🇯🇵 Startup ecosystem in Japan
The Open Ecosystem Atlas lists 342 organisations and people supporting startup founders in Japan: 103 investors, 177 mentors, 35 programs, 14 media, 7 corporates and 6 startups & venues. Most are based in Tokyo, Toranomon and Fukuoka. 217 of them are free to reach.
Open in the Atlas mapInvestors in Japan · 103
Taizo Son
Angel · Tokyo, Japan
Serial entrepreneur and one of Japan’s best-known angel investors, founder of Mistletoe.
Offers: investment
Kotaro Chiba
Angel · Tokyo, Japan
Prominent angel investor, founder of the Chiba Dojo angel community and DRONE FUND.
Offers: investment
Shinji Kimura
Angel · Tokyo, Japan
One of Japan’s most active individual angels, behind early bets on Gunosy and Akatsuki.
Offers: investment
Keisuke Honda
Angel · Tokyo, Japan
Professional footballer turned prolific angel investor through KSK Angel Fund and X&KSK.
Offers: investment
Shogo Kawada
Angel · Tokyo, Japan
DeNA co-founder and one of the most prolific individual angels in the Japanese ecosystem.
Offers: investment
Shintaro Yamada
Angel · Tokyo, Japan
Mercari founder who angel-backed a generation of startups before building his own unicorn.
Offers: investment
Takafumi Horie
Angel · Tokyo, Japan
Livedoor founder, investor and media figure backing new ventures from rockets to restaurants.
Offers: investment
Yoshikazu Tanaka
Angel · Tokyo, Japan
GREE founder, early backer of the next generation of Japanese internet companies.
Offers: investment
East Ventures
VC · Tokyo, Japan
Venture capital firm active in the Japan ecosystem.
Offers: investment
Coral Capital
VC · Tokyo, Japan
Venture capital firm active in the Japan ecosystem.
Offers: investment
Incubate Fund
VC · Tokyo, Japan
Venture capital firm active in the Japan ecosystem.
Offers: investment
Beyond Next Ventures
VC · Tokyo, Japan
Venture capital firm active in the Japan ecosystem.
Offers: investment
Mentors in Japan · 177
Abdellah Aouf
Mentor · Tokyo, Japan · Free access
Chief Executive Officer at GO PLATFORM. Listed publicly as a Founder Institute Japan mentor.
Offers: mentoring
Adam Najberg
Mentor · Tokyo, Japan · Free access
Senior Advisor at CorpBridge Advisors. Listed publicly as a Founder Institute Japan mentor.
Offers: mentoring
Ahram Chui
Mentor · Tokyo, Japan · Free access
Director at Gyeongnam Venture Investment. Listed publicly as a Founder Institute Japan mentor.
Offers: mentoring
Aki Ohashi
Mentor · Tokyo, Japan · Free access
Vice President at Evolution Ventures. Listed publicly as a Founder Institute Japan mentor.
Offers: mentoring
Alex Chang
Mentor · Tokyo, Japan · Free access
Senior Vice President (& TIEF Fund Leader) at Industrial Technology Investment Corp.. Listed publicly as a Founder Institute Japan mentor.
Offers: mentoring
Alexander De Vore
Mentor · Tokyo, Japan · Free access
CEO at MadeHere. Listed publicly as a Founder Institute Japan mentor.
Offers: mentoring
Andreea Marinescu
Mentor · Tokyo, Japan · Free access
CEO at Tech Add-Venture. Listed publicly as a Founder Institute Japan mentor.
Offers: mentoring
Andrew Shuttleworth
Mentor · Tokyo, Japan · Free access
Mentor at Founder Institute. Listed publicly as a Founder Institute Japan mentor.
Offers: mentoring
Andy Cheng
Mentor · Tokyo, Japan · Free access
Head of Japan at GrandTech Cloud Services Inc.. Listed publicly as a Founder Institute Japan mentor.
Offers: mentoring
Anna Leshchuk
Mentor · Tokyo, Japan · Free access
Founder at BREAMS. Listed publicly as a Founder Institute Japan mentor.
