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July 04, 2026
 

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STARTUPS

Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, is known for its traditional townscape, including shrines and stone-paved streets, but turning this heritage into a stronger draw for tourists had long been a challenge.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 10, 2026
Financial support program for community-focused startups draws growing interest
The continuation rate for supported projects is high, and the program has received positive reviews from communities for providing tangible benefits.
Japanese firm Terra Drone ⁠said in March that it had invested an ⁠undisclosed sum in Ukrainian interceptor-drone producer Amazing ​Drones.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2026
Russia says it has summoned Japanese ambassador over Ukrainian drones
A Japanese company, Terra Drone, ⁠said it had invested an ⁠undisclosed sum in Ukrainian interceptor-drone producer Amazing ​Drones.
Gwanghwamun Square, the venue of BTS’ comeback concert, in Seoul on March 21. Seoul-based startup Galaxy is trying to disrupt K-pop’s traditional idol system — a model built on years of recruiting, training and managing human performers.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 8, 2026
AI K-Pop startup Galaxy aims for IPO in Seoul and New York
The goal of the company, which is preparing for what could be the first overseas listing by a K-pop agency, is to create content without the constraint of human performers.
SmartHR is working on a potential listing in Tokyo with a market capitalization target of about ¥160 billion, sources said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 6, 2026
KKR-backed SmartHR said to be mulling Tokyo IPO later this year
The Japanese human resources platform operator is among the country’s few unicorns, or unlisted startups that have been valued at more than $1 billion.
Japanese companies including Mitsubishi, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and Toyota Ventures invested in a $147 million Africa-focused venture fund, highlighting rising interest in African startups.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 31, 2026
Japanese investors back new VC fund targeting African startups
The backing by large firms underscores the growing interest from the nation in African companies as they contend with a shrinking market and relatively low interest rates at home.
A model of lunar lander "Resilience," operated by ispace, is displayed at a venue where ispace employees monitored the company's attempt to land on the moon, in Tokyo, on June 6.
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2026
Japan’s Ispace delays NASA-sponsored moon landing to 2030
The announcement highlights a murky outlook for the venture, as the U.S. revamps missions with commercial and international partners to send ​astronauts to the moon before China.
A photo provided by the U.S. Central Command shows LUCAS drones, made by SpektreWorks. After years of criticism and financial risk, Palantir, Anthropic and small startups are generating rewards from their investments in defense tech.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 26, 2026
Tech startups’ role in U.S.-Israeli war on Iran shows changing shape of conflict
For the first time, military-industrial pillars like Lockheed Martin and Boeing are being joined by rising technology giants Palantir, Anthropic and Anduril.
Tim Rowe, the founder and executive chair of Cambridge Innovation Center, at CIC Tokyo on March 6.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 25, 2026
Global startup hub chief calls for more government support from Japan
The founder of Cambridge Innovation Center said boosted policy support is key to reach the country’s goal of ¥10 trillion a year in investments by 2027.
Brian Yun, co-founder and CEO of Woodstock, at the company's headquarters in Tokyo. According to the company, 62% of its users are under the age of 40, and 56% have no prior investing experience.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 16, 2026
Tokyo startup betting free trades and small lots will draw young investors
Woodstock allows customers to trade U.S. stocks 24 hours a day.
While Tokyo is becoming a kind of test bed for the world’s leading robotaxi ventures, Japan is lagging when it comes to the regulatory framework needed for autonomous vehicles to gain traction.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 12, 2026
U.S. self-driving startup Nuro begins testing in Tokyo
While Tokyo is becoming a test bed for the world’s leading robotaxi ventures, Japan is lagging when it comes to regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles.
Integral AI, which has worked with Denso since 2021 to help teach industrial robots new skills, is holding discussions with other major Japanese companies to pitch them on how artificial intelligence can advance manufacturing processes.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 9, 2026
Former Google AI researcher sets up AI robotics startup in Tokyo
The startup is holding initial discussions with Toyota, Sony Group, Honda, Nissan and Mitsui Chemicals to pitch them on how AI can advance manufacturing processes.
Kairos No. 3 failed after lifting off from Spaceport Kii in Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, on Thursday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 5, 2026
Space One’s Kairos rocket terminated moments after launch
The decision puts another dent in the firm’s bid to be the first private Japanese company to place satellites in orbit with a domestically developed rocket.
People who came to watch the launch of Space One's Kairos rocket in Nachikatsuura, Wakayama Prefecture, on Wednesday
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2026
Space One cancels rocket launch after safety system activates
The Tokyo-based startup had already put off the launches scheduled for Feb. 25 and Sunday due to weather conditions.
Eams Robotics President Eiji Sotani speaks in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, in February.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 1, 2026
Fukushima company working to realize drone logistics
Eams Robotics, based in the Fukushima city of Minamisoma, produces and sells industrial drones.
Space One says it plans to launch the No. 3 unit of its Kairos small rocket between around 11 a.m. and 11:20 a.m. on Sunday.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2026
Japan’s Space One plans Sunday launch for Kairos No. 3 rocket
The rocket is set to lift off from the company’s Spaceport Kii launch site in the town of Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, between around 11 a.m. and 11:20 a.m.
Joichi Ito in Tokyo in 2016. Ito resigned in 2019 from a prominent position at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after revelations about his efforts to conceal millions of dollars he raised through connections to Jeffery Epstein.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2026
How a close associate of Epstein’s found career redemption in Japan
Joichi Ito resigned in 2019 from a prominent position at the MIT after revelations about his efforts to conceal millions of dollars he raised through connections to Epstein.
A team headed by Takashi Tsuji, a visiting senior researcher at Riken and chairperson of OrganTech, has identified a previously unknown “third cell” essential for fully regenerating hair follicles, on Feb. 10 in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 26, 2026
Japan-led cell discovery hints at potential new treatments for hair loss
Researchers identified a “third cell” essential for fully regenerating hair follicles, and successfully re-created the complete hair-growth cycle in mice.
Visitors listen during the Science and ICT Ministry's first national Self-Reliant AI Foundation Model presentation event at COEX, in Seoul on Dec. 30, 2025.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 25, 2026
Rebel startups challenge conglomerates in South Korea’s ‘AI squid game’
Nicknamed after Netflix’s dystopian survival show, the contest kicked off in January and is designed to have judges pick two of the best homegrown AI models.
Space One has delayed of the launch of the No. 3 unit of its Kairos small rocket carrying to March.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2026
Japan’s Space One delays Kairos rocket launch, citing weather analysis
The launch window for the unit, which will carry five satellites, runs until March 25.
Deputy Tokyo Gov. Manabu Miyasaka speaks during a SusHi Tech pre-event in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS
Feb 18, 2026
SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 set to be largest yet
Tokyo’s annual startup convention will be held from April 27 to 29, with the first two days reserved for businesses and the final day open to the public.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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