Japan is one of the main economic powerhouses of not just East Asia, but Asia as a whole. Due to this, it should not be surprising that it has one of the most well-developed and mature startup ecosystems in the world. Tokyo in particular has been ranked as the 14th best startup hub globally in 2023. Tokyo is by far the most developed ecosystem in the country, with Osaka coming in at number 2. Japanese startups are able to grow and thrive locally, as well as expand into foreign markets.
One of the main reasons for the success of startups in Japan is the readily available startup capital. For example, in the early stages, startups can seek mentorship and initial funding to bring their ideas to fruition from more than 110 incubators and accelerators operating locally. In addition to this, at the later stages of development, Japanese startups can seek growth funding from more than 460 VC firms that operate in and fund a large variety of different projects.
The Japanese government also plays an active role in the development of the country's startup ecosystem. It launched a new startup visa in 2019, in an effort to entice foreign entrepreneurs into the country. In December 2022, the Japanese government earmarked more than 1 Trillion Yen in a five-year plan to support the establishment of a human capital network for startups, improve diversity in exit strategies and funding supply, and enhance the promotion of open innovation. All of this highlights the Japanese government's commitment to its startup ecosystem.
1. Toku
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
Size: 11-50
Founders: Ken Murai O'Friel, Dominika Stobiecka
Toku is a Japanese startup that was founded in 2020 and is currently headquartered in Tokyo. It provides you with the opportunity to make your business infrastructure capable of operating in cryptocurrency and Web 3.0. This is achieved through allowing you to compensate your team on-platform with digital tokens, as well as supporting you with your tax compliance needs relative to the digital tokens that you're using. This is helpful whether you're a new startup wanting to pay your staff in crypto, or a large company wanting to become Web 3.0 enabled.
Toku has been incredibly successful in raising startup funding, with its most recent funding round taking place in May 2023, when it managed to raise a total of $20 Million. With this, it has sought to expand its position in the global market.
2. KEKKAI
Year Founded: 2023
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
Size: 1-10
Founders: Du Danny
Kekkai is a startup in Japan that was founded in 2023 and is currently headquartered in Tokyo. It allows you to improve your Web 3.0 security and aims to address the problem of fraud-related losses in Web 3.0, which is incredibly prevalent. This is achieved through a plugin that you can download and it will monitor communications to flag up and prevent phishing scams that would otherwise cause catastrophic losses for you.
Kekkai has seen recent success in securing startup funding, recently managing to raise a total of $1.5 Million in funding from 14 investors. Some of these investors include Decima Fund and Sora Ventures. This funding will be used to further improve its anti-phishing plugin, as well as allowing it to aggressively expand to attain more market share.
3. oVice
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
Size: 51-100
Founders: Sae Hyung Jung
OVice is a Japanese startup that was founded in 2020 and is currently headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It provides you with an opportunity to stay connected with your virtual teams using crystal clear audio chats. This allows you to ensure consistent productivity, even if you have a team that is based all over the globe. You get some of the main features you would expect, such as virtual office backgrounds and much more to create brilliant work for your customers.
Ovice has been very successful in securing startup funding since it was founded, with its most recent funding round taking place in September 2022. During this funding round, it managed to raise a total of $32 Million to support its growth and development and to attempt an extended expansion.
4. Izumi Finance
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
Size: 51-100
Founders: Dima Sharenk, Jimmy Yin
Izumi Finance is a Japanese startup that was founded in 2020 and is currently headquartered in Tokyo. It provides a DeFi protocol that supports you across multiple blockchains. This allows you to get One-Stop Liquidity As a Service. Trading tokens at exact prices and for lower percentages means that you'll be able to make the most of your portfolio when you use it.
Izumi Finance has done very well with raising startup funding since being founded, with its most recent funding round taking place in April 2023. During this funding round, it managed to raise a total of $22 Million to support its growth and expansion and allow it to provide early liquidity for ongoing projects.
5. Metagen Therapeutics
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: Tsuruoka, Japan
Size: 11-50
Founders: Taku Nakahara
Metagen Therapeutics is a startup in Japan that was founded in 2020 and is currently headquartered in Tsuruoka. It operates in the biotech market and is currently working on a solution to create the first intestinal microbiota bank to implement effective FMT procedures across the entirety of Japan. This means that you'll have access to better treatments for conditions related to your gut health.
Metagen Therapeutics has been very successful in raising startup funding, with its most recent round of funding taking place in April 2023. During this round, it managed to raise a total 1.33 Billion Yen. The funding has been used to accelerate the development of its technology and help to bring rapid applications to the medical field as a whole.
6. GO
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
Size: 101-250
Founders: Hiroshi Nakajima
GO is a Japanese startup that was founded in 2020 and is currently headquartered in Tokyo. It is Japan's most used taxi app, which means it is exactly the place to go, if you're looking to get around the country, especially if you're not from there. They make sure to match you with the kind of taxi that is best for your journey, whilst also taking the shortest routes that are the least likely to cause disruption and high price, ensuring you get a great experience.
