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How to start a business in Tokyo using Metropolitan Government resources

SCORE 1,097

The Bridge 2017.02.01

This is a guest post authored by Amanda Imasaka. She is a Tokyo-based writer specializing in ICT and high technology.

Thinking of starting a business in Tokyo? Unsure of where to begin? Hiroyuki Ishige, the Chairman of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), suggests you, “Talk to JETRO first.” JETRO is a government-related organization and one of their central goals is promoting direct foreign investment in Japan. Their headquarters is stationed at the ARK Mori Building near Akasaka and Roppongi in Tokyo, and house the Tokyo One-Stop Business Establishment Center (TOSBEC), the Tokyo Employment Consultation Center (TECC), the Business Development Center TOKYO (BDCT). All services are available in a number of languages, including English, Chinese, and Korean.

See also:

Tokyo Government looking to attract foreign entrepreneurs in effort to create New Tokyo

JETRO Chairman Hiroyuki Ishige at the Invest Tokyo Seminar Winter 2017
Image credit: Amanda Imasaka

First things first, you cannot start a business without the proper visa. On January 29th the BDCT (which incidentally has two support desks: one in Marunouchi which the Tokyo Metropolitan Government appears to be positioning as a new Tokyo startup hub and can be read about here in addition to the one mentioned at the JETRO headquarters) began providing individual support for entrepreneurs regarding the deregulation of the “business manager” visa. Essentially the deregulation gives entrepreneurs a year to employ two people or invest 5 million yen in Japan provided they can convince the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) of their potential to do so at the 6 month mark.

But wait, it doesn’t stop there! The BDCT offers a multitude of services so make sure to bring your business plan along. These include pre-launch support like providing market information, introducing the experts you will need to establish your company (some examples: judicial & administrative scriveners, CPAs, patent attorneys, etc.), post-launch support such as information about how to set up offices, and even lifestyle support like introducing multilingual hospitals and schools. Perhaps the most valuable service they offer is business matching support, with employment numerous matching events held throughout the year and testimonials attesting to their success. The clincher: it is completely free and can be used as many times as you need. Something to keep in mind: AKA (producers of Musio, an AI enabled robot) CSO Brian Lee noted during his presentation at the Invest Tokyo Seminar Winter 2017, “We used TMG’s support services for a series of meetings with the company [Accenture, introduced through TMG’s services], focusing on areas we selected as essential, rather than for general business practices.” If you pinpoint a few areas to seek support for before arranging a meeting, they will be able to better help you help yourself.

AKA CSO Brian Lee at the Invest Tokyo Seminar Winter 2017
Image credit: Amanda Imasaka

TOSBEC is just around the corner from the BDCT in the ARK Mori building and as of December 22, 2016 they now accept the documents for all eight procedures necessary to establish a business (previously they accepted just three, a sure sign of the TMG’s desire to encourage entrepreneurs to set up shop). In most cases, you will first need to prepare and notarize the articles of incorporation, followed by the company registration documents. Once completed you will receive a notification of the start of your business which is necessary for national and metropolitan tax purposes. Bam, you just started a business. After that it is necessary to enroll in social insurance, and undergo the procedures associated with hiring employees (labor and insurance). All of this, from the notarization to the submission of immigration documents can be done at TOSBEC. Probably goes without saying, but despite being called one-stop, multiple stops will be required owing to the processing times for documents. I understand the sentiment though. TOSBEC is also completely free and can be used as many times as you want to for up to five years after starting your company.

Tokyo Startup Station along with Startup Hub Tokyo recently launched in the Marunouchi-Tokyo Station neighborhood.
Image credit: Masaru Ikeda

The TMG has made no secret of what sectors they believe to be most promising for new business. They include healthcare, ICT, and the environmental sector. Additionally, they have the very specific goal of attracting 40 companies related to IoT and AI in the period from 2017 to 2020. Inviting all foreign entrepreneurs to talk to JETRO, a government-related operation, first gives them the ability to screen said prospective business plans, encouraging those they see potential in and perhaps discouraging all others. Regardless, I am confident their services can be useful for entrepreneurs who approach them in an informed and organized fashion.