Offers: mentoring
Arcui Usoara
Mentor · Tokyo, Japan · Free access
Global Board Advisor and Brand Strategist, Founder at Iaculus. Listed publicly as a Founder Institute Japan mentor.
Offers: mentoring
Asuka Kondo
Mentor · Tokyo, Japan · Free access
Design Director at D4V (Design for Ventures). Listed publicly as a Founder Institute Japan mentor.
Offers: mentoring
Programs in Japan · 35
Japan Startup Visa
Program · Nationwide · Free access
Officially the Program to Promote Startup Businesses by Foreign Nationals. Since January 2025 available in every prefecture, giving up to two years to build before full Business Manager requirements.
Offers: info
Tokyo Startup Subsidy
Program · Tokyo · Free access
Tokyo Metropolitan Government funding covering about two thirds of eligible costs, up to ¥3M, for businesses under five years. Route in via Tokyo Startup Station.
Offers: funding
Sustainability Subsidy, Startup Type
Program · Nationwide · Free access
The 小規模事業者持続化補助金 startup category: up to ¥2.5M at a two-thirds rate for businesses in their first two years.
Offers: funding
Shibuya Startup Support
Program · Shibuya, Tokyo · Free access
Shibuya ward backing for founders, one of the most flexible startup visa pathways in the country.
Offers: info, community
Fukuoka City startup programs
Program · Fukuoka · Free access
Office and residential rent subsidies for foreign founders, priority incubator access, and a national strategic startup zone.
Offers: funding, info
JETRO
Program · Nationwide · Free access
The Japan External Trade Organization. Free consultations and setup support for anyone bringing a business into Japan.
Offers: info, mentoring
Venture Café Tokyo
Community · Toranomon, Tokyo · Free access
Thursday Gathering, every Thursday 4 to 9pm at Toranomon Hills. Sessions, networking, hundreds of builders weekly. The front door of the Tokyo ecosystem.
Offers: community, mentoring
Openfor.co at CIC Tokyo
Event · Toranomon, Tokyo · Free access
Openfor.co, the virtual incubator, hosts monthly hybrid sessions at CIC Tokyo: Swarm Reviews, workshops and open office hours. Individuals are the point, not the exception. No company required.
Offers: community, mentoring
Founder Institute Japan
Accelerator · Tokyo
The selective accelerator layer of the Openfor ecosystem, co-directed by the Openfor team. The step after the incubator, for when you are ready to incorporate and raise.
Offers: mentoring, community, funding
Openfor.co
Incubator · Tokyo, global
Openfor.co is a Tokyo-based virtual incubator for individuals: accelerator-grade support for the 99% who are locked out of the venture-backed path. Membership-priced, no company required, joinable from anywhere. Members become AI-defensible personal assets first, with products as extensions. Backed by 250+ mentors across 30 countries, 50+ institutional partners, 150+ events, 8,000 attendees, 400+ startups and 700K annual reach. Sister brands: Founder Institute Japan, Korea and Taiwan (accelerator) and Co-Capital.vc (investor community). This atlas is one of its open projects.
Offers: mentoring, community, info, funding
Open Network Lab
Accelerator · Tokyo
Digital Garage’s accelerator, one of the longest-running seed programs in Japan.
Offers: funding, mentoring
KDDI Mugen Labo
Accelerator · Tokyo · Free access
KDDI’s long-running startup program connecting founders to the telecom giant and its partners.
Offers: mentoring, community
Media in Japan · 14
James Riney
Media · Tokyo · Free access
CEO and founding partner of Coral Capital, known for bilingual blogging that helped standardise the J-KISS seed contract.
Offers: info, community
Ken Nishimura
Media · Tokyo · Free access
Former chief editor of TechCrunch Japan, who grew TechCrunch Tokyo into the country's largest startup event at the time; now at Coral Capital.
Offers: info, community
Yusuke Asakura
Media · Tokyo · Free access
Former Mixi CEO, now investing and writing on startups, and one of Japan's most-followed startup voices on X.
Offers: info, community
Hiroyuki Nishimura
Media · Paris (Japanese audience) · Free access
Founder of 2channel and a very widely followed Japanese commentator on business and the internet.
