Tag - startups

 
 

STARTUPS

Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 30, 2016
Silicon Valley to Japan’s piecemeal startups: first global growth, then IPO
Trace the roots of most modern Japanese tech companies back far enough and there's a good chance you'll stumble across a little-known venture capital firm called Jafco Co.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 14, 2016
U.K. startup looks for a slice of Japan's remittance market
TransferWise Ltd., a British peer-to-peer money transfer startup launched last week on the promise of cheaper prices, is betting its service will change the way Japanese and foreign residents send and receive money overseas.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 4, 2016
U.S. venture firm aims to break corporate hold on Japanese startups
When he worked in Silicon Valley, venture investor James Riney was used to aggressive entrepreneurs who pitched him for financing any time they got a two-minute opening. Now that he's in Tokyo, the culture is so different he's changed his ways. Startup founders are so timid about asking for money that...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2016
Nomura-Keio fund boosts investment target for domestic startups
Keio University and Nomura Holdings Inc. increased the fundraising goal for their venture-capital partnership by 50 percent to ¥15 billion after demand from Japanese financial firms during the first phase of financing exceeded expectations.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 4, 2016
Fidelity invests in Japanese printing startup RakSul before IPO
RakSul Inc., a Japanese printing startup that's seeking to go public, has raised about ¥2.1 billion from investors, including Fidelity.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 3, 2016
The Tinder for Japan's aging CEOs posts a 1,170% stock gain
When Masao Takeuchi signed away the company he'd spent 25 years building from scratch, one of his biggest feelings was relief.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 3, 2016
Mercari mulls additional funding after clinching U.S. foothold
Japan's first startup unicorn is considering a new fundraising round to maintain momentum after a spike in U.S. downloads for e-commerce company Mercari Inc.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
May 1, 2016
Ex-bureaucrat on mission to trigger technological revolution
Almost a decade before the March 2011 quake and tsunami triggered the triple core meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, Ko Fujii knew the government could not effectively communicate the risks of nuclear technology.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 27, 2016
Untimely call of nature leads to inspiration for pocket toilet-time monitor
Business ideas are often hatched in unlikely places. But for Atsushi Nakanishi, an epiphany could not have hit him at a worse time.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2016
How $5-a-night hostels led to Japan's first $1 billion startup
In 2012, Shintaro Yamada was 34 years old, single and frustrated with his job. So he quit a comfortable position in Tokyo and set out to see the world.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 6, 2016
Mitsubishi UFJ plans division to pursue fintech endeavors
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. has set up a unit to research and develop new financial technologies, the first of its kind for a major Japanese bank, people with knowledge of the matter said.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 19, 2015
The troubling slump in American startups
Data on startups provide robust evidence of a pervasive decline in U.S. business dynamism over the last several decades.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Dec 14, 2015
Fintech firms make inroads into the banking biz
With startups offering financial technology services raking in billions of dollars around the world, fintech, coined from "finance" and "technology," has become a buzzword that old guards at big name financial institutions can no longer ignore.
ENVIRONMENT
Dec 7, 2015
We may still lack the technology to halt climate change
Legions of diplomats are huddled right now in Paris trying to hash out a historic climate accord. Legions of entrepreneurs and investors aren't waiting on a treaty.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 7, 2015
Japan pushes new policies to reboot startup sector
When asked to name globally recognized Japanese firms founded within the last decade, many people would be hard-pressed to list any.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2015
Akihabara outfit aims to become a hub for hardware startups
Clustered electronics stores, maid cafes and the home of idol group AKB48 — Tokyo's Akihabara district is famous for many things.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 26, 2015
The model Lee engineered needs innovation
The only way Singapore can maintain the remarkable gains made under its late legendary founder Lee Kuan Yew is to find ways to innovate.
BUSINESS
Mar 6, 2015
Tokyo to open 'one-stop' office to help foreigners launch businesses
Aiming to make it easier for foreigners to invest in Japan, the central government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will launch a "one-stop" office in April that will guide them through the entire process of starting a company here.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Nov 2, 2014
Crowdfunding leader wants others' dreams to come true
Bill Gates, the late Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg all hit the big time by persevering for years in the pursuit of their dreams. They continue to be an inspiration to entrepreneurs the world over who dream of one day growing their own companies into the next Microsoft Corp., Apple Inc. or Facebook Inc.,...

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’