About
Intellectual Property Division
The Intellectual Property Division educates and supports stakeholders to lay the groundwork for converting Keio University research outcomes into intellectual assets. The division also secures the appropriate rights for generated intellectual property, and facilitates the flow of innovation from the lab to market. Working collaboratively with the Startup Division and Strategy and Planning Section, they aim to find real-world applications for research while maximizing the value of intellectual assets.
Member
Atsuo Yonezawa
Director of the Intellectual Property Division, Project Professor
Atsuo Yonezawa
Director of the Intellectual Property Division, Project Professor
Atsuo Yonezawa is the Director of the Intellectual Property Division at the Keio University Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a position he held since June 2024, with the aim of contributing to the social implementation and maximization of value of IPs and seeds of the university. Previously, Yonezawa was the Executive Director for Biotech and the Japan Head at IP Innovation & New Technologies, and the Laboratory Head of Advanced Biologics at Drug Discovery Research at Astellas Pharma Inc. He worked on the exploration of several drug candidates for development as a researcher at the Drug Discovery Research, and contributed to the acquisition of several products at the l icensing department. Prior to joining Keio University, he was the General Manager of Biomedical Business Development Department at, Ricoh Company, Ltd, and then a Technology Transfer Manager at Headquarters for International Industry-University Collaboration at University of Tsukuba. He received a Ph.D. from Kyoto University and is a registered pharmacist.
Atsushi Shiomi
Deputy Director of Intellectual Property Division, Project Professor
Atsushi Shiomi
Deputy Director of Intellectual Property Division, Project Professor
Atsushi Shiomi has been working in the Intellectual Property Division of the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Keio University since July 2024. Earlier in his career, while working at the Japan Patent Office (JPO), he oversaw examinations, trials and appeals, mainly in the chemical field. He was also engaged in the provision of various services and improvement of systems to promote the use of intellectual property (IP) as well as international negotiations related to IP, after which he joined the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) where he engaged legal affairs related to the Patent Cooperation Treaty. In addition, at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), he contributed to help transfer and commercialize research outcomes through the planning and operation of national research and development projects, the formulation of guidelines for IP management in national R&D projects, and the support for the development of IP strategies. In 2023, he appointed as the Chief Administrative Judge at the JPO. Shiomi holds a master’s degree from Osaka University’s Graduate School of Engineering.
Satoshi Ishimaru
Project Associate Professor
Satoshi Ishimaru
Project Associate Professor
From 1988 to 1995, Ishimaru worked as a research assistant at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Science, after which he did bioscience research as a postdoctoral fellow at the Rockefeller Institute and the Osaka Bioscience Institute. In 2005, Satoshi began a 7-year stint as a patent examiner in the Biotechnology Department of the JPO, during which time he examined patents in biotechnology and food. He then worked for a patent firm for a year and a half, after which he moved to the National Institute of Biomedical Innovation (NIBIO) and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), where he supported for drug discovery in academia. Ishimura worked for Astellas Pharma in the Research Planning and Intellectual Property departments for about 3.5 years starting in February 2018, and for two years from October 2021, he worked at Ribomic, a drug discovery venture derived from the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Tokyo, as the Director of Intellectual Property and Science. Since October 2023, Ishimaru has been working in the Intellectual Property Division of the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Satoshi graduated from Kyushu University with a Bachelor of Science degree, and completed a master’s degree from Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Science.
He is also a patent attorney, with a Ph.D. in Science from the University of Tokyo
Yuuko Toya
Project Associate Professor
Yuuko Toya
Project Associate Professor
After becoming a licensed attorney in 2003, Toya worked at a law firm handling patent litigation and other legal disputes and cases related to intellectual property rights. Later, when an ailing family member needed extra care due to an intractable disease, Toya decided to leave the firm and start their own, simultaneously entering graduate school for medical science. Toya is currently engaged in work supporting intellectual property from an academic standpoint, harnessing the experience gained in graduate school pertaining to the host of issues that can arise in the process of carrying out academic research, such as the particular rules regarding the handling of intellectual property and data. In 2014, Toya was put in charge of Keio University’s IP-related legal services. In 2018, they were appointed as Project Associate Professor at the Office for Research Coordination and Administration (RCA) and Toya moved to the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in April 2023.
Toya graduated from Keio University (Department of Law, Faculty of Law), completed graduate studies at the Teikyo University Graduate School of Public Health, and accomplished credits for doctoral program in Public Health from the Teikyo University School of Medicine (Department of Hygiene and Public Health).
Attorney at Law, Ph.D. in Medicine, Master of Public Health
Yasushi Suzuki
Project Assistant Professor
Yasushi Suzuki
Project Assistant Professor
Yasushi Suzuki has vast experience in developing information and communication technologies and has obtained multiple patents for his work at the intellectual property department at Ricoh Co., Ltd. He also played essential roles in planning intellectual property strategies against Ricoh competitors, negotiating intellectual property licenses, and executing Japanese and United States patent litigation. As head of the intellectual property analysis department he spearheaded using intellectual property information to develop new business ventures, and, as head of the intellectual property management department, he helped restructure and design their intellectual property operations. He assumed his current position in April 2025, after serving as a director of intellectual property, departmental head of foreign patents, and departmental head of planning and management. His goal is to use his corporate background in intellectual property to contribute to integrating university-based findings into social contexts. He also has experience working as a small and medium sized enterprise consultant as well as a patent attorney specializing in infringement litigation representation management. He completed his master’s degree at the Nagoya University Graduate School of Engineering.
