While Japan has a longstanding reputation for innovation, its startup market has not historically drawn the same degree of interest as those in the U.S. and other countries, despite a tenfold increase in ecosystem investment over the last decade. However, as discussed at MoFo’s AI conference held last November, several factors have been working to turn this tide, including the Japanese government’s continuing efforts to increase investment in domestic companies (e.g., Tokyo’s “Global Innovation with Startups” plan), increased appetite for risk-taking as Japan shifts away from lifetime employment, and an expansion of investment capital from Japanese companies looking to diversify.
Read the full blog post.
