Kouji Miki
Speaker, Author, Organiser of
Zen and IKIGAI in the Age of AI
About Me
I am an innovation consultant based in Kamakura, Japan—where Zen wisdom meets the edge of technology and human evolution. For over 20 years, I have been consulting for small and medium-sized manufacturers in Japan, beginning my career at Fujitsu Limited after earning a Master's degree in Media and Governance (Strategic Innovation Theory) from Keio University.
My professional journey took a significant turn after being laid off during the 2008 financial crisis. This challenge led me to practice zazen each morning, discovering the transformative power of mindfulness for both personal resilience and business innovation. Over the years, I have developed extensive expertise in meditation practices, with more than 15 years in Zen meditation and 7 years in Vipassana meditation.
As the founder of ZenSchool®, an innovation management method launched in 2011, I coach CEOs, entrepreneurs, and changemakers to align with their deeper purpose (Ikigai) through a unique process that integrates Zen practice, systems thinking, and visionary strategy. This forms the foundation of what I call True Innovation—a method that awakens not just business growth, but personal and spiritual transformation.
I also serve as the organizer of Zen2.0, an international conference on Zen and mindfulness that I co-founded in 2017 with four colleagues. Held at Kenchoji Temple in Kamakura, it has grown to become the world's largest gathering of its kind, connecting participants from Europe, Japan, and the United States. Our 2025 edition, themed "Touching the Earth," explores how to cultivate a more mindful, conscious, and ecologically connected planet.
I have authored two books: "Let's Start Micro-Monozukuri" and "True Innovation," which explore how to create innovation through Zen-inspired dialogue. Currently, I am working to transform Kamakura into a mindful city where Zen traditions and IT innovations converge.
Recently, I've been focusing on the intersection of Generative AI and human purpose—asking how we can harness advanced technologies to reclaim time for conscious reflection, creativity, and authentic connection. Since 2023, I have expanded my work internationally, delivering lectures on 'AI and IKIGAI'. I see AI not as a replacement for human capacity, but as an opportunity to deepen what makes us truly human.
My company's mission is to foster societal innovation by transforming the mindsets of leaders in politics, business, and social change through a blend of traditional philosophies and emerging technologies such as the Metaverse, Virtual Reality, and AI.
Specialties:
► Generative AI & IKIGAI
► Zen philosophy and Mindfulness
► IDGS & Zen philosophy
► Green Transformation
► Zen-based business innovation – ZenSchool & True Innovation coaching for CEOs
My mission is to bridge East and West, tradition and innovation, self and society—supporting a global shift toward more meaningful, sustainable, and soulful ways of living and working. Let's connect if you're exploring mindful leadership, conscious innovation, or the human side of AI.
Behind My Activities
About my ancestor, St. Paul Miki:
My ancestor, St. Paul Miki, the son of a Japanese samurai, was martyred 430 years ago in Nagasaki, Japan, as one of 26 saints, after Christianity was banned and suppressed by the then shogun Hideyoshi.
I have been invited by the spirit of my ancestors to build a “Mindful City Kamakura,” a world free from any kind of discrimination, while cherishing the Zen tradition.
Public speaking, organised events, books
Public speaking
2024 Dec.
On Line, 2024. 7 & 8 December 2024 | 100+ Countries | 150+ Speakers
"Hello to Digital Business Transformation and Artificial Intelligence"
The WMS events have resonated with millions of professionals worldwide. The most recent online version of WMS was held on November 6 and 7, 2023, featured 226 influential speakers, and was broadcast continuously for 48 hours across 105 countries, attracting over 85 million views, according to Amazon and Alibaba web services.
Speech Title :"AI and IKIGAI" in English
2024 Mar.
-Fireside talks in Sweden, Stockholm
In person conference at Stockholm, sweden.
Main topics in this conference as follows;
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AI / IKIGAI
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Strategic planning for the Modern Workplace
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Workplace design – Global solutions
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Sustainable workplaces and solutions
Speech Title :"AI and IKIGAI" in English
150+ Speech and Lectures in Japan
Over 150 lectures in Japanese on the following topics;
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AI and IKIGAI
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Innovation based on Zen philosophy
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Zen, mindfulness and technology
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Innovation using the metaverse
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Other
Organised events
Since 2017
Zen2.0
The world's largest international conference on Zen and mindfulness
Co-Founder of Zen2.0
The Zen2.0 Conference
Zen2.0 is an international conference on Zen and mindfulness held in Kamakura, Japan, every fall since 2017 at Kenchoji Temple in North Kamakura, Japan, with an amazing lineup of speakers, including Zen and mindfulness leaders and scientists from Japan and abroad, to learn about our mind and consciousness through Zen, meditation and mindfulness.
