Shizuoka Prefecture has embarked on a private-sector recruitment drive to strengthen its start-up support. It has partnered with leading human resources service provider En Japan to publicly recruit two people to work at its offices in Tokyo and Shizuoka.

Applicants must have experience working at a start-up, a track record of starting their own business, or at least three years' experience in start-up support or collaboration within a company. After a selection process, they will be employed for a fixed term starting in November.

This initiative is an important step towards achieving the prefecture's goal of developing three start-ups with a valuation of at least 10 billion yen by 2028. At the same time, the prefecture is also focusing on fostering entrepreneurial awareness among primary and secondary school students and matching start-ups with research institutions in the prefecture as part of the 'Start-up Support Strategy' formulated in 2023.

Governor Yasutomo Suzuki announced that he would further strengthen the start-up strategy after taking office. The prefecture aims to increase the number of start-ups in the prefecture to 250 and the total amount of funding to 26 billion yen by FY2028.

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