About

Since 2011, Akuntsu has helped live entertainment, sports, and cultural projects move between Japan and the West through bilingual operations, cultural fluency, and real-world production experience aligning teams, bridging communication gaps, and helping ambitious cross-cultural projects move forward with clarity and trust.

Our DNA

Global growth for creative ideas.

Japan–West projects carry risks most teams don't see until it's too late — cultural, operational, relational. Akuntsu exists to close those gaps. Not as an intermediary. Not as a coordinator. As the embedded strategic operations layer that makes cross-border productions actually deliver.

What We're Building Toward

A standard where Japan–West productions flourish for long-term relationships. Where the operational and cultural gaps between teams are closed by design, not managed in crisis. We're building the infrastructure, the systems, and the track record that make that the norm.

How We Work

We don't hand things off — we stay in the room. From the first alignment call to the final debrief, we're embedded in your project: flagging risks before they escalate, translating intent across cultures and languages, and making sure what was planned is what gets delivered.

Who We Are

We’re a senior team with hands-on experience across the Olympics, Cirque du Soleil, global sports brands, and international cultural productions. From launching X Games Japan to bringing global IPs and anime experiences across borders, we specialize in aligning teams, cultures, and execution at scale.

Leadership

Serge Labelle

CEO

Olympian and former innovation leader at Cirque du Soleil, where he created Virtual Scout, one of the company’s most recognized technical innovations. Serge brings Olympic-level diplomatic experience, partnership strategy, and a cross-culturally fluent relationship-building approach to complex Japan–West projects under pressure.

Yuko Nakamura

Bilingual Operations & Partnerships

Born in Japan and based in Montreal, Yuko has led Olympic bids, cultural partnerships, and international touring exhibitions across more than a decade of Japan–West production. Her native fluency and deep understanding of Japanese business culture help bridge communication, alignment, and execution across borders.

Denis Labelle

AI Catalyst

From Olympic lobbying to large-scale digital community building, Denis brings a blend of technology, culture, and curation to Akuntsu. He leads AI landscape research, automation strategy, and creator engagement initiatives across the company’s evolving ecosystem.

The gaps don't close themselves

Akuntsu supports Japan–West live entertainment, sports, and cultural productions with bilingual operations, cultural fluency, and the infrastructure to keep everything moving.