My Story: Anne Leslie

A Vision That Found Me: How Society 5.0 Sparked My Journey from Civil Servant to Social Entrepreneur

by Dr Yildiz Tugba Kara

Some fall into careers. Others are pulled by a vision. For me, it was Japan’s Society 5.0; a bold national strategy placing people, not just productivity, at the heart of technological progress. It didn’t focus on what machines can do alone, but what people and technology can achieve together.

In 2016, I was a senior expert at Turkiye’s Ministry of Economy, negotiating trade deals and observing how automation and globalisation reshaped lives. I saw digital divides grow and futures become uncertain. But Society 5.0 offered a different path; one where technology uplifts even the most vulnerable.

Six months after Japan launched the vision, I founded Society 5.0 Institute, Turkiye’s first NGO focused on human-centric digital transformation. We worked to localise its principles, develop actionable strategies, and ensure no one is left behind.

Five years ago, I relocated to London, where I now teach at Regent’s University and chair the IoD Turkiye Working Group. Through my consultancy, I support tech startups and SMEs in mission-oriented innovation and global expansion. But I’ve never stopped being a Society 5.0 evangelist.

This year, being named a finalist in the TechWomen4Boards Awards reaffirmed the urgency of what we stand for: as AI reshapes our world, we must ask what it should do not just what it can.

Society 5.0 is not just Japan’s story. It’s a global call to shape a future that is fair, inclusive, and human-driven.

And maybe, just maybe, to fall in love with a vision that changes everything.