Asami Takagi
Board of Director, SIMI

We are pleased to announce that Social Impact Day 2026 has successfully concluded with the support and cooperation of so many of you. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who participated as a speaker, attendees, sponsors, supporters, and to all those who supported this event in various ways.

This year marked the 10th anniversary of Social Impact Day 2026, and we held the event under the theme “A Co-Creation Journey for All -Driving the Impact Economy to Reach New Horizons-.” In this era of increasingly complex social challenges and high uncertainty, these three days served as an opportunity to reaffirm the importance of not leaving change to just a select few, but rather having people from diverse backgrounds—including businesses, government, investors, nonprofit organizations, and citizens—pool their respective strengths to build the future together. 

This year, over 500 participants joined us, and through 22 sessions, we fostered rich dialogues where practical knowledge and important questions were shared. While discussions naturally focused on the current state and potential of the Impact Economy, there was also significant interest in the fundamental question of what role each of us can play to support its realization.

Particularly striking was the breadth of discussions centered on “people.” How can we spread the concepts and practices of social impact to more people? To that end, how can we engage people and foster relationships that transcend positions and fields? Furthermore, in an era where the use of generative AI is accelerating, what attitudes and ways of being are required of us as human beings? I feel that the fact these questions were repeatedly raised in various sessions and dialogue forums was a key characteristic that symbolized this year’s Social Impact Day.

The work of creating impact does not move forward through institutions, funding, or methods alone. It involves people’s intentions, dialogue, and relationships built on a shared commitment to move forward together. That is precisely why, as we consider the future of the impact economy, it will become increasingly important to continually ask not only “what we aim to achieve,” but also “with whom and how we will achieve it.”

Nothing would make us happier than if Social Impact Day 2026 served as a venue that fostered new encounters and learning for this purpose, leading to the next steps in each of our respective fields. We hope that the discussions held and the connections made at this event will not end here, but will carry over into future practices and lead to the next wave of co-creation.