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Tokyo Government opens own ‘Startup Cafe’ to help turn more people into entrepreneurs

Tokyo Metropolitan Government

SCORE 1,403

Masaru Ikeda 2017.01.29

See the original story in Japanese. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) opened the Tokyo Startup Station as a base to promote entrepreneurship in Marunouchi, Tokyo with the opening ceremony held on Thursday. Located on the 1st and 2nd floors of the Meiji Yasuda Life Headquarters Building (Marunouchi My Plaza) near Tokyo Station, the first floor was founded as Startup Hub Tokyo and consists of an event space and a lounge space. The second floor was founded as the Tokyo Startup One-Stop Support Floor where entrepreneurs can receive counseling on the procedures for establishing their business and support regarding funding. While there is no reason to believe it is best to construct one concentrated area for startups, since people most often think of Shibuya when it comes to such a place, some readers may be scratching their heads and wondering, Why Marunouchi, crowded with the headquarters of numerous big name Japanese companies? In terms of other support provided, the TMG has already established the Tokyo Startup Gateway (also known as TSG, sponsored by the TMG and run by incubation program provider ETIC) and the Aoyama Startup Acceleration Center (also known as ASAC, sponsored by the TMG and operated by Japanese audit…

See the original story in Japanese.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) opened the Tokyo Startup Station as a base to promote entrepreneurship in Marunouchi, Tokyo with the opening ceremony held on Thursday. Located on the 1st and 2nd floors of the Meiji Yasuda Life Headquarters Building (Marunouchi My Plaza) near Tokyo Station, the first floor was founded as Startup Hub Tokyo and consists of an event space and a lounge space. The second floor was founded as the Tokyo Startup One-Stop Support Floor where entrepreneurs can receive counseling on the procedures for establishing their business and support regarding funding.

While there is no reason to believe it is best to construct one concentrated area for startups, since people most often think of Shibuya when it comes to such a place, some readers may be scratching their heads and wondering,

Why Marunouchi, crowded with the headquarters of numerous big name Japanese companies?

In terms of other support provided, the TMG has already established the Tokyo Startup Gateway (also known as TSG, sponsored by the TMG and run by incubation program provider ETIC) and the Aoyama Startup Acceleration Center (also known as ASAC, sponsored by the TMG and operated by Japanese audit company Deloitte Tohmatsu Group), and despite the additional support measures announced on Wednesday it seems to me there may be Tokyo citizens expressing disapproval that this is once again the product of a hierarchical administrative system.

A white paper report showing changes in the number of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial hopefuls in Japan (Click to enlarge)

The matter begins with the white paper report on small and medium-sized businesses issued by the Japanese government office. Although the graph pictured above is a reprint, if we look at the statistics over the past decade the number of entrepreneurs is almost level despite conditions improving in the entrepreneurial environment. Above all else, it is surprising that the population of entrepreneurial hopefuls actually tends to decrease. These statistics are based on the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Employment Status Survey and while some doubt remains as to whether the data obtained correctly reflects real life, it remains a serious problem in the current age, where it is said that startups make the future of the country.

The TMG explained that they opened the facility with the hope of informing people about the possibilities of entrepreneurship through the TSG and ASAC’s employment of people who have already started their entrepreneurial journey, as well as people who have already made their MVP (Minimum Viable Product). The first floor’s Startup Hub Tokyo is designed for people looking to develop startups with hockey-stick like momentum, while the 2nd floor’s Tokyo Startup One-Stop Support Floor is meant for small and medium sized companies aiming for sustainable business growth. By positioning the Tokyo Startup Station on the first floor in an area where Japanese first class, big name businesses gather, it appears they hope to attract businesspersons from companies on their way home from work, in addition to enticing shoppers in the vicinity to drop on by.

Startup Hub Tokyo Opening Ceremony

According to Hiroyuki Numaga of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Industrial and Labor Affairs New Business Support Section which oversees Startup Hub Tokyo, they referenced Startup Cafe Fukuoka and Startup Cafe Osaka (operated by Fukuoka City and Osaka City respectively and run by Culture Convenience Club) in making Startup Hub Tokyo; however, due to limitations as the administrative unit of the TMG, it was impossible to take the same operational format, resulting in the TMG renting the location and the management entrusted to Technology Seed Incubation, who also proposed the idea.

