About

Koji Annoura

I help engineering and consulting teams apply knowledge graphs, GraphRAG, and graph data modeling to real systems, with independent judgment and careful attention to the details that reliable systems and projects depend on.

Profile

With more than 40 years of experience in software and data systems, I help teams understand complex data structures, relationships, architecture choices, and migration risks.

My work brings together graph technologies, relational data, AI, open standards, and open-source tools according to the needs of each project. I do not begin with a product or trend; I begin with the problem, the data, and what has proved useful in practice.

Based in Fukuoka, Japan, I work with organizations in Japan and overseas. I have spoken at open source and data conferences across Asia, North America, and Europe.

Approach

Three simple principles shape how I work.

Recommend what I know from experience

I recommend and teach technologies that I have used myself and found genuinely valuable. Practical experience matters more than a fashionable label or a polished product story.

Reliability is built in the details

Data definitions, relationship semantics, migration mappings, validation rules, and operational details are rarely the most visible part of a project. They are often where reliability is won or lost.

Stay curious and enjoy building

Good engineering requires discipline, but curiosity and experimentation are also essential. I value learning, experimentation, and the enjoyment of building something useful with others.

Selected Experience

Client names are included only when the client has publicly presented the work or explicitly permitted me to identify them. Protected project details are not disclosed.

Training

Enterprise GraphRAG training

A focused program for an engineering team, combining technical explanation with questions drawn from their own project.

Advisory

JGC CORPORATION

Graph Data Model Review

Reviewed the existing data model, developed and executed Cypher queries to validate it in practice, and delivered reports based on the validation results and hands-on findings.

The JGC team presenting Cypher queries and validation results at Neo4j Meetup #56 — Presentation by the JGC team at Neo4j Meetup #56, Tokyo, August 2026.

Migration

Migration planning and validation

Analysis of mappings, dependencies, data inconsistencies, character encoding, validation conditions, and cutover risks across legacy and new systems.

Business Information

Practice

Independent technical consultancy

You work directly with Koji Annoura from the initial discussion through delivery.

Location

Fukuoka, Japan

Remote and on-site arrangements can be tailored to the engagement.

Languages

Japanese and English

I work in Japanese or English with organizations in Japan and overseas.

Invoicing

Qualified invoice issuer in Japan

Formal business information is provided as needed for quotations, contracts, and vendor registration.

Confidentiality

Client conversations and project details are treated as confidential. I do not publish or share client names, meeting content, internal architectures, data models, or other protected information without permission.

Public examples are limited to work that can be shared without identifying clients or disclosing information protected by NDAs or other confidentiality obligations.

Affiliations & Memberships

I participate in professional communities related to graph data management, systems engineering, project management, and agile practices.

Member

Professional Certifications

Certifications related to agile practices, product ownership, scaled agile practices, project management, and DevOps foundations.

2016

Honors & Awards

Recognition from open-source and graph technology communities.

Dec 2020

Graph Community MVP Asia

Issued by Neo4j, Inc.

Jun 2018

Neo4j Ambassador

Community recognition from Neo4j.

Nov 2023

Outstanding Technologies Project Award

Issued by Northeast Asia OSS Promotion Forum.

Video