“Medicine will undoubtedly advance over the next 100 years, but there is a real risk that healthcare itself could regress. I want to move healthcare forward.”
On Tuesday, December 16, 2025, Shizenkan hosted Leadership Night* as part of its MBA program. This interactive lecture series invites leaders driving transformation to reflect on their life journeys and explore the essence of leadership through dialogue.
For this session, we welcomed Sho Okiyama, MD, President & CEO of Aillis Inc., an AI medical device startup. After serving as an emergency physician, a doctor on remote islands, and a ship’s doctor, Dr. Okiyama transitioned into entrepreneurship and went on to win one of the world’s largest startup competitions—an extraordinary and unconventional career path. Guided by the moderation of Shizenkan students Ms. Sonoda and Mr. Sekine, he reflected on his own “leadership journey.”
Dr. Okiyama pointed out that while medical science will certainly continue to advance, there is a danger that “healthcare”—defined by whether patients truly feel satisfied and happy—may deteriorate. He emphasized that his mission goes beyond medical correctness to maximizing patients’ sense of understanding, acceptance, and well-being.
He also shared formative experiences from extreme situations as a doctor on a remote-island and on a ship, where he saved lives by confronting patients who refused treatment—not through logic alone, but through his genuine commitment as a physician. This belief that “when you engage with people wholeheartedly, they will understand” lies at the core of his leadership philosophy today.
Currently, through the use of AI technologies, Dr. Okiyama is pursuing a vision of “healthcare co-created with patients,” in which a single patient’s diagnostic data can help save someone else in the future—allowing patients themselves to feel like active “developers” of healthcare.
In closing, he offered words of encouragement to students forging their own paths, stating that “what truly matters is not the scale of the subject you speak for, but making the people closest to you genuinely happy.”
Shizenkan will continue to provide opportunities through Leadership Night to explore and deepen understanding of the true nature of leadership.
| “Leadership Night”
Leadership Night is part of Shizenkan’s formal course, Exploring the Journey of Leadership, and is held once a month in both Japanese and English. Each session features a guest speaker at the forefront of their field, who shares their personal leadership journey. The series provides participants — including both students and external guests — with an opportunity to envision their own future paths and to reflect on their ongoing journey of leadership. For Shizenkan students, these sessions also serve as valuable opportunities to meet potential role models, mentors, and supporters — individuals who embody the spirit of challenge and transformation that Shizenkan seeks to cultivate. |