On December 5th, StartNL Japan hosted its inaugural reception at the residence of the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Tokyo, to reflect on key economic developments and explore opportunities for startups and scale-ups in the year ahead. This event marked the conclusion of a remarkable year, which saw the StartNL Japan network grow significantly following its launch in May. The reception brought together Dutch startups, Japanese companies, mentors, investors, and support organizations that are part of the StartNL network to foster connections and discuss future opportunities.
Tokyo’s rise to #10
The discussion explored Tokyo’s rise from 15th to 10th place in the Global Startup
Ecosystem ranking, featuring presentations and a panel with PhD Rodrigo González (Economist Intelligence Unit), Mr. Yamashiro (Tokyo Metropolitan Government TMG), and Mrs. Sonoko Takahashi (Innovation Advisor to StartNL Japan at the Dutch Embassy).
Mr. González highlighted several macroeconomic factors driving the attraction of Japan among startups, including the low yen-to-USD exchange rate and the growing emphasis on “friendshoring”.
TMG aims to attract more startups, inspired by the national strategy to ignite a new startup boom, to foster innovation, and to address societal challenges. Mr Yamashiro explained that this effort is being pursued through two key initiatives. The Tokyo Innovation Base (TiB), which connects startups with government entities, accelerators, universities, and investors to support them, foster innovation, and enhance collaboration. The second initiative is the annual Sustainable High City Tech Tokyo conference (SusHi Tech), which attracted over 434 startups this year, 60% of which were from outside Japan. Additionally, TMG supports startups through streamlined visa programs, subsidies, free temporary office space, business matching services, tax incentives, and administrative assistance for registration and compliance.
StartNL Japan looks forward to growing its network and supporting more Dutch startups and scale-ups in establishing themselves in Japan. That will be done in 2025 during a.o. visits from Dutch startups to the World Expo in Osaka. Sectors will include high-tech, digitalization, energy transition, agrifood and life sciences.