Reina Sasaki

Connecting Technology, Policy & People

Meet Reina Sasaki
Connecting Technology, Policy & People 🤝

Reina Sasaki has built a career around understanding how technology shapes society, and how policy, media, and public communication can help guide that impact responsibly.

After studying Political Science and International Relations at UC Berkeley, she built experience across journalism, internet governance, international organizations, and technology policy. Most recently, she spent three years at Bloomberg covering markets and corporate news across Asia, while also working on newsroom innovation and AI-related workflows.

Today, her focus has shifted more directly toward AI governance. She works across policy research, stakeholder engagement, strategic communications, and external affairs, helping connect the perspectives of technology companies, policymakers, and the broader public.

What are you currently building?

A stronger foundation for responsible AI adoption in Japan.

Through the Future of Privacy Forum, Reina serves as the Japan point of contact for Meta's Open Loop Policy Prototyping Program, researching how Japanese companies approach AI governance, privacy, data protection, biometrics, wearables, and other emerging technologies. The findings are compiled into policy recommendations designed to inform discussions with Japanese policymakers.

She also leads PR and community engagement at Citadel AI, working across external affairs, partnerships, media relations, and ecosystem development around trustworthy AI. Her interest lies in helping Japan embrace AI innovation while also building the governance needed to make that progress sustainable.

What excites you about Japan?

The renewed global interest in Japan.

When Reina spent time in Washington, D.C. several years ago, she felt much of the international focus in Asia was directed elsewhere. Today, she sees a noticeable shift, with global investors, technology companies, venture firms, and people abroad increasingly curious about Japan's startups, markets, and AI ecosystem.

Having recently spent more time in Europe, she has also noticed how frequently conversations turn toward what is happening in Japan. For her, that growing attention represents an exciting opportunity for the country to become a stronger global hub for technology, investment, and innovation.

A risk that changed your trajectory?

Choosing a path that never looked completely linear.

Reina was the only student in her high school class to pursue university abroad, despite being encouraged to follow a more traditional path in Japan. Since then, her career has moved across journalism, technology, policy, international organizations, financial media, and now AI governance.

Rather than viewing those transitions as disconnected, she sees them as part of the same motivation: understanding where she can create the most meaningful impact. Moving between industries has given her a broader perspective on how technology, business, media, and policy influence one another.

A habit that has had the biggest impact?

Building community wherever she goes.

Having lived and worked across different countries and cities, Reina has learned how much the people around you shape your experience of a place. Some of her closest relationships today began in her Berkeley dorms, while communities in Washington, D.C., Shanghai, Manila, Switzerland, and Japan have helped each place feel more like home.

For her, socializing isn't primarily about professional networking. It's about staying open to people, building genuine relationships, and creating a stronger quality of life wherever you are.

Advice for your 20s?

Stay open to paths that don't look perfectly linear.

Reina spent much of her 20s weighing very different possibilities, from opportunities in Washington, D.C. to law school, government work, journalism, and technology. Looking back, she values having explored multiple environments rather than forcing herself into one predetermined track.

Each experience gave her a different way of seeing the world, and together they ultimately helped her find the intersection of technology, policy, and social impact that drives her work today.