Andy Watanabe, owner of Hungry Osaka Tours, shares his journey from teaching in Japan to running his own tour company. Originally from Europe, he moved to Japan “for a year” but stayed 25. After teaching and opening an English school, he shifted to tour guiding in Osaka, focusing on high-quality, bilingual experiences. Andy notes challenges with bureaucracy and banks as a foreign entrepreneur but highlights his wife’s support and the importance of learning Japanese. His advice: respect local customs, make the effort, and people will support you—success in Japan comes from hard work and gratitude.

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.

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

The Challenge of Next-Generation Freezing Technology to Protect "Deliciousness" - Masayuki Kinoshita, CEO of Daybreak Inc.

In Kyoto, a startup company called ”funfo” is providing mobile ordering systems for restaurants. Founders Mr. Qiao and Mr. Wang started the company with four other members during their graduate studies, driven by a desire to support digital transformation in the restaurant industry.

Yuki Kobayashi, CEO of MESON, is pioneering a new era of spatial computing. With the advent of the Apple Vision Pro, he is developing "business entertainment experiences" as a new form of corporate presentation while simultaneously advancing a digital interior platform for general consumers as a new business venture.

Naruhiro Nagao works on regional revitalization through the operation of coworking spaces. This article explores the possibilities of a new business model originating from regional Japan, breaking away from the Tokyo-centric development.

Fascinated by his beloved sea, Kimura founded his company after a "terrible" first sailing experience. We spoke with him about his challenges in developing the autonomous navigation platform "Eight Knot AI CAPTAIN" to make maritime navigation safer worldwide, how he overcame those obstacles, and his message for future entrepreneurs.

As heat dissipation in electronic devices becomes an increasingly critical issue with the proliferation of data centers, EVs, and AI, we spoke with Kenji Nishitani, CEO of U-MAP, about his entrepreneurial journey, the company's unique materials technology, and his vision for the future of Japanese manufacturing.

"Making weddings more free and expressive of who couples are."We spoke with founder Murata about the challenges in the wedding industry, his innovative approach, and his vision for the future.

Fukuoka's yatai (food stalls) are iconic symbols of the city's nightlife. Among them, "Chez Remi" stands out amongst the crowd - a French food stall operated by the French owner and chef.

"The key to making space travel accessible isn't just creating reusable rockets—it's creating rockets that can be reused thousands of times, just like aircraft."

As privacy protection gains global attention, Acompany aims to create a world free from privacy risks through secure computation technology. We interviewed founder Ryosuke Takahashi about his vision for ideal data security and future global trends.

BeRISE develops educational solutions utilizing XR (VR/AR/MR) technology. We interviewed founder Toshiyuki Hatama about his journey since founding the company and his vision for the future.

Regional revitalization through blockchain and games in Fukuoka. Using NFTs to link the resolution of real-world issues with the fun of games to create new community experiences.

SORA Technology is a startup that is using drone technology to tackle challenges in developing countries. We spoke with CEO Yosuke Kaneko about the company's founding and his message for entrepreneurs.

We spoke with Igor Voroshilov, the Russian founder of Supasaito which specializes in web development and education using Webflow and other NoCode and AI tools. Supasaito offers professional web development services for Japanese startups and large companies, so we asked about how his business was founded.

We spoke to Ryuji Ikoma, CEO of Clear Inc., a company with the vision of "Creating the Future of Sake."

Japan's Venture Academy (JVA) is an organization managed mainly with a focus on Tokyo students, with support from Shibuya City, aiming to cultivate entrepreneurship through a student-oriented 3-month fellowship. We spoke with core members Kento Akiyama and Egor Sheverev about why they launched JVA and the details of their activities.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

The esports scene now boasts worldwide popularity. Masaya Endo, who runs the esports company FENNEL in Japan, talks about the background to the launch of FENNEL, the differences between the esports scene in Japan and the rest of the world, and offers advice on how to start a business.

Moeko Suzuki, who went to high school in London and college in the U.S., established Tailor Innovations Inc. after working for an overseas market development consulting company, and also founded Startup Lady Association, a community of global female entrepreneurs. She discussed the features of the startup scene in Japan from her global point of view.

Eric Turner, Founder of Japan Dev K.K., which operates Japan Dev, a platform for IT professionals to find companies and development teams that match their values, and his wife, Manami, a designer, talked extensively about their path to starting a business and their expectations for Japan's startup scene and support.

BJ Fox, a British who worked for a major videogame publisher before starting Tokyo’s only stand-up comedy club "Tokyo Comedy Bar" in Shibuya, talks about why he started his business, the uniqueness of the Japanese market, tips for startups and more.

KALKUL is a future tech startup trying to integrate technology and human with the love for music and art. Co-founders Bartek Kolacz and Mehdi Hamadi talked about their journey, projects, and findings.

Interview with Yumiko Uchishiba, designer of the golf brand HERG1. Having studied fashion in Italy for 10 years and worked as a designer, we asked her what motivated her to come back to Japan to launch a new brand and the differences of her work and lifestyle between in Japan and Italy.

Mary and Elena who lead TOTEMO, a Japan-based NFT auction platform specialized in street art talked about the process of their startup, the challenges they have faced, and the current status of Japanese startup scene.

Blackbox was launched in December 2022 with one goal: to build an open and fair online platform to demystify the Japanese startup ecosystem.

We interviewed with Blackbox's first Japanese entrepreneur, Mr. Jun Iinuma, co-founder & CEO of alphaspace inc, who has been a leader in SaaS business for 15 years since the establishment of salesforce Japan and co-founded Cogent Labs Inc. He then co-founded alphaspace inc. We asked him about his vision of solving social issues through XR creations and his thoughts on the future of startups in Japan.

Wei Chai, who was born in China and studied in England, France, and Japan before starting a startup to promote local charms in Japan, talked about his path, challenges, and findings.

Bilal Kharouni could have been a professional kickboxer or a screen writer but instead he lives in Tokyo and works as co-founder of wellbeing startup ekei labs. Bilal tells us how he ended up founding a startup, what he has found out along the way, and about life in Japan in general.