Computer programming expert Yoshimi has spent her life dedicated to technology, developing business software and creating websites while freelancing in Hokkaido. To relax, Yoshimi started to play tennis in her free time. When she began to take part in tournaments, she struggled to keep track of the points system and built her first mobile application to help. Tennis Watch, an app that works on your smartwatch, offers players a simplified way of following scores - and even boasts international rules for various competitions. With feedback and requests coming from people across the globe, Yoshimi plans to continually improve the app and develop versions for other sports like badminton, alongside a tournament management app.

Hitoshi and Masaaki grew up making games together. Throughout elementary school and junior high they spent their time creating board games, playing cards, and immersing themselves in a world filled with wizards and fantastical elements. When they learned how to code, they began building online releases too. As adults, they both found work at technology companies but came back together years later to set up AcodeBank and energize the creative community in Aomori. Abyss and Dark #0 is one of their roleplay games, inspired by their childhood experiences. The friends aim to continue providing jobs and training for young people in their area.

​​It was while working for his parent's real estate company that Takuya created his first online calculator. He had studied information engineering at university, and used his skills to write a program to measure the properties they were selling. Over the years, he added in more complicated calculations using formulas, turning it into his POWER Calculator app. He has also included an English language feature, which has become popular in India. Takuya now runs his own development company and aims to move into game making - his dream is to build retro arcade-style titles like the ones he loved playing as a child.

When he was in elementary school, Hideki became fascinated with his uncle's computer and began saving up the money to buy his own. He learned programming at junior high and got a job as a systems engineer as soon as he graduated. Now a freelancer, he creates apps that he hopes will make people's lives easier. His Blood Pressure Notebook was inspired by his own experience tracking high blood pressure. It converts numbers into graphs and has automatic functions to make it quick and simple to use. He now plans to add new languages to the app so it can be used around the world.

It was a chat with a friend about baseball that set Hiroyuki's mind racing about a new app. He'd heard how difficult it is to keep track of scores, especially in youth leagues, so he set himself the task to help out. He'd been working in IT for years and put his skills to use building Visco mobile - Baseball Score. The app features drag and drop icons and a rule book, and it's been adopted by many schools. Hiroyuki is now considering adding in a communication feature, so teams, players, coaches and scouts are able to interact.

Yasuyuki found himself majoring in agricultural machinery at university. He wasn't keen at first, but quickly became engrossed in the subject and began looking for ways in which technology could improve farmers' efficiency. After working as an agricultural researcher, he founded his business and built an app. AgriBus: GPS farming navigator helps farmers to steer a straight path in their tractors, ensuring the spread of seeds and fertilizer is accurate and free of waste. It's an affordable solution for many producers who have older machinery. The app has been translated into seven languages and Yasuyuki is now researching more automation technology to enrich people's food supply.

Yusuke postponed his university plans due to financial constraints and opted to pursue a career in music. He spent years working as a guitar teacher, supplementing his income with exam tutor gigs. This hands-on experience would later prove to be his greatest inspiration when he enrolled in a business degree program in his 30s. Yusuke taught himself programming and built Manabi Mirai as a portfolio project. It's an educational tool for students that utilizes the Rote Learning Memorization technique and allows them to track their progress. He's now planning his next app, which will be an AI investment tool.

Even as a young boy, Kazunori loved programming on his 1970s microcomputer. A successful software career followed and, perhaps more surprisingly, two doctorates in Medical and Media Design. Combining his developer background and medical accomplishments, Kazunori focused on creating software for the color blind community, such as a tool that can help them distinguish colors. His most popular title, Chromatic Vision Simulator, was inspired by a book written by his color blind friend, and shows normal sighted people what color blindness really looks like. Next, Kazunori wants to improve the app so it will work automatically just by pointing the phone (or device) to an object - without the need for opening the tool.

Studying in an elementary school that emphasized IT education, Koichi’s interest in computers began at a young age. Fast forward to graduate school, computational physics became his passion. While working for a system development company, Koichi created the tool app Quick Memo. Its huge success led him to become an independent developer, known as Blacksmith DoubleCircle. When virtual reality first entered the scene, Koichi was also keen to be a part of the trend by releasing VR escape games. For the future, he has a lot of ideas for new titles including aerospace and board games.

The struggles of the agricultural and fishing industries after the Great East Japan Earthquake inspired once aspiring news reporter, Hiroyuki, to create Pocket Marche. The app helps connect producers directly with consumers, empowering them to increase their sales, set their own prices and build relationships. Buyers benefit from knowing precisely where their meat, fish and groceries come from, and can be sure they’re getting high-quality ingredients. In the future, Hiroyuki wants to continue to help build strong bonds between producers and consumers, and hopes to spread awareness about the importance of knowing where your food comes from.

Kazutoshi had dreamed of starting a business since his student days. But it was some years later, while working as a sales consultant and software developer for a healthcare company, that the inspiration for one came to him. Noticing that the medical and nursing staff around him were struggling to organize their schedules, he decided to use his developer experience to help by creating Shiftna. On the platform, professionals working shift jobs can manage their busy and complicated schedules. Today, Kazutoshi is dedicated to showing his admiration for health workers by constantly improving Shiftna and keeping it free to use.

When Motoyoshi was going through a difficult time, his wife Saaya tried to cheer him up by getting him to play a word game featuring cute and funny illustrations that she drew herself. It made Motoyoshi burst out laughing, and lifted his spirits so much that he got inspired to use her artwork for a game. Their creation, Cat Designer: Mocha’s Jigsaw Puzzle, with its hand-drawn graphics and cute animal characters, has a unique picture-book feel. In it, players have to solve puzzles to move up levels with fairytale titles like Forest Cafe and Castle Garden. Currently, they are dedicated to making their new escape game where the main character is a cat.

IT specialist Kohei and rice farmer Koji were both volunteer firefighters in their hometown, Fukushima, when the Great East Earthquake struck Japan in 2011. During the rescue efforts, they noticed how helpless the fire brigades became without telephones and communication, giving them the idea for SAFE. This platform for members of the brigades provides notifications of fire outbreaks within their locality, as well as information about water supply and fire hydrants. Kohei and Koji recently added a feature for alerting to other events like landslides and floods. In the future, their goal is to use SAFE to enhance cooperation between fire brigades from all over the country.

A recent graduate, Hayato developed games as a hobby during his Computer Science Master’s studies. His title Escape from the Closed Circle takes its eerie atmosphere from the fantasy-mystery novels he loves to read in his free time. Hayato believes inspiration for games should always come from a place of personal interest and passion, and opts to express his individuality in his titles. With this philosophy, his dream is to develop even more successful games. His next project is a simulation game where players navigate two years of postgraduate study with internships, thesis submission and more.