TOKYO, Nov 14, 2025 - (JCN Newswire) - Hitachi, Ltd. ("Hitachi") today announced that Head of Hitachi OSPO (Open Source Program Office)*1 Yuichi Nakamura has received the "Chop Wood Carry Water Award" from the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF)*2, the world's largest organization promoting innovation in cloud native and AI technologies. This award recognizes members who have contributed to various open source software (OSS) development projects and dedicated themselves to invigorating and supporting the communities behind them. This year, six recipients were selected from over 720 organizations affiliated with the CNCF.

This award recognizes Nakamura’s dedication to establishing and operating Japan’s first official community, Cloud Native Community Japan (CNCJ)*3, in a way that transcends corporate boundaries. He was also highly recognized for his efforts in bringing the CNCF global event "KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Japan 2025" to Japan for the first time, together with CNCJ members, and successfully co-hosting the FinOps Foundation event. These initiatives have helped create opportunities for OSS engineers in Japanese companies to thrive and contribute to the advancement of a digital society centered on AI.

Hitachi has long recognized the value of OSS as essential to the development of a digital society and has actively promoted its use in both IT and OT domains. Nakamura has driven the business application of OSS at Hitachi while also feeding back that expertise to multiple OSS communities. As a leading figure in Japan's OSS community, he has achieved numerous accomplishments. Moving forward, Hitachi will continue to work with customers, partners, and OSS communities to build an AI ecosystem that addresses social challenges and contributes to the realization of a sustainable society.

(*1) News Release "Established the Open Source Program Office (OSPO) to Globally Lead the Strategic Utilization of OSS" (November 8, 2024)
https://www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/month/2024/11/241108.html
(*2) A non-profit organization under The Linux Foundation that globally leads the development and adoption of cloud native technologies such as containers and microservices
(*3) News Release "Participating in the Establishment of Japan's First Official Community 'Cloud Native Community Japan' to Promote Cloud Native Innovation" (December 1, 2023)
https://www.hitachi.co.jp/New/cnews/month/2023/12/1201.html (Japanese only)

Comment from Chris Aniszczyk, CTO of the CNCF

"The Chop Wood Carry Water Award recognizes the essential, behind-the-scenes work that keeps our community strong," said Chris Aniszczyk, CTO, CNCF. "Yuichi Nakamura embodies that spirit by dedicating time and care to the often unseen but critical tasks, like improving documentation, and organizing meetups like the Cloud Native Community Japan (CNCJ). His steady commitment ensures that CNCF projects stay healthy, sustainable, and ready for the local community in Japan and also globally."

Comment from Yuichi Nakamura, Head of Hitachi OSPO

"I am deeply honored and grateful to receive this prestigious award from the CNCF. For over 20 years, I have dedicated myself to the development of the OSS community. As a Board Evangelist for The Linux Foundation (LF) and as the CNCF Governing Board*4, I serve as a bridge between Japan’s domestic OSS community and LF-related organizations, working to advance the OSS ecosystem within business contexts. Additionally, while fostering the growth and success of domestic engineers, I have contributed to enhancing the global value of Keycloak, an OSS project of the CNCF, as an authentication and authorization platform. More recently, I have actively shared insights on access control for AI agents*5 and advocated for establishing best practices. I will continue to contribute to solving global social issues within the OSS community."

(*4) News Release "Head of Hitachi OSPO becomes a member of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation Governing Board" (February 28, 2025)
https://www.hitachi.com/en/information/20250228/
(*5) News Release "Launching HARC for AI to Maximize the Benefits of AI Agent Implementation" (October 7, 2025)
https://www.hitachi.co.jp/New/cnews/month/2025/10/1007.html (Japanese only)

Background

In recent years, cloud native and AI technologies utilized in digital transformation have seen rapid expansion of their capabilities within the OSS community. Notably, the CNCF, with over 720 member organizations worldwide and engineers globally participating in development, contributes significantly to advancing cloud native technologies essential as the foundation for AI. However, as of 2023, Japan lacked a community bridging the CNCF with local companiesand organizations, and there were few cloud native technologies originating from Japan. Therefore, Nakamura spearheaded the establishment of CNCJ, an organization that connects the global CNCF development community with Japanese companies and existing organizations. He has dedicated himself to community management and outreach activities, such as encouraging participation from engineers at Japanese companies. 

Nakamura's Background

Head of OSPO, Ph.D. (Engineering) with Hitachi, Ltd.

• 2001–present: Engaged in OSS security R&D, leading the promotion of SELinux*6 in Japan and contributing significant code to the community
• 2015: Recognized for OSS development activities related to SELinux, received the "Kiyasu Memorial Achievement Award" from the Information Processing Society of Japan alongside OSS security community members
• Launched an API management solution utilizing OSS Keycloak and trained maintainers
• 2022: Appointed as a board member of The Linux Foundation
• 2023: Participated in establishing CNCJ, the Japan Chapter of the CNCF
• 2024: Appointed as the inaugural Evangelist for LF Japan
• 2024: Appointed as Head of Hitachi OSPO
• 2025: Appointed as the CNCF Governing Board

(*6) SELinux (Security-Enhanced Linux) is a built-in Linux kernel module that enables granular control over users who can access Linux systems.

Hitachi Major OSS Activities

Hitachi has contributed to the promotion and expansion of OSS in Japan since the founding of LF in 2000 as a sponsor. We have worked to enhance the reliability of the Linux kernel and to develop features in Keycloak that comply with European and South American standards for financial security through community activities. Our long-standing track record has been recognized, with Hitachi employees playing active roles in the global community as CNCF Ambassadors, Tech Lead of the TAG Security and Compliance group*7, and as maintainers*8*9 for Keycloak and Hyperledger Fabric. The Hitachi Group continues its global adoption efforts. In recent years, Hitachi has also provided cutting-edge insights and expertise in AI agent data access control through CNCF-related projects and domestic/international communities.

(*7) Announcement: "Hitachi Employee Appointed as Initial Tech Lead of CNCF TAG Security and Compliance" (August7, 2025)
https://www.hitachi.com/en/information/20250807/
(*8) Announcement: "Hitachi Employee Appointed as Maintainer for OSS 'Keycloak' Development Project" (October 26, 2021)
https://www.hitachi.co.jp/products/it/oss/news/20211026.html (Japanese only)
(*9) Announcement: "Hitachi Employee Becomes Core Maintainer for Enterprise Blockchain OSS 'Hyperledger Fabric’ Development Project—First Japanese Company to Do So" (April 18, 2024)
https://www.hitachi.co.jp/products/it/blockchain/topics/20240418.html (Japanese only)

Related Sites

Hitachi OSS (Open Source Software)
https://www.hitachi.co.jp/products/it/oss/index.html (Japanese only)

Trademarks

Other organization and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective organizations.

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Through its Social Innovation Business (SIB) that brings together IT, OT(Operational Technology) and products, Hitachi contributes to a harmonized society where the environment, wellbeing, and economic growth are in balance. Hitachi operates globally in four sectors - Digital Systems & Services, Energy, Mobility, and Connective Industries - and the Strategic SIB Business Unit for new growth businesses. With Lumada at its core, Hitachi generates value from integrating data, technology and domain knowledge to solve customer and social challenges. Revenues for FY2024(ended March 31, 2025) totaled 9,783.3 billion yen, with 618 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 280,000 employees worldwide. Visit us at www.hitachi.com.

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