At Startup Hub Tokyo a team of entrepreneurs are stationed at the Startup Support Concierge year round, including Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays and there are plans to hold more than 300 events organized in-house and by partners throughout the year. Public events are also welcomed so long as they contribute to entrepreneurial support.

Basically anyone can use the services free of charge even if they are not a Tokyo citizen (just pay for the Tokyo Entrepreneurial Lecture), and registration is necessary to receive hands-on assistance and access to membership salons. The participants are classified in four groups depending on the level of their activity: “Members,” “Entre Members,” “Project Members,” and “Fellows,” with the variation of available services set to increase. As a general rule, the TMG is supposed to obtain the operating expenses from city taxes based on the applicants who use the service and intend to start a business in Tokyo, but in actuality, the location (country, city, prefecture, etc.) of the headquarters registered by the company is never sought, leaving me to take the liberal stance that it would be good if this led to the advancement of startup development globally.

In terms of support for women entrepreneurs, Startup Hub Tokyo includes a kids room that is available Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday with childcare practitioners on hand to take care of children. (Due to restrictions on human resources, for now they are unable to offer this service every day.) On the 2nd floor Tokyo Startup One-Stop Support Floor, there is a planning consultant who only receives female entrepreneurs, so, from her perspective as a woman, Governor Yuriko Koike’s touch can be seen here and there.

On the same day as the opening ceremony, a panel discussion was held. It was headlined by Team 2020’s Secretary General Kouji Ichiki who was also invited to be the moderator, and Yahoo Japan (TSE:4689) CEO Manabu Miyasaka, Space Market CEO Daisuke Shigematsu, and event e-commerce provider Linkbal (TSE:6046) CEO Yoshihiro Kazumasa all participated. In particular, Shigematsu, whose work life centers around outer space, could not hide his wonder at the government-led procurement of such an outstanding location for their headquarters for startup support.

The TMG’s aim is to reach 20,000 users per year, and in the meantime obtain 2,000 registered members. Can this new site in Marunouchi become a hub for the entrepreneurial generation? I look forward to the day when new startups are born here.

Translated by Amanda Imasaka
Edited by Masaru Ikeda

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This startup offers free SIM cards at airport to help foreign visitors get around Japan

WAmazing

Takeshi Hirano 2017.01.28

See the original story in Japanese. I can safely introduce this startup as the favorite among domestic companies focusing on inbound business opportunities. Tokyo-based startup WAmazing launched their app earlier this week, which offers free SIM cards and tourism services to foreign visitors to Japan. The service packages together a SIM card, a tour guide app, and information on reservations by working with smartphones. The company’s target is the some 40 million foreign visitors expected to visit Japan in 2020, with prospective users first downloading the app, and then inputting their personal information, length of stay, and payment information such as credit card number while still in their home country in order to obtain their QR code. Upon arrival in Japan they will be able to use their QR code at any of the four free SIM card vending machines located at international arrival areas of Narita Airport’s 1st, 2nd, and 3rd terminals to receive the card. Once the user has installed the SIM card on their smartphone, they have 5 days, up to 500 MB of free mobile service with no initial fees. When the user opens the WAmazing app, it will be possible to purchase additional mobile data,…

WAmazing founders: CEO Fumiko Kato (right), CTO Yuichi Tateno (left)

See the original story in Japanese.

I can safely introduce this startup as the favorite among domestic companies focusing on inbound business opportunities.

Tokyo-based startup WAmazing launched their app earlier this week, which offers free SIM cards and tourism services to foreign visitors to Japan. The service packages together a SIM card, a tour guide app, and information on reservations by working with smartphones.

The company’s target is the some 40 million foreign visitors expected to visit Japan in 2020, with prospective users first downloading the app, and then inputting their personal information, length of stay, and payment information such as credit card number while still in their home country in order to obtain their QR code.