GO is one of Japan's biggest up and coming stars and as a result of this, it has raised a large amount of startup funding. Its most recent funding round took place in May 2023, during which it managed to raise a total of $72.1 Million to fund its operations and plan expansions into new areas of Japan.
7. Playco
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
Size: 51-100
Founders: Michael Carter, Justin Waldron
Playco is a startup in Japan that was founded in 2020 and is currently headquartered in Tokyo. It is one of the world's first gaming companies completely dedicated to instant gaming, meaning that you can play all of their titles without needing to run an external download of another app. This makes mobile gaming in particular, much easier and less labour intensive for you as a user.
Playco has gone through only a single round of startup funding since being founded; however, this round was certainly a memorable one. Around the time of launch, it managed to raise a total of $100 Million in startup funding, with the support of nine investors that have backed its model.
8. Spiral.AI
Year Founded: 2023
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
Size: 11-50
Founders: Ishikawa Tomohiro, Nagasaka Hideki
Spiral.AI is a Japanese startup that was founded in 2023 and is currently headquartered in Tokyo. The LLM startup allows you to generate LLMs through the offering of a customised Chat GPT platform. This allows you to create more personable solutions and enhance many facets of your business operations with improved efficiency and minimised waste, which will improve your profitability.
Spiral.AI has managed to achieve success in startup funding, with its most recent round taking place in September 2023. During this Debt Financing round, it managed to raise an unspecified amount of capital from the Japan Finance Corporation.
9. Minto
Year Founded: 2022
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
Size: 101-250
Founders: Kazuhiro Mizuno
Minto is a Japanese startup that was founded in 2022 and is currently headquartered in Toyko. If you're a manga or anime creator or producer that wants to more effectively market their production, then Minto can support that. In fact, it can support almost everything about the process, including support with intellectual property issues, social media marketing campaigns and more. In addition to this, it has also developed a range of blockchain games that you can play.
Minto has achieved recent success in raising startup funding, with the most recent round taking place in February 2024. During this funding round, it managed to raise an undisclosed amount of funding from NTT Docomo Ventures. This funding will be used to support its growing network and also focus on its own internal IPs.
10. Factbase
Year Founded: 2022
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
Size: 11-50
Founders: Masataka Takeuchi
FactBase is a Japanese startup that was founded in 2022 and is currently headquartered in Tokyo. If you have a product that you want to push into Japan, then you're going to need very localized marketing knowledge. Thankfully, the team at FactBase are able to support you with your needs. Its team is able to help you with communicating in the Japanese language to your customers, as well as helping you recognize what they will resonate with and what they wont.
FactBase has had very recent success in raising startup funding, with its most recent round taking place in February 2024. During this round, it managed to raise a total of $6.6 Million. This support will allow it to raise its profile across Japan and fuel aggressive expansion to support more clients.
11. CraftBank
Year Founded: 2021
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
Size: 51-100
Founders: Youngji Han
CraftBank is a Japanese startup that was founded in 2021 and is currently headquartered in Tokyo. If you're a trade professional struggling to find work, then you should be on CraftBank. From this platform you can easily and quickly connect with homeowners in Japan that need work on their homes. This allows you to massively increase the number of jobs that you're taking on and increase the money you're making.
Over three rounds of startup funding, CraftBank has managed to raise a total of $12.8 Million from the support of seven investors.
12. Dataseed
Year Founded: 2022
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
Size: 11-50
Founders: Masashi Fukuda, Mauro Rafael dos Santos
Dataseed is a Japanese startup that was founded in 2022 and is currently headquartered in Tokyo. It helps your business to become more eco-friendly and provide visibility and accountability into corporate governance. You can automate ESG databooks and reports, along with having the capability to analyse related data and take action based upon the findings of AI analysis.
Dataseed has also seen some success in raising startup funding, with its most recent round taking place in May 2023. During this round, it managed to raise a total of 60 Million Yen in Pre-Seed funding from a pair of investors. This funding has allowed it to grow and improve its platform.
13. EX-Fusion
Year Founded: 2021
HQ: Osaka, Japan
Size: 1-10
Founders: Kazuki Matsuo
Ex-Fusion is a Japanese startup that was founded in 2021 and is currently headquartered in Osaka. It is currently developing the concept of a laser fusion reactor, which would go a long way to supporting the development of sustainable and constant power. This means that you and I would not have to worry about energy scarcity again, if Matsuo's research comes to fruition.
Ex-Fusion's most recent funding round took place in July 2023. During this Seed Funding round, it managed to raise a total of $13 Million to support the research and development of its underlying technology and bring it closer to viability.
14. LocationMind
Year Founded: 2019
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
Size: 51-100
Founders: Kiritani Naotake
LocationMind is a Japanese startup that was founded in 2019 and is currently headquartered in Tokyo. It helps you to get complete control of your organization and its data through the use of a range of IoT enabled systems and a range of human flow analysis. You are also able to use LocationMind to get security for position signals, meaning you can make more accurate decisions on the fly.
