ALTILAN Inc., a company that provides co-creation and comprehensive support for space business, is exhibiting a collaborative work between ALTILAN CEO Nagatoshi Mitsuru and artist Wataru Yamagami at the Tanegashima Space Art Festival 2025.
ALTILAN Inc. Press Release: October 16, 2025 ALTILAN, which provides co-creation and comprehensive support for space business, CEO Nagatoshi Hikaru and artist Wataru Yamagami will exhibit a collaborative work at the Tanegashima Space Art Festival 2025. Giving shape to the passion for Titan that has been pursued for 15 years. A new challenge: combining novel writing and installation art to transform space from a “distant place” to a “destination I want to visit.” With a vision of “a world where humanity can move freely within the solar system and where star-based living is the norm,” ALTILAN Inc. (Headquarters: Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture; CEO: Nagatoshi Mitsuru; hereinafter “ALTILAN”) develops space equipment and related businesses aimed at the Moon, Mars, and beyond, and supports the entry of non-space/cross-industry companies. Nagatoshi Mitsuru, CEO of ALTILAN, has collaborated with artist Wataru Yamagami to create a work of art for the ”
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Nagatoshi’s narrative creativity with Yamagami’s artistic expression to demonstrate a new value creation model: “Space x Art x Story.” While this project is Nagatoshi’s personal endeavor, it is also fundamental to ALTILAN’s vision and is an initiative that the company is fully committed to. As a concrete example of ALTILAN’s
“story-driven space business creation,” it demonstrates new
possibilities that arise from the fusion of space and art. 1. 15 years of dreams come true: Nagatoshi’s passion for Titan Ever since becoming fascinated by Saturn’s moon Titan, Nagatoshi Hikaru has been pursuing this planet for over 15 years. Titan is the only celestial body in the solar system other than Earth with a liquid surface, a mysterious world with vast methane oceans. Nagatoshi’s fascination with this unknown planet is his driving force. He studied astrophysics at university and has consistently been involved in space outside of school. Since then, he has built up experience as a new business development professional, leveraging the systems engineering knowledge he gained in graduate school. In May 2024, I founded ALTILAN with the goal of realizing a world and era in which anyone can travel to any star they desire. While reaching Titan is my life goal, I am also working to express that aspiration through stories. My currently in-writing novels, “Starfire of Titan” and “Guidance of Star Steel,” center on Titan and depict the challenges and choices of the younger generation in an era in which anyone can travel between stars in the solar system. The core of this project is to embody the worldview of this story as an artwork on Tanegashima, a sacred place for Japanese space development.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/163464/5/163464-5-414d152ea3c9855e10144f8bf4ca122a-1761×2700.jpg Hikaru Nagatoshi Hikaru) Graduated from the Astrophysics Experiment Laboratory at Tokyo Metropolitan University (now Tokyo Metropolitan University). He then went on to study at the Graduate School of System Design and Management at Keio University, majoring in Systems Engineering. He focused his research on S&MA and wrote a thesis on quality assurance and assurance cases for complex systems. He began space-related activities during his student days, and in 2017 he served as the representative of the Space Development Forum Executive Committee (SDF). The following year, he participated in IAC2018 as a JAXA student exchange student. After joining Relic Inc., a company specializing in new business development, he supported the design and operation of multiple new business programs. He also supports new business development for major telecommunications carriers and equipment manufacturers. In January 2023, he established Relic’s Hamamatsu office and promoted local business creation as its director. In May 2024, he founded ALTILAN Inc. and began supporting space equipment development and entry into the space business, aiming to realize a “world and era in which everyone can travel to the stars they desire.” He is currently promoting the creation of new space businesses by combining the systematic methodology of systems engineering with the new business development know-how he has cultivated in the field. [Novel “Titan’s Starfire” Page]
https://tales.note.com/hikaru_96_1104/wwg2ruj1eagxz 2. Collaboration with Wataru Yamagami – A new cosmology born from “multiplication and transformation” – Artist Wataru Yamagami is an artist who employs a variety of expressive techniques, including painting, sculpture, installation, performance, and stage design, with “multiplication and transformation” as one of his major themes. The concept of “star iron” that appears in Nagatoshi’s story resonates with me as a metaphor for the “multiplication and transformation” that Yamagami has pursued. Recreating the extreme environment of Titan on Earth and offering visitors new perspectives on space and inspiring new questions – this ambitious endeavor will be realized through collaboration between the two organizations.