Upon arrival in Japan they will be able to use their QR code at any of the four free SIM card vending machines located at international arrival areas of Narita Airport’s 1st, 2nd, and 3rd terminals to receive the card. Once the user has installed the SIM card on their smartphone, they have 5 days, up to 500 MB of free mobile service with no initial fees.

When the user opens the WAmazing app, it will be possible to purchase additional mobile data, as well as browse a variety of sightseeing information, allowing them to reserve or purchase on the spot. On top of this, the app can also be used to “call” a taxi; simply input a location and one of the 12,000 taxis operating in Tokyo can be dispatched right then and there. Picture this: purchasing an activity package for touring from the convenience of the hotel, where the taxi will come to whisk you away on your day of leisure.

And with that, enough with the introduction. Here are the points to pay attention to:

The SIM card vending machines are installed at Narita Airport
It is designed to obtain payment information from tourists before arrival
They developed a service that includes a unique taxi dispatch and tourism concierge

With the government’s goal of increasing inbound tourism figures to 40 million people by 2020, the year of the Tokyo Olympics, it is estimated that consumption will rise to 8 trillion yen (around $70 billion US), which is twice that of 2015.

Meanwhile, it is very clear that the domestic development of a free communication infrastructure, for example Wifi hotspots, has its share of problems, language barriers often being touted as one. In the past we introduced a startup called Bridge providing similar services to solve these problems. However, WAmazing appears to cover a more extensive range.

The company was founded in July of 2016 when Yuichi Tateno, previously of Hatena (TSE:3930) and Cookpad (TSE:2193), joined with Fumiko Kato, whose background includes launching Jalan.net (one of the largest hotel/traditional inn booking sites in Japan) and Hot Pepper Gourmet (Japan’s largest gourmet website), as well as the regional tourism promotion project “Maji☆Bu.” In contrast to Kato’s time spent at Recruit (TSE:6098), the company behind “Maji☆Bu,” her current inbound business is a “mature” startup.

For example, when asked about where the tourism information provided by WAmazing originates, the answer was that they prepare it themselves, rather than partnering with an outside service. Without thorough knowledge, preparing such info quickly is difficult.

In addition, where you would expect them to partner with existing services for taxi dispatching, they announced their unique approach of using API to cooperate directly with the system of the Tokyo Hire-Taxi Association. As mentioned above, this gives them access to dispatch the nearly 12,000 taxis in Tokyo. To get into the specifics, when a taxi connected to the network is dispatched using WAmazing, the details are displayed on the hired taxi’s in-vehicle unit, allowing the operation to work smoothly for overseas customers.

Even at this beginning stage great care is being taken for even the smallest of details, leaving the impression wherever they go from here, they will be bringing a considerably high level of service with them. Of course, as the service has not yet been launched, there is still much to be done, like finishing the development of the control screen.

Because businesses and systems involved in sightseeing and support for foreign visitors are intertwined in a complicated manner, the bargaining power WAmazing seems to be in possession of gives me the impression that their place on the playing field is a secure one. In fact, in cooperation with Narita Airport, they will not be charged for setting up the SIM card vending machines. Furthermore, the SIM card they will provide is the same as Bridge’s and the infrastructure will use Soracom (a Mobile Virtual Network Operator using NTT Docomo’s network).

According to Kato, as an initial target they have developed marketing directed at travelers living in Taiwan and Hong Kong, and the goal at their current stage is for 1 in every 8 people to be using it by 2020, so a platform that supports 5 million users.

As they are concerned with a wide range of subjects and still operating 100% on personal funds, their future growth strategy, and the fact that Cookpad’s former CTO (Tateno) has joined the development team, is worth paying attention to. Once the service has kicked off and numbers start to come in, I’d like to talk more about it.

