In recent years, Japan has significantly stepped up its support for start-ups and is striving to make the most of its technological and research potential. A newly published analysis, ‘Startup Ecosystem in Japan’, by the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation suggests that Japanese early-stage technologies in particular represent an interesting opportunity for European investors, start-ups and entrepreneurs.
The Japanese government began systematically developing the start-up ecosystem primarily following the adoption of the five-year “Start-up Development Plan” in 2022. Nevertheless, according to the authors, there remains scope for further development, particularly in the commercialisation of research and deep-tech technologies. Promising areas include, for example, robotics, advanced materials, clean technologies, regenerative medicine, space technologies and fusion energy.
Japan currently has approximately 25,000 start-ups and more than 5,000 university spin-offs; Tokyo ranks among the world’s twelve highest-rated start-up ecosystems, whilst Japan has also secured third place globally in terms of the number of patent applications.
Opportunities are also opening up for Czech start-ups. CzechInvest has long been helping Czech technology companies to establish contacts within the Japanese ecosystem and, in 2026, for example, it prepared a Czech delegation for one of the country’s most significant start-up events, SusHi Tech Tokyo.
“Japan has an exceptionally strong technological and research base, whilst at the same time becoming increasingly open to international cooperation. For Czech start-ups, it is attractive not only as a large and technologically advanced market, but also as a place where they can seek strategic partners, investors or opportunities for joint development,” says Jakub Hájek, director of CzechInvest’s foreign office in Japan.
photo source: Adobestock
