Entrepreneur Stories Japan

Japanese TV dramas have historically struggled overseas, with anime making up 90% of broadcast content exports. Short formats and domestic sponsor focus limited global appeal. However, streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney+ have boosted visibility, with hits like House of Ninjas, Alice in Borderland, and SHOGUN. Remakes and international co-productions are increasing, while complex rights management remains a challenge. Japanese viewers now access dramas via diverse VOD services. Broadcasters are adapting by expanding distribution and collaborating with global partners. With continued innovation, Japan’s drama industry is poised to grow as a global entertainment force.

August 29, 2025

Estonian entrepreneur Raul Allikivi founded GIG-A to modernize banking for foreigners in Japan. He shares his insights on Japan's startup ecosystem, cultural challenges, and the need for trust-based digital services. His vision is to make Japan—and eventually all of Asia—more accessible for migrants through multilingual fintech solutions.

August 26, 2025

Japan’s food delivery culture, rooted in Edo-period demae, has evolved from community-based hospitality to a highly digitalized ecosystem. The rise of platforms like Uber Eats and Demaekan, accelerated by COVID-19, transformed the market. Today, aggregators, logistics firms, and autonomous delivery technologies reshape operations, making Japan a global testbed for delivery innovation.

August 6, 2025

Japan’s restaurant industry is evolving with fast casual dining and restaurant SaaS. Brands like Crisp Salad Works and UMAMI BURGER blend tech and quality meals. Startups such as Dinii, Toreta, and TableCheck offer digital tools for orders, payments, and reservations—reshaping the food service experience with efficiency and personalization.

July 30, 2025

Located in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, the coworking space "COMPASS" functions not only as a workspace but as an incubation facility nurturing the next generation of startups. We spoke with Mr. Fukuoka, the operations manager who is striving to create a new wave of innovation in Kitakyushu, a city known for manufacturing, about the reality of startup support and the potential for regional business creation.

July 14, 2025

Yaraku, Inc. is supporting multilingual corporate communication with its unique CAT (Computer Assisted Translation) tool that combines machine translation with human expertise. We spoke with CEO Suguru Sakanishi about his entrepreneurial experience in America, his current business and his vision for the future. From a business that began on a drunken impulse to building a diverse global team

July 10, 2025

Monozukuri Ventures has built an innovative ecosystem connecting Silicon Valley startups with Japanese small and medium manufacturing enterprises. We spoke with the founder about his journey that began with a passion for regional revitalization, the strengths and potential of Japanese manufacturing, and how Japanese companies can compete in the global arena.

July 4, 2025

On March 27, 2023, Cover Corporation, the operator of Hololive, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Growth Market with a market capitalization of 70 billion yen. This marked the world's first IPO for a company specializing in virtual talent. The company's vertically integrated “content × tech” model, which includes owning avatar IP and in-house development of motion capture and streaming infrastructure, was recognized by the capital market.

July 3, 2025

A food self-sufficiency rate shows how much food a country produces compared to what it consumes. It’s an important way to understand a country’s food security and resilience, especially during global crises like wars, pandemics, or climate change. This has become more important in recent years.

July 1, 2025

At Blackbox, we've previously written about Japan’s Startup Visa, a visa program that smooths the way for foreign entrepreneurs interested in launching a business in Japan. Until recently, this visa was only available in selected cities, and was valid for only an initial six months.

June 23, 2025

Zen or Zazen refers to the teachings and philosophy of the Zen sect of Buddhism. It expresses a free mind that is not bound by anything, especially attachments to material things.

June 20, 2025

With the release of the ERC-721 standard on Ethereum in 2017, NFT art projects like CryptoKitties and CryptoPunks quickly captured global attention, and celebrities, artists, and companies worldwide started generating their own NFTs at an enormous rate. This led to the NFT boom of the early 2020s, of which you are undoubtedly familiar.

June 18, 2025