Translated by Amanda Imasaka
Edited by Masaru Ikeda

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Cloud management platform Mobingi wins Draper Nexus’ B2B Summit in Tokyo

Draper Nexus

The Bridge 2017.01.26

This is a guest post authored by Daiki Suzuki, consultant of Tokyo-based incubation consultancy / startup-focused investment firm Archetype. See the original story in Japanese. Draper Nexus Venture Partners (hereafter called Draper Nexus), which has mainly invested in B2B (business-to-business) startups in Japan and the US, this month held Draper Nexus B2B Summit in Tokyo 2017 as its first, inviting venture capitalists (VCs) or emerging startups in Silicon Valley to introduce the latest local business trends. The event program was mainly centered on a keynote speech and lecture sessions, and a pitch competition was scheduled in the last half. In the opening speech, Akira Kurabayashi, Managing Director of Draper Nexus, said that B2B startups have been attracting attention in Japan based on the technological development in the cloud, mobile devices or IoT (Internet of Things) field, in addition to social changes including the aging society. According to the data gathered since 1995 in the US, B2B investments there exceed B2C (business-to-consumer) ones both in exit probability and return amount. In the pitch competition, five Japanese startups presented their own businesses to judges including top tier VCs in Silicon Valley. The judges in the competition were as follows. Forest Baskett (General…

This is a guest post authored by Daiki Suzuki, consultant of Tokyo-based incubation consultancy / startup-focused investment firm Archetype.

See the original story in Japanese.

Draper Nexus Venture Partners (hereafter called Draper Nexus), which has mainly invested in B2B (business-to-business) startups in Japan and the US, this month held Draper Nexus B2B Summit in Tokyo 2017 as its first, inviting venture capitalists
(VCs) or emerging startups in Silicon Valley to introduce the latest local business trends. The event program was mainly centered on a keynote speech and lecture sessions, and a pitch competition was scheduled in the last half.

In the opening speech, Akira Kurabayashi, Managing Director of Draper Nexus, said that B2B startups have been attracting attention in Japan based on the technological development in the cloud, mobile devices or IoT (Internet of Things) field, in addition to social changes including the aging society. According to the data gathered since 1995 in the US, B2B investments there exceed B2C (business-to-consumer) ones both in exit probability and return amount.

In the pitch competition, five Japanese startups presented their own businesses to judges including top tier VCs in Silicon Valley. The judges in the competition were as follows.

Forest Baskett (General Partner, New Enterprise Associates)
Mark Bailey (Parner, DFJ Growth)
Grant Halloran (CMO, Anaplan)
Hideaki Yajima (Manager, Cisco Investments)
Naoto Ohitsu (Manager Innovative Companies Support Department, Mizuho Bank)

Cisco Award (Top Award) winner: Mobingi

Mobingi developed SaaS (software as a service) enabling life cycle management of the cloud. Since its launch back in 2015, the service has been showing a monthly profit of $100,000 and a monthly growth rate of 20%, but on the other hand the cancellation rate remain zero.

The firm focused on a demand generated from the knowledge gaps between engineers and non-engineers, and started providing a browser-based software allowing easy operation of the cloud environment without regard to private / public ones, which were conventionally operated by specialized engineers through the command-line interface.

The service also enables cloud environment management such as performance comparison or auto-scaling. It is providing these services as OEM (original equipment manufacturer) for major cloud providers as well, and the Mobingi team said that they aim to target large enterprises like Fortune 500 in the future due to shifts in their cloud strategies to public ones.

As a result of judging for the pitch competition, Mobingi won the top award with cash of 1 million yen (about $8,800). The judges evaluated the traction of the product and the market size highly, to vote unanimously for it. One of the judges commented that he expects the firm’s potential as a startup capable of aiming for global markets although few Japanese players are capable of taking on the infrastructure sectors.

See also:

AWS Award / Mitsui Fudosan Award winner: XICA

XICA with the stated mission to “bring suggestions to all the data” provides a marketing support SaaS from a statistical approach. The total ROI (return on investment) of marketing continues to deteriorate because there are two big barriers in marketing: an explosive increase of media and difficulties in analysis. Complicated analysis is necessary for improvement of ROI, but requires specialists and large costs.

XICA Magellan enables optimization of daily operations through data gathering and analysis of track in addition to conversion calculation of promotion budget allocation which can be handled even by general marketers without specialized knowledge. The service has already been implemented to a lot of major Japanese companies.