Zen2.0 is based on the 3 jewels in Buddhism, "Buddha, Dharma, and Samgha," and aims to connect activities such as "technology and spirituality," "thought and physicality," and "the universe and the individual." The mission is to create a mindful planet where all humankind can share the earth in a spiritually rich way, transcending all borders and differences. This is a very essential theme for people who are busy in the current age of digital technology, and where the value of diversity is increasing.
With participants from Japan and other countries, the group is expanding its activities both online and offline as a global effort to spread Zen and Zen culture throughout the world.
Books
Inner Development Goals
Stories of Collective
Leadership in Action, Volume 1: From "I" to "We"
De Gruyter 2025
"Zen Wisdom: When the 10 Bulls encountered the Inner Development Goals"
I had the pleasure of writing for the first English-language IDGs book to be published by De Gruyter, a long-established academic publisher in Germany with a history of over 270 years. The title is “IDG Stories of Collective Leadership in Action Volme: From ‘I’ to ‘We’ (IDGs Leadership Practice Case Collection Vol. 1: From ‘I’ to ‘We’)
IDGs (Inner Development Goals) is a framework that promotes personal inner growth in order to support the achievement of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). It is translated as “inner growth goals” and classifies 23 qualities and skills necessary for building a sustainable society, such as empathy and critical thinking, into five categories
The title of the manuscript is “When the 10 Bulls Encountered the Inner Development Goals”
I was asked to write a story in the form of storytelling about how the world's largest international conference on Zen and mindfulness, “Zen2.0”, was launched, and to compare it with the IDGs, in line with the 10 Bulls.
At a time when the world demands profound change, transformation begins within. As part of a two-volume work, this first volume explores the personal journeys that fuel collective leadership, weaving together research, art, case studies, and practices from the global Inner Development Goals (IDG) community. Through deep reflection and shared wisdom, it invites readers to embrace a new paradigm of interconnectedness—where individual insight, systemic understanding, and empathy drive meaningful action.
Includes works on each dimension and skills it encompasses
Explores many diverse tools and methods co-created by an intentional and purposeful global community
Encompasses contributions of different genres and styles
ccc Media House · Jun 1, 2018
The book "Ture Innovation" is for innovators who want to create business innovations.
What is important to create truly innovation (True Innovation) unparalleled is passionate than logic. "What I really want to do (what I want)" that exists only in the mind of an individual is highly unique, different from the result of market research. However, the passion of "true" tends to be hazy because it is hampered by factors such as standing position and prejudice in individual society, there are knacks to find. And the trick was in Zen questioning.
This book exposes a method for authors who have produced a number of successful innovators in "Innovation Creation Course" that emphasizes "dialogue" called "zenschool" to find "true excitement". What is the "dialogue" technology that produces achievement-producing innovation that was taken up in the "dawn of Nikkei Special Gaia" (TV Tokyo)? The commentary is Professor Takashi Maeno of "Happiness Science" "Innovation Research" (Keio Professor of the Graduate School of System Design and Management, University of Tokyo.
Let's start Micro manufacturing
Ten books · Apr 1, 2013
This book is about how to practice "Micro-manufacturing". Micro-manufacturing is a lean product development methodology for makers and small manufactures, which used social media and crowdfunding effectively.
We explained how it is important for focusing on one's mind to develop original products effectively.
The features of Micro-manufacturing is as follows;
1. Based on Zen philosophy framework
2. Lean product development
3. Effective use of crowdfunding for production development
Blog, Youtube, Interview
Blog
Youtube
Interview
Education
1997-2004
Completed the doctoral course, withdrew before completing the required credits
Keio University
Innovation management, research into innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises, B2B e-commerce, Strategic procurement and purchasing, Strategic business management Sakakibara Lab. Strategic management
1995-1997
Master Degree
(Media & Governance)
Keio University
Innovation management, research into innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises
1988-1993
Bachelor Degree
(International Relations)
Meiji Gakuin Univ.
Research on the mass media in Japan-US relations. Belongs to the laboratory of Dr. Robert Sward. Bachelor's degree thesis written in English