Offers: info, community
Yusaku Maezawa
Media · Tokyo · Free access
Founder of ZOZOTOWN, one of Japan's best-known entrepreneurs on social media.
Offers: info, community
NewsPicks
Media · Tokyo · Free access
Japanese business news platform with strong coverage of startups, founders and the tech industry.
Offers: info, community
PIVOT
Media · Tokyo · Free access
Japanese business video media founded by Kosuke Sasaki, featuring founders, investors and executives.
Offers: info, community
Kosuke Sasaki
Media · Tokyo · Free access
Founder of the business media PIVOT and former editor-in-chief of NewsPicks.
Offers: info, community
ASCII STARTUP
Media · Tokyo · Free access
ASCII's startup section, covering Japanese startups, funding and events.
Offers: info, community
Forbes JAPAN
Media · Tokyo · Free access
Japanese edition of Forbes, publishing startup rankings and founder profiles.
Offers: info, community
Tim Romero
Media · Tokyo · Free access
Host of Disrupting Japan and a founder in Tokyo, interviewing Japanese founders in English.
Offers: info, community
THE BRIDGE
Media · Tokyo · Free access
Japanese startup media covering funding, founders and the Tokyo ecosystem, in Japanese and English.
Offers: info, community
Corporates in Japan · 7
Sony Innovation Ventures
Corporate · Tokyo, Japan
Sony’s corporate venture arm, checks from $250K to $10M across entertainment, fintech and deep tech, with offices spanning Tokyo, San Francisco, London and Israel.
Offers: investment, mentoring
Rakuten Capital
Corporate · Tokyo, Japan
Rakuten Group’s corporate venture arm, launched 2013, invested in 90+ companies globally including Careem, Carousell, Lyft and Pinterest.
Offers: investment, mentoring
Mizuho Innovation Frontier
Corporate · Tokyo, Japan
Mizuho Financial Group’s corporate venture capital subsidiary, an initial ¥10B investment target, run with WiL founder Gen Isayama on its board.
Offers: investment
DENSO Ventures
Corporate · Tokyo, Japan
Corporate venture arm of DENSO, the automotive parts giant, investing in early-stage mobility and transportation startups.
Offers: investment
Toyota Woven City Challenge
Corporate · Susono, Japan
Toyota and Woven by Toyota’s accelerator inviting startups, entrepreneurs and research institutions to co-create inside Woven City, its living lab. Winners join as Inventors alongside Toyota Group companies.
Offers: mentoring, space
Panasonic Accelerator
Corporate · Tokyo, Japan
Panasonic Electric Works’ accelerator with ReGACY Innovation Group, 24 investments made supporting housing, energy, mobility and smart infrastructure startups.
Offers: funding, mentoring
Techstars Tokyo
Corporate · Tokyo, Japan
Powered by JETRO and Mitsui Fudosan, a 13-week accelerator connecting Japan’s industrial strength to global venture capital. Portfolio of 36 companies as of the 2026 cohort.
Offers: funding, mentoring
Startups & venues in Japan · 6
Engineer Cafe, Hacker Space Fukuoka
Tenjin, Fukuoka · Free access
A public-private hacker space inside the 110-year-old Red Brick Culture Hall. Main hall, focus room, meeting spaces, cafe attached.
Offers: space, community
HiCustomer
Startup · Tokyo, Japan
Japanese customer-success SaaS built for growing startups, startup-tier pricing.
Offers: perks
SmartHR
Startup · Tokyo, Japan
HR and payroll platform that grew out of Japan’s own startup scene, still offers startup-friendly onboarding.
Offers: perks
FabCafe Tokyo
Dogenzaka, Shibuya
Cafe plus maker space: laser cutters, 3D printers, creative coworking crowd.
Offers: space, community
CIC Tokyo
Toranomon, Tokyo
One of Asia’s largest innovation centers, Toranomon Hills Business Tower 15F. Hosts free public gatherings weekly.
Offers: space, community
Erdinc Ekinci
Tokyo · Free access
Ecosystem builder, anchor of this page. Open for questions on Japan market entry, partnerships, and building visibility from zero.
Offers: mentoring, community