Nurve

Nurve provides a SaaS allowing VR (virtual reality) space creation without any specialized knowledge or experience, mainly for real estate business players. Private viewing is important for house selling promotion, and this service can reduce the users’ time spent or trouble by utilizing VR for virtual viewing.

The service supports QR code reading for property information and provides specialized VR devices too. It has already been used by many major companies as the premium service, and the team also aims the market of shopping sector by enabling pre-experiencing of products / services in VR spaces before purchasing, as well as the real estate business in the future.

IBM Japan Award / Fujitsu Award winner: V-Cube Robotics

V-Cube Robotics provides a total solution with drones that can be used in worksites basically requiring on-site human operators, such as disaster recovery, factory maintenance or infrastructure monitoring. It provides not only drone-related hardware but also a communication system enabling streaming of images photographed by drone-mounted camera to distant places in real-time.

For example, local government or fire authorities can confirm the situation in disaster-stricken areas in real-time and make decisions quickly when an earthquake occurs. The take-off and landing of drones are completely automated and the firm also provides a fault detection service in the monitored areas.

Mizuho Financial Group Award winner: Floadia

Floadia developed a small-sized, low-power-consuming yet non-volatile flash memory which will be essential in the IoT era. It is expected that billions of IoT devices and tens of trillion of sensors will exist in the world in the future, but there is a certain limit for central servers to process all of the communications. Therefore, smaller and more intelligent IoT devices are required. The firm succeeded in reduction of power consumption by directly connecting the flash memory which is difficult to be handled by digital circuits with its own technologies.

In a heartbeat monitoring device for example, the memory can extend the battery service life by entering into sleep mode in the time between every heartbeat. Along with ARM, Floadia is engaged in design of flash memory with the fabless and license provision model.

Translated by Taijiro Takeda
Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy

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Tokyo Government looking to attract foreign entrepreneurs in effort to create New Tokyo

Tokyo Metropolitan Government

The Bridge 2017.01.26

This is a guest post authored by Amanda Imasaka. She is a Tokyo-based writer specializing in ICT and high technology. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) held “Invest Tokyo Seminar Winter 2017,” headlined by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, on the 25th of this month at the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) headquarters. Their message was strong and clear: create a “New Tokyo,” attract foreign companies and entrepreneurs (especially those from IoT, AI, and FinTech– the so-called 4th Industrial Revolution-driven sectors), lead the world in business. Over four years the government will construct a new Tokyo by putting, using a term coined by Governor Koike, “Citizens First.” Their goal is to create a diverse city where everyone can live peacefully in a sustainable Tokyo capable of continuous growth, which is congruent to also making it a smart city. She listed a number of challenges they are set to tackle, such as increasing Tokyo’s GDP and the number of inbound tourists, while also outlining her FIRST strategy for growth: Finance-Innovation-Rise-Success-Technology. With her commitment to, “no more NATO (No-Action-Talk-Only) meetings,” she seems poised to make this happen, although this comment was made as the lead-in to a brief introduction of the Advisory Panel for…

This is a guest post authored by Amanda Imasaka. She is a Tokyo-based writer specializing in ICT and high technology.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) held “Invest Tokyo Seminar Winter 2017,” headlined by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, on the 25th of this month at the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) headquarters. Their message was strong and clear: create a “New Tokyo,” attract foreign companies and entrepreneurs (especially those from IoT, AI, and FinTech– the so-called 4th Industrial Revolution-driven sectors), lead the world in business.

Over four years the government will construct a new Tokyo by putting, using a term coined by Governor Koike, “Citizens First.” Their goal is to create a diverse city where everyone can live peacefully in a sustainable Tokyo capable of continuous growth, which is congruent to also making it a smart city. She listed a number of challenges they are set to tackle, such as increasing Tokyo’s GDP and the number of inbound tourists, while also outlining her FIRST strategy for growth: Finance-Innovation-Rise-Success-Technology. With her commitment to, “no more NATO (No-Action-Talk-Only) meetings,” she seems poised to make this happen, although this comment was made as the lead-in to a brief introduction of the Advisory Panel for Global Financial City Tokyo, which is set to discuss how to revitalize Tokyo’s financial sector for a year and then compile a report.

