.
Jiro Iwasaki serves as a Director of the Indo-Pacific Future Association (IPFA). He brings decades of C-suite leadership and corporate governance expertise spanning electronic components, logistics, and semiconductors. At TDK Corporation, he held progressively senior roles — Director and Head of HR & Education, Managing Director and Head of the Recording Media Business Division — before being appointed Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer. He went on to serve as Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer at JVC KENWOOD Holdings. Alongside his corporate career, he has served as Professor at Teikyo University's Faculty of Economics, bridging executive practice with academic insight. He currently holds outside directorships at SBS Holdings, Inc. and Renesas Electronics Corporation, and previously served as Full-time Audit & Supervisory Committee Member at GCA Corporation. His cross-industry leadership and hands-on governance experience strengthen IPFA's organizational foundation.
Fumiyasu Suguro serves as a Director of the Indo-Pacific Future Association (IPFA). He brings nearly four decades of experience in the global housing and real estate industry, with deep expertise in building international operations from the ground up. Joining Sekisui House, Ltd. — one of Japan's largest homebuilders — in 1982, he rose through key leadership roles including Secretary General and head of the International Business Division before being appointed Director and Managing Executive Officer in 2014 and promoted to Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer in 2016. In this capacity, he oversaw all of the company's international operations, having been instrumental in their earliest stages and laying the foundation for what would become a major pillar of the company's business. He retired from Sekisui House in 2020.
Masato Matsuno serves as Auditor of the Indo-Pacific Future Association (IPFA), where he oversees both operational and financial audits. He brings extensive governance expertise forged through senior roles at Nippon Steel Corporation, Japan's largest steelmaker, where he served as Full-time Standing Auditor and subsequently as Full-time Audit & Supervisory Committee Member following the company's governance restructuring. He was elected Chairman of the Japan Audit & Supervisory Board Members Association, the country's principal professional body for corporate auditors, where he led national efforts to advance corporate governance standards. His combination of decades of leadership at one of Japan's foremost industrial enterprises and hands-on experience guiding governance reform at the industry level provides IPFA with a rigorous foundation for accountability and oversight.
Shikun GAO is Special Advisor to the Indo-Pacific Future Association (IPFA), where he leads legal and contractual design as well as strategic program development. An international attorney with over 28 years of cross-border practice, he advises on transactions, geopolitical risk management, and compliance across Japan, China, and the United States. He is admitted to practice in China, registered as a foreign law attorney in Japan (Chinese law), and registered as a Foreign Legal Consultant in the State of New York. He is the founder of Shimin Foreign Law Office in Tokyo and maintains an active practice spanning Tokyo and New York. He holds a degree in Mathematical Engineering from the College of Engineering, Osaka Prefecture University.
Governance
IPFA is governed by a Board of Directors with an Auditor. Directors serve two-year terms. The Representative Director (President) chairs the Board and represents the Association. The Auditor conducts operational and financial audits, ensuring transparency in the Association's management.