Fukuoka Now Morning Session

Event Overview

Why we came, why we stayed, and what comes next
What makes someone choose to stay in Fukuoka—and build a life here?

Join FUKUOKA NOW founder Nick Szasz for an inspiring conversation with three long-term international residents: Douglas Weber, founder of Weber Workshops; Jean-Pierre “JP” Villeneuve, founder of New Town Technologies; and Micaela Braithwaite, a content creator and Japan travel storyteller.

Each came to Japan with a different story. Douglas left a career at Apple to build coffee equipment in Itoshima. JP came for a few months and ended up staying for over 13 years, building a karaoke technology startup from Fukuoka. Micaela first arrived as an exchange student and went on to share everyday life in Japan with audiences around the world.

None of them originally planned to build their lives in Fukuoka. So, what made them stay—and what are they now giving back to the city?


About Nick Szasz — Moderator
CEO & Publisher, Fukuoka Now

Nick Szasz is the founder and publisher of Fukuoka Now, a bilingual media company he launched in 1998 to connect Fukuoka and Kyushu with the international community through magazines, maps, web, video and events. Based in Fukuoka for more than 40 years, he also works with local companies and governments on international business, tourism and community projects. Over the years, he has become something of an unofficial “senpai” to Fukuoka’s international community — part connector, part advisor, and someone people turn to when they want to understand how Fukuoka really works.

About Douglas Weber
Founder & CEO, Weber Workshops

Douglas Weber is the founder and CEO of Fukuoka-based Weber Workshops, an internationally recognized maker of ultra-premium coffee equipment known for combining precision engineering, industrial design and obsessive attention to detail. Before founding the company in 2014, he spent more than 13 years at Apple working in product design and manufacturing. Today, Weber Workshops has built a global reputation for some of the most advanced and sought-after hardware in specialty coffee.

About Jean-Pierre "JP" Villeneuve
Founder & CEO, New Town Technologies

Jean-Pierre Villeneuve is the Founder & CEO of New Town Technologies, the company behind Seratone Karaoke. Seratone is a patent-pending device that turns any speaker system into a professional karaoke setup, with studio-grade vocal processing and proprietary speaker protection. The company is an official KaraFun device partner, manufactures in Taiwan, and launched on Kickstarter in August 2026. Jean-Pierre has lived in Japan for over 13 years and runs the company from Itoshima, Fukuoka, with a co-founding team in Toronto. He is interested in what it takes to build and ship hardware from outside the traditional tech hubs.

About Micaela Braithwaite
Content Creator & Japan Travel Storyteller

Micaela is a Canadian-born content creator who has spent 20 years living in Japan and is now raising her family in Fukuoka. Through Instagram, YouTube and other media, she shares everyday life, travel and culture from Fukuoka and across Japan, with a particular focus on life beyond Tokyo. With a large international following and years of experience communicating Japan to overseas audiences, she brings a valuable perspective on what it means to build a life and career in Fukuoka over the long term.