To lead the world in business, the TMG plans to make Tokyo “Asia’s Top Global Financial City,” and they are hoping foreign financial firms will help them accomplish this, more specifically 40 foreign financial firms between 2017 and 2020. As of now they plan to offer services, such as free consulting, an accelerator program, a financial one-stop support service to provide information on the laws and regulations, as well as publish an English handbook by April of next year. And in true omotenashi style they have even thought of support for foreign families, with plans to build an international school directly attached to Tokyo station (with the area around marked as the main hub for financial talent, and home to both the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Bank of Japan) and the easing of restrictions on foreign doctors practicing in The National Strategic Special Zone (previously they were only allowed to treat patients from their own country).

Foreign companies/entrepreneurs looking to set up shop in the various special zones could reap benefits along the lines of tax incentives, quicker immigration processes, subsidies and low interest loans, among others. Additionally, in an effort to attract another 40 companies involved in IoT and AI, the TMG has pledged to create desks in major cities around the world to establish communication with local hub organizations, as well as boost matching services between foreign companies and Tokyo-based firms. The TMG had previously established Tokyo One-Stop Business Establishment Center (TOSBEC), the Business Development Center TOKYO (BDCT), and the Tokyo Employment Consultation Center (TECC), who together offer full support to anyone looking to establish a business in Tokyo.

Governor Koike and the TMG provided a wealth of information on why Tokyo should be attractive to foreign companies and entrepreneurs, especially those from the healthcare, ICT, and environmental sectors. To give some examples, Tokyo ranks number 1 in terms of urban population, and ranks third on The Mori Memorial Foundation’s ranking of livability (safety, security, etc.). It boasts the world’s 3rd largest healthcare market due to the increasing population of elderly citizens, and after the devastating effects of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami there continues to be a demand for safe, stable, efficient energy infrastructure. Finally, with the upcoming Olympics and Paralympics it is estimated that the ICT market will expand to nearly USD130 billion by 2019.

Both the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry, Mr. Toshinao Nakagawa, and the Chairman CEO of JETRO, Mr. Hiroyuki Ishige, summed up the TMG’s plans for Tokyo by expressing the hope of making it, “the world’s easiest city to do business in.”

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Japan’s Enechange lands $4.4M to beef up marketing of energy price comparison site

Enechange

Masaru Ikeda 2017.01.23

The Japanese electric power industry was deregulated back in April of 2016. Since then, tech giants like Softbank and Rakuten have set up their subsidiaries to enter the new power supply market. In European countries that allow consumers to choose the power source from multiple suppliers, an outstanding vertical from the startup space is probably the energy price comparison site. Tokyo-based Enechange, the company offering an energy price comparison site under the same name, has announced that it has fundraised 500 million yen (about $4.4 million) from Opt Ventures and IMJ Investment Partners. This follows their 400 million yen (about $3.5 million) funding from Energy & Environment Investment as well as Hitachi (TSE:6501) back in February of 2016. Since its launch back in April of 2015, Enechange has been offering a power supplier switchover service for enterprises as well as a SIM card comparison site for companies and consumers. In partnership with UK-based SMAP Energy, a smart meter-based data analytics startup born from Cambridge University, the company has also been offering consulting services to electric power companies in Japan. Via Nikkei (paywalled) and TechCrunch Japan Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy

Tokyo-based Enechange, the company offering an energy price comparison site under the same name, has announced that it has fundraised 500 million yen (about $4.4 million) from Opt Ventures and IMJ Investment Partners. This follows their 400 million yen (about $3.5 million) funding from Energy & Environment Investment as well as Hitachi (TSE:6501) back in February of 2016.

Since its launch back in April of 2015, Enechange has been offering a power supplier switchover service for enterprises as well as a SIM card comparison site for companies and consumers. In partnership with UK-based SMAP Energy, a smart meter-based data analytics startup born from Cambridge University, the company has also been offering consulting services to electric power companies in Japan.

Via Nikkei (paywalled) and TechCrunch Japan

Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy

How to start a business in Tokyo using Metropolitan Government resources

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