Shinji Azuma
Project Senior Assistant Professor
Shinji Azuma
Project Senior Assistant Professor
After working as a researcher at Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd., Shinji Azuma was transferred to the Intellectual Property Rights Department. He also has working experience at Ricoh Co., Ltd, where he was in charge of intellectual property related to copiers. Beginning in February 2023, Azuma worked as an intellectual property coordinator in the Office of Research Development and Sponsored Projects at Keio University. He started his current position in April 2025.
He graduated from Tamagawa University, College of Engineering, Department of Information and Communication Engineering, is a First Grade Certified Specialist of Intellectual Property Management (in patents, media content, and branding), and is certified by the Association of Intellectual Property Education as an Intellectual Property Analyst.
Mamoru Kobayashi
Project Senior Assistant Professor
Mamoru Kobayashi
Project Senior Assistant Professor
After graduating from university, Mamoru Kobayashihe worked in the product design and development department of an electronics manufacturer, mainly working inworkingengaged in digital circuit design. He later transferred toIn the Intellectual Property Division where he, Kobayashi was responsible for inventing new productsdiscovering inventions and filing patent applications in a wide range of technical fields, including electrical, mechanical, and chemical engineering. He was also oversawresponsible for licensing, planning and promotion, and various administrative tasks. Kobayashi has been an intellectual property cCoordinator in the Officein Office of Research Development and Sponsored Projects Intellectual Pproperty Coordinator at Keio University since September 2023, beginning his currenthisand in the current position insince April 2025.
Noriko Tamakoshi
Project Senior Assistant Professor
Noriko Tamakoshi
Project Senior Assistant Professor
Noriko Tamakoshi is a patent attorney (No. 17777) with representation rights in infringement litigation. She is also a First Grade Certified Specialist of Intellectual Property Management (patents) and a 2025 executive member of the Japan Patent Attorneys Association.
As a patent attorney, Tamakoshi has engaged in product development , filing and prosecution strategies, and intellectual property litigation at a firm in Tokyo. She has gained extensive experience through her work on intellectual property for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Since 2018, Tamakoshi has led industry-academia-government collaboration efforts and intellectual property awareness activities at Keio University’s IP division. She is well-versed in strategic use of intellectual property for universities, as well as in contract design, IP prosecution, and management.
From 2022, Tamakoshi has been involved in research support and social implementation strategies at the Academic Research Organization of Yokohama City University. She is also a founding member of the YCU Center for Co-Creation Innovation, responsible for forming strategic partnerships with companies and local governments to design joint projects and manage associated risks. Tamakoshi endeavors to build effective collaboration models addressing regional social issues from an intellectual property perspective. Her experience supporting startups has been fostered through her time as a member of the Startup Support Committee of the Japan Patent Attorneys Association, where she shows a strong track record in formulating and executing IP strategies aimed at integrating research findings into social contexts.
Maiko Hirai
Project Senior Assistant Professor
Maiko Hirai
Project Senior Assistant Professor
Maiko Hirai started her career as a researcher at Sumitomo Chemical where she became interested in intellectual property rights and moved to a patent firm to develop her skills. From 1999 to 2004, Hirai worked for the IP department at Shimano, later developing her expertise from 2004 to 2020 at Takeda Pharmaceutical. These experiences gave her in-depth expertise on patent applications, litigations (infringement, employee invention compensation) and technology/IP transfer and licensing, among other specialties. Hirai then transitioned to small business support at the Tokyo Metropolitan Intellectual Property Center from 2020 to 2022. Hirai joined Keio University as an IP specialist in 2022, assuming her current position in April 2025. She dedicates herself to implementing academic research results in society and promoting collaboration between researchers and stakeholders. Hirai is a director of the Intellectual Property Association of Japan and is also involved in other industry association activities. Hirai graduated from the Faculty of Science at Kwansei Gakuin University and holds a Master’s in Business Law from Hitotsubashi University. Hirai is a patent attorney with expertise in infringement litigation representation, certified in 1999.
Masami Iida
Technology Transfer and Alliance, Project Professor
Masami Iida
Technology Transfer and Alliance, Project Professor
Masami Iida is the head of the Open Innovation Division at the Keio University Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a position he has held since November 2023. Iida supports the development and strengthening of collaborative frameworks between campuses, campus offices, and organizations, to accelerate the real-world implementation of research seeds generated by the university scientists and continue to respond to the unmet needs of the world. Prior to joining Keio University, he has experience in both the research and development divisions at Seikagaku Corporation as the Central Research Laboratory Vice President, Head of Research Strategy, and Department Manager Drug Discovery. During his 25 years in drug discovery research and development, he has engaged in discovery of several clinical stage compounds and multiple development candidates, mainly on orthopedic disorders and ophthalmic diseases, and oversaw collaborative research agreements with domestic and international academic institutions. Iida received a Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo.
Yusuke Hirano
Technology Transfer and Alliance, Project Associate Professor
Yusuke Hirano
Technology Transfer and Alliance, Project Associate Professor
Yusuke Hirano joined the Open Innovation Division in September 2023 to contribute to the promotion of collaborative research activities at the university. He spent 20 years as a researcher in the Drug Discovery Research Division of Astellas Pharma Inc., during which time he was involved in 10 pre-clinical research projects and contributed to the creation of two clinical development products. Hirano was then put in charge of research-related contracting, and over the following 12 years oversaw many collaborative research agreements with domestic and international academic institutions and private companies, and was involved in strategic research partnerships with several academic institutions in Japan. Hirano holds an Master of Science from Tokyo Metropolitan University.