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/163464/5/163464-5-bb6ea0de3337915ad903fdd478f95134-684×1008.jpg Watari Yamakami Wataru) Born in Kochi Prefecture in 1981, raised in Nagano Prefecture. Using a variety of expressive methods, including painting, sculpture, installation, performance, and stage design, he creates works that explore the relationship between himself and the world, focusing on the themes of “proliferation and transformation” and “connecting boundaries.” The “Sekai no Sekai” series, born from the artist’s own imagination that “this world is nested, all things are somehow related, and everything is infinitely connectable,” incorporates motifs such as driftwood, slime mold, minerals, religious rituals, primitive worship, ruins, out-of-place artifacts, and scenes from movies in a bricolage-like manner, incorporating landscapes observed in various places, and constructing a worldview by blending these together. In 2009, he received the Special Award at the 12th Taro Okamoto Award for Contemporary Art. In 2013, he won the Runner-up and Audience Award at the Tokyo Midtown Awards. In 2019, he spent one year in Yogyakarta, Indonesia under the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Overseas Training Program for Emerging Artists. 3. The Significance of the Tanegashima Space Art Festival The Tanegashima Space Art Festival is an art festival that explores the fusion of space and art, taking place on Tanegashima, home to the JAXA Tanegashima Space Center. In this special location, Tanegashima, at the forefront of Japan’s space development, new value is being created through the intersection of science and technology with art and culture. [Tanegashima Space Art Festival 2025 Event Overview] • Event Period: November 8th (Sat) – November 24th (Mon, National Holiday), 2025 (Saturday, Saturday, November 8th, 2025) *Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays only • Event time: 18:00-22:00 (planned) • Location: Minamitane Town, Kumage District, Kagoshima Prefecture (Tanegashima Space Center and other locations) • Organized by: Tanegashima Space Art Festival Executive Committee • Co-sponsored by: Minamitane Town, Minamitane Town Board of Education, Minamitane Town Chamber of Commerce, and others • Cooperation: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) • Official website: https://satfes.jp/ For Nagatoshi Hikaru, Tanegashima holds a special meaning. It’s a gateway to space, a sacred place where rockets are launched, and the place where the first step on the journey to Titan begins. Presenting his work here is also a symbolic act that brings his story closer to reality. 4. Implementing story-driven space business creation At ALTILAN, we are working to create space businesses based on stories. Rather than jumping straight into full-scale investment in creating a space business, our approach is to gradually build the reasons for taking on the challenge of space, starting from the company’s intrinsic values and history. We carefully unravel the company’s cultivated aspirations, cherished values, and unique strengths, and paint a story of how these can be utilized in the space arena and what kind of future they will realize. For more details on this approach, please see the note written by our CEO, Nagatoshi: “Creating a space business from a story.” This article explains, with specific examples, why “story” can determine the success or failure of a space business and how to build a story. A story-driven approach significantly increases your persuasive power to internal and external stakeholders, and is effective in a variety of situations, including management decision-making, building momentum within the company, explaining things to investors and business partners, and appealing to the media. The collaborative work at this Tanegashima Space Art Festival can be seen as a concrete example of this theory in action. Nagatoshi Hikaru’s novel writing and
storytelling creativity, combined with Yamagami’s artistic expression, will create a new value creation model: “Space x Art x Story.” ALTILAN previously implemented the “Space Jimny” project. This project involved creating a “Space Jimny” wrapped around a vehicle designed to resemble a space vehicle. The project aimed to spark an interest in space among local children through exhibitions, hands-on events, and on-site lectures at elementary and junior high schools in Hamamatsu City. [Space Jimny Project Details]
https://altilan.co.jp/works/space-jimny Our participation in this art festival aims to further develop our past activities and create new value in the field of space and art. 5. Integrating personal aspirations with corporate vision While this project is a personal initiative of Nagatoshi, it is also fully supported by ALTILAN. This is also an attempt to present to society through the medium of art our vision of a world where humanity can move freely within the solar system and where star-based living is the norm. While leading the company as a CEO, I also value my personal passion and creativity and sublimate it into business—I believe that this attitude is what creates ALTILAN’s unique identity. Future developments Full-scale production of the work is scheduled to begin in October 2025, with a public unveiling at the Tanegashima Space Art Festival in November 2025. Additionally, a portion of the novel I’m currently writing, “Guidance of Star Steel,” will be released in conjunction with the festival, with subsequent updates planned. Furthermore, with this project as an opportunity, ALTILAN aims to accelerate its business development in the new field of “Space x Art x Story” and establish it as a new model case for supporting non-space companies entering the space industry. ■Company information Trade name: ALTILAN Co., Ltd. Company URL: https://altilan.co.jp/ Established: May 1, 2024 Representative Director: Nagatoshi Light Address: 100-1 Kajicho, Chuo-ku, Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, 430-0933, Japan, Zaza City Hamamatsu Chuo Building B1F Business Activities: ・Development, launch, and operation of space equipment for missions beyond the Moon and Mars ・Development and verification of space equipment and component technologies related to the above ・Provision and sale of services utilizing data acquired by developed space equipment – Other space business consulting, etc.