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Yoshiyuki Tomino to Speak at TEDx Pre-Event on April 15

Mobile Suit Gundam director Yoshiyuki Tomino won't be holding his own TED Talk, but he will have the honor of speaking at a TEDx pre-event on April 15. Both the pre-event and the TEDxSannomaru main event on April 22 will be held in Odawara City in Kanagawa Prefecture. Tomino will speak as Odawara's hometown ambassador.

The pre-event will be divided into two parts: the first will feature a lecture by Tomino and the Odawara City mayor Teruhiko Moriya around the theme of Odawara's future and ideas to convey to the next generation. The second part of the pre-event will be a screening of the first Mobile Suit Gundam film. The event is free to attend, although bookings are essential through the TEDx website.

Tomino was born in Odawara in Kanagawa Prefecture on November 5, 1941. He received the 71st annual Kanagawa Cultural Award for his work on anime and his influence both in Japan and overseas last November. Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs gave Tomino the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs award in 2019. He was appointed as Odawara's hometown ambassador in July 2021, and he received the Odawara Citizen's Merit Award in February 2022.

TED describes TEDx events as "local, self-organized events" which combine TEDTalk videos, live speakers, and small group discussions. The TEDxSannomaru will feature the geisha Anzu Matsuyoshi, sustainable farming proponent Fumitaka Akisawa, Zen monk Leo Iwayama, inclusivity advocate Miyuki Hagiwara, violinist Mizuki Shikimachi, civil servant Naoya Urabe, sea conservation archivist Ryota Mizui, youth rugby representative Sena Nurishi, Shonan Bellmare Futsal player Shinya Satō, Japanese garden caretaker Shizuki Ohki, and traditional food innovator Tomohiro Suzuki.

Source: Gundam.Info

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