Showing 193–216 of 246
Stories
InterviewShiori Fukuda (Life-Tech KOBE)
Kobe City in Hyogo Prefecture has been on the front foot in its efforts to support startups in Japan. We invited Ms. Shiori Fukuda, an innovation specialist at the Life-Tech KOBE, a regional startup ecosystem who has been supporting local startups aiming to expand their business overseas as well as startups from other countries interested in developing their business in Japan, to talk about her background and the initiatives of Kobe City.
#Interview.#Startup Support
InsightEvent Report : Takeoff Tokyo 2024
“Takeoff Tokyo” Event was held for the second time on Aprle 10-11, 2024, with the aim of fostering a generation of startups that aspire to be the best in the world, not just in Japan. Blackbox was a media partner of the event and reports on the venue and the pitch contest in this article.
·Hikaru Nagashima#Event Report
InterviewERIKA ＆ ALLEN (Sollective)
Erika and Allen, who run "Sollective," a platform that brings together fully vetted professional talent and companies, talk about the background of their entrepreneurship and offer advice to entrepreneurs.
#Founder Story
InterviewKoichi Fujita (Fugetsudo)
We spoke to President Koichi Fujita, who has taken over the world-famous Fugetsudo Japanese sweets shop in Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture. He discusses the reasons for inheriting the business from the parents, the challenges he has faced and the potentials for overseas markets.
#Founder Story.#Food
InsightTAKEOFF TOKYO Builders Weekend 2024
Takeoff Tokyo is not just a single conference, but an ecosystem of related events happening over the course of several weeks. One of these is the Builders Weekend, a 48-hour hackathon. This year it hosted over 70 participants at the Golden Egg in Shibuya, Tokyo.
·Blackbox Contributor#Event Report
InterviewMisaki Tanaka (SOLIT, Inc.)
The CEO of SOLIT, an inclusive design solution company combining sustainability with D&I in its bid to “democratize fashion” by making brands and clothing something that people choose rather than have chosen for them, spoke with us about the company’s characteristics such as inclusive design and the differences and common issues between the fashion industry in Japan and overseas.
#Founder Story.#Fashion
InterviewHironari Okayama (Fumimoto Sake Brewery)
It is said that there are many Japanese businesses in traditional industries facing insolvency due to liquidity issues and being unable to find a successor. We spoke with Hironari Okayama, an entrepreneur who took over a sake brewery, about the struggles, challenges, and fun of taking over a business not as a family member or a former employee, but as a third party.
#Founder Story
InterviewWhat needs to change to make Japan ‘global’? by Antti Sonninen(Takeoff Tokyo)
Antti Sonninen, who organizes and manages the startup conference Takeoff Tokyo, talked about the issues related to the startup scene in Japan and the uniqueness of his event.
#Interview
InterviewGo Hiyama (ECHOES BREATH)
Go Hiyama, Representative of sound design company ECHOES BREATH, talks about the features of AISO, an internally developed automatic BGM generation system, the differences in awareness of sound design in Japan, and other topics.
#Founder Story.#Music
InterviewKodai Kato & Yurika Tanikawa (amu)
amu is a start-up company that recycles fishing nets and provides materials in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture. In this interview, we asked Mr. Kato, the president of the company, and Mr. Tanikawa, a board member, about the appeal of starting a business in a rural area and their current plans.
#Founder Story.#Sustainability
Insight"Venture-Based Business Succession" to Save Japan's Small to Medium Enterprises
Japanese startups tend to focus on new technologies and services, but in fact, the world is paying more attention to "dead technologies" that are common in Japan.
·Blackbox Contributor#Startup Support
InsightEvent Report: CEATEC 2023
CEATEC 2023, an exhibition of digital innovation sponsored by the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA), was held at Makuhari Messe in Tokyo from October 17th to 20th.
·Blackbox Contributor#Event Report
InterviewJae-Yong Lee (VGlab)
Jae-Yong Lee, a Korean 3D fashion specialist who studied fashion in Japan, taught at his alma mater, and then launched VGlab, a company that uses 3DCG to support apparel brands in improving DX and creating digital content, talked about how he started his business and the differences between Japan and Korea.
#Founder Story.#Fashion
InsightEvent Report: DCENTRAL
DCENTRAL is the largest web3 conference in the United States, held regularly in Miami, Florida. The inaugural Japanese version of the event, DCENTRAL Tokyo, was held at Shibuya Stream in Shibuya over September 19th and 20th.
·Blackbox Contributor#Event Report.#Web3
InterviewSteve Bidinger (Skai Beauty)
Steve Bidinger is the co-founder and CEO of Skai Beauty. He has worked in the cosmetics industry and lived in Japan for 30 years; and has a passion for clean and sustainable beauty.
#Founder Story
InterviewLauren Rose Kocher (Vegas PR)
Lauren Rose Kocher is the founder and director of the Vegas PR Group, an international PR and marketing agency based in Tokyo. We discussed her career and current company, as well as the current status of Japanese startup scene.
#Founder Story
InterviewSoma Suzuki (Spatial Pleasure)
The founder of Spatial Pleasure, a startup that develops DMRV software with the vision of building a meaningful urban civilization, spoke about the current state of urban development in Japan and the benefits of starting a business in Japan.
#Founder Story
InsightIVS 2023 KYOTO Event Report
IVS is one of the largest startup events in Japan, with a lifetime total of over 20,000 participants. This year from June 28 to 30 saw IVS2023 KYOTO open the doors of its new location at two venues: the main event in Miyako Messe, and the pitch event in Rohm Theater Kyoto.
·Hikaru Nagashima#Event Report
InsightFind Your Startup Community in Japan
Finding startup communities in Japan might be a bit tricky as lots of them are not bilingual. However, these days, many events and meet-ups are held in English, particularly in Tokyo.
·Sayaka Kito#Consortium
InsightTakeoff Tokyo 2023 Event Report
"Takeoff Tokyo" Event was held for the first time on June 8-9, 2023, with the aim of fostering a generation of startups that aspire to be the best in the world, not just in Japan. Blackbox was a media partner of the event and reports on the venue and the pitch contest in this article.
·Hikaru Nagashima#Event Report.#Startup Pitch
InterviewTomohiro Suzuki (Tagore / REIVER LLC.)
Tomohiro Suzuki of REIVER LLC. manages the Tagore Harbor Hostel and conducts community development activities in Heda, located south of Numazu City in Shizuoka Prefecture. The town is rich in nature, surrounded by the clearest ocean in Japan and pristine mountains. We asked him why he moved to Heda from Tokyo, how he came to run the hostel, and how he got involved in community development activities.
#Founder Story
InterviewRyosuke Kimura (Lifetime Ventures)
The founder and managing partner of Lifetime Ventures, a pre-seeded VC from Yokohama, talks about why he is doing business from Yokohama and the strengths and weaknesses of the Japanese startup scene.
#Founder Story.#Consortium.#VC
InsightWastewater Treatment
In this article, we will give an overview of 4 Japanese startups that working on wastewater treatments.
·Sayaka Kito#Market Insight.#Sustainability
InsightEvent Report:Bright Moments Tokyo
Bright Moments, a community that is expanding the potential of NFT by creating galleries around the world to facilitate IRL Minting (IRL = In Real Life) of digital art and NFT art, held events at Shibuya PARCO Building (Shibuya, Tokyo) and Kyu Asakura House (an important cultural asset constructed in 1919) from May 5th to 10th.
·Hikaru Nagashima#Event Report.#Entertainment