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July 01, 2026
 

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STARTUPS

Workstations at a research lab with a focus on artificial intelligence in Bengaluru
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 9, 2026
Homegrown startups outperform returnee tech talent, study shows
India’s fiercely competitive startup field
SkyDrive’s flying car unit at its flight test base in the city of Yamaguchi
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 6, 2026
Japan’s SkyDrive hopes to have flying cars in service by 2028
Regulatory approval from the Japanese government is key to achieving the company’s goal.
Shares of Next Generation Technology Group, which focuses on buying manufacturing firms without a clear succession plan, rose 202% since their listing last February.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 30, 2026
Japan’s succession crisis yields country’s best-performing IPO
Shares of Next Generation Technology Group, which focuses on buying manufacturing firms without a clear succession plan, rose 202% since their listing last February.
The DEEPX booth at the 2025 Korea Tech Festival in Seoul on Dec. 4
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 22, 2026
South Korea launches landmark laws to regulate artificial intelligence
Seoul hopes its new AI Basic Act will position the country as a leader ‍in the field, taking effect in South Korea sooner than a comparable ‍effort in Europe.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange is offering help in fundraising and initial public offering preparations with partners in Asia.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 22, 2026
TSE pitches itself as cross-border listing venue for Asian startups’ IPOs
The exchange is offering help in fundraising and IPO preparations with partners including banks, auditors and venture capital funds in Asia.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s plans to push for stronger growth in the startup market section resulted in fewer small-sized initial public offerings.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 19, 2026
Flipping Japan IPOs loses luster as small share sales disappear
IPO buyers received a median return of 26.3% in 2025 if they sold at the opening price, the lowest profit since 2012.
An image of an app for insomnia treatment. For Taro Ueno, a psychiatrist and president of Susmed, the idea to develop an app for insomnia came from observing how doctors in Japan overprescribe sleeping pills.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 6, 2026
Japanese startups tout chatbot-powered apps as treatment for medical conditions
These prescription-only apps are designed to help treat a range of conditions, such as hypertension, alcohol addiction and insomnia.
TBM has begun preparations for an IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Growth Market, with an offering as early as 2027 “not off the table.”
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 11, 2025
Japan carbon-capture startup’s IPO in 2027 ‘not off the table’
TBM has started preparatory work for an initial public offering on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Growth Market.
Hokkaido Spaceport in Taiki, Hokkaido. An increasing number of domestic and overseas companies are looking at using the facility as a base for rocket launches.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Dec 9, 2025
Hokkaido Spaceport expands role, aiming to be Asia’s core hub
An increasing number of domestic and overseas companies are looking at using the spaceport, located in the town of Taiki in Hokkaido, as a base for rocket launches.
Naoyuki Kayamoto (left) and Makoto Murakami of venture firm Hundred aim to launch a subsidiary in the United States.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Nov 24, 2025
The Fukushima startup bringing a welfare perspective to animal testing
Naoyuki Kayamoto’s venture firm Hundred develops laboratory instruments that cause less stress to animals during experiments.
U.S. private equity firm General Atlantic has taken a minority stake in Japan's human resources software platform SmartHR.
BUSINESS
Nov 18, 2025
General Atlantic enters Japan with investment in unicorn SmartHR
The New York-based private equity firm said it purchased a $96 million minority stake in human resources software platform SmartHR.
Jeff Bezos has a unique set of management practices he used and espoused during his time as CEO of Amazon.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 18, 2025
Jeff Bezos brings signature management style to $6 billion AI startup
Project Prometheus, which has fewer than 100 employees, will use AI to accelerate engineering and manufacturing in fields like aerospace and automobiles.
David Ha, CEO of Sakana AI, is one of the founders of the startup, which was established in 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 17, 2025
Sakana AI targets defense and banking markets after big funding round
The startup has achieved a ¥400 billion valuation and notes a “tailwind” from Japan’s new government.
A customer holds a paper cup with the logo of coffee house chain LAP, which stands for Life Among People, in front of one of the chain's cafes in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg district on Oct. 28.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 17, 2025
Budget coffee start-up leaves bitter taste in Berlin
Critics accused LAP of squeezing out local cafes with its €2.50 cappuccinos and aggressive expansion in the German capital.
Regulators are ratcheting up pressure on startups to gain more scale before debuting on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, warning that the TSE will seek to delist companies that fail to reach a market value of at least ¥10 billion within five years of going public.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 21, 2025
Deals for startups reach record in Japan before listing curbs
Starting in 2030, the Tokyo Stock Exchange will seek to delist companies that fail to reach a market value of at least ¥10 billion within five years of going public.
U.S. long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall celebrates with her gold medal at the World Athletics Championships at National Stadium on Sept. 15.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 10, 2025
Women’s track-and-field startup Athlos eyes sustainable and durable growth
The concept, which is the brainchild of Reddit founder and women’s sports entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian, appears to be going from strength to strength.
Takumi Yamaguchi (right), head of startup AirKamuy, and a colleague retrieve a drone made of cardboard after a test flight in a field near Nagoya.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 7, 2025
Startups lead charge as Japan warms to defense and dual-use technologies
Opinion polls show public support growing for a stronger defense, and the new leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Sanae Takaichi, has called for more military spending.
The Kyoto International Entrepreneur Community brings together local and global professionals from a range of industries, backgrounds and ages and collaborates with government-sponsored entities and nonprofit organizations.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Sep 24, 2025
Stirred, not shaken: Kyoto business platform blends local and global
Since its launch in 2018, the Kyoto International Entrepreneur Community has amassed a diverse membership and built solid relationships with local organizations.
David Ha, the head of AI tech company Sakana AI, points at his laptop during an interview at the company's office in Tokyo on Aug. 28.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 10, 2025
Top Japan startup Sakana AI touts nature-inspired tech
Sakana aims to merge existing and new systems, large and small, to develop what it calls “collective intelligence.”
A group of 12 Japanese companies has invested in U.S.-based fusion energy startup Commonwealth Fusion Systems.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 3, 2025
12 Japanese firms invest in U.S. fusion energy startup
The consortium aims to commercialize nuclear fusion power generation in Japan at an early date by acquiring technical knowledge through the investment.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Yen hits 40-year low against the dollar, breaking ¥162 level
Japan's currency broke ¥162 to the dollar on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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