LocationMind has been actively raising money since its foundation. Its most recent round took place in January 2024, when it raised Debt Financing worth 1 Billion Yen from three investors, which is being used to accelerate aggressive growth in its current markets.
15. Zeroboard
Year Founded: 2021
HQ: Konan, Japan
Size: 101-250
Founders: Tokeiji Michitaka
Zeroboard is a Japanese startup that was founded in 2021 and is currently headquartered in Konan. It helps you as a business to stay on top of your carbon emissions and also meet your net-zero targets. This is achieved through a cloud-enabled platform that tracks and monitors the emissions of your organization over time. This tracking provides you with actionable insights about what you can do to reduce your emissions.
Zeroboard has managed to raise a total of $17.9 Million in startup funding through a single round which took place in February 2023. The round was led by Keyrock Capital management, with the support of a number of other investors.
16. Zaiko
Year Founded: 2019
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
Size: 51-100
Founders: Malek Nasser
Zaiko is a startup in Japan that was founded in 2019 and is currently headquartered in Tokyo. As an entertainer, it provides you with the capability to create a white-labeled ticketing solution that allows your fans to purchase tickets for your events, whilst preserving your brand image along the whole process. This effectively cuts out the middleman and allows you to handle your own ticketing, which drastically reduces the amount that you have to pay out.
Zaiko has gone through a pair of funding rounds since it was founded, raising a total of $1 Million.
17. Forest
Year Founded: 2021
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
Size: 11-50
Founders: Masa Mishizawa, Shingo Yuhara
Forest is a Japanese startup that was founded in 2021 and is currently headquartered in Tokyo. It is an aggregator of great Japanese e-commerce brands, which it mentors and supports their growth through the use of technology. This means if you have a high-performing Japanese e-commerce brand that you want to scale, the team at Forest would be able to support you with this. This is achieved through highly scaled and targeted marketing campaigns.
Forest's most recent funding round took place in November 2021, during which it raised a total of $8 Million. This funding allowed it to scale from birth and has supported its rapid rise in the Japanese market.
18. SkyDrive
Year Founded: 2018
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
Size: 51-100
Founders: Tomohiro Fukuzawa
SkyDrive is a Japanese startup that was founded in 2018 and is currently headquartered in Tokyo. If you've ever wanted to get around in a flying vehicle, then you should take note of SkyDrive. In the future, it will be able to provide you with a functional and comfortable flying car. The technology behind the project is currently being built in partnership with a range of companies, such as Suzuki, Thales and Electric Power Systems.
SkyDrive has proven very effective at raising startup funding in the past and this is still the case, with its most recent Grant Funding round supporting this. This Grant was given during October 2023 and the value of this funding totalled around $82 Million, which has all been used towards the goal of making its flying cars operational.
19. Josys
Year Founded: 2022
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
Size: 101-250
Founders: Yasukane Matsumoto
Josys is a Japanese startup that was founded in 2022 and is currently headquartered in Tokyo. It has created a unified cloud solution, which means you can manage everything about your business from the same cloud infrastructure. In addition to this, layers of automation in the platform will allow your employees to enjoy better work with the automation of simple IT tasks. This allows them to focus on more pressing matters.
Josys raised a staggering $93 MIllion in September 2023. This Series B funding has allowed Josys to expand its headcount and pose itself for a global expansion into new markets.
20. Toregem Biopharma
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: Kyoto, Japan
Size: 1-10
Founders: Honoka Kiso, Katsu Takahashi, Muneo Takatani
Toregem Biopharma is a startup in Japan that was founded in 2020 and is currently headquartered in Kyoto. If you suffer from a range of dental issues, then you know the stress and anxiety it can cause when you cannot support permanent teeth. Toregem aims to remedy this by creating a solution that supports the growth of teeth for an individual that is derived from their own DNA and tissue.
Toregem Biopharma has also been quite active with raising startup funding since it was founded. Its most recent funding round was a Series A round that took place in July 2023 and netted it an undisclosed amount that was achieved with the support of a pair of investors.
21. Hyperithm
Year Founded: 2018
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
Size: 11-50
Founders: Lloyd Lee, Sangrok Oh, Woojin Kim
Hyperithm is a Japanese startup that was founded in 2018 and is currently headquartered in Tokyo. It is a digital asset manager that provides you with a range of crypto friendly investment portfolio opportunities. It is run by an ex Morgan-Stanley employee and can support your in-house trading infrastructure so that you can make the most out of your trading opportunities.
Hyperithm has gone through a pair of funding rounds since it was founded, with the most recent one taking place in April 2022. Across both funding rounds, it managed to raise a total of $11 MIllion to support the development of its trading opportunities and market itself to new clients.
FAQs
What Are The Strongest Startup Industries In Japan?
The strongest startup industries in Japan are Advanced Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, FinTech and the Life Sciences.
How Many Tech Startups Are There In Japan?
According to current estimates, there are more than 11,000 tech startups operating in Japan.
How Much Funding Do Japanese Startups Raise?
Japanese startups raised more than $5 Billion in funding during 2023. Divided between the 11,000 startups, on average, a Japanese startup would raise around $450,000.
