The number of university-launched start-ups has seen a 90% increase from five years ago with 4,288 new companies launched in FY2023, according to a survey by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

Toyama Prefecture saw the highest growth in the country with a fourfold increase in start-ups. This is largely seen as the result of the top-down support system of Governor Hachiro Nitta, and a wave of entrepreneurship is spreading to all regions of the prefecture.

In Nara Prefecture, the number of start-ups originating from the Nara Institute of Science and Technology increased 1.6 times. Governor Makoto Yamashita has announced the strengthening of the support system and is providing financial assistance for the commercialization of research results.

Meanwhile, in Ibaraki Prefecture, local banks have established a support fund to assist university-launched start-ups. Tsukuba University and other institutions are playing a central role in contributing to the revitalization of local industry.

Kazuhiro Honda, senior consultant at Nomura Research Institute, points out that it is important to develop a system to support post-start-up growth. It is hoped that the efforts of rural governments and universities will lead to the revitalization of local economies.

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