Looking back at Connect & Experience – Tokyo, Japan

Words by Nataliya Nikolova

The Connect & Experience – Tokyo, Japan programme is a pioneering initiative of the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union. Curated by EIT Global Outreach, which works to expand the EIT presence around the globe, the programme aims to empower innovators and entrepreneurs to develop world-class solutions to global societal challenges. 

PC: Simon Bonny

At Creative UK, coordinator of ICE UK, the work we deliver spans the spheres of innovation, industry and investment for the Cultural and Creative Industries, so attending the Connect & Experience programme in Tokyo was an exceptional opportunity to forge new international connections and strengthen the UK’s standing on the world stage. 

The programme started with cultural immersion which saw Creative UK and 20 other participating international organisations exploring Tokyo Skytree and Asakusa, Tokyo Tower and Zojyo-ji, and Meiji Jingu and Shibuya before diving into one of the world’s most dynamic innovation ecosystems over the next four days. Tokyo is the leading tech and start-up hub in Japan, 3rd in East Asia and in the top 10 globally. Japan is the 3rd largest economy with an education system ranked 4th in the world. The country’s start-up market is growing and in 2022, the government decided to support this momentum through a 5-year start-up plan setting aside a budget of 1 trillion yen (approx. £5 billion).

PC: Simon Bonny

Much of this activity is concentrated in Tokyo and so the packed agenda provided a comprehensive understanding of the key players and stakeholders driving innovation in the city, starting with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and their ambitious 10 x 10 x 10 Innovation Vision to increase the amount of funding, as well as the number of start-ups and global unicorns (with a value of over $1 billion (approx. £0.89 billion)) by 2027. In line with this 3D Vision, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government provide co-working, meeting and event space to start-ups at the impressive Tokyo Innovation Base (TiB) which also hosts SusHiTech Tokyo, Asia’s largest start-up conference every year. But it’s not just about the capital: an hour on the bullet train from Tokyo Station, Gunma’s Governor’s Office too has its very own NETSUGEN co-working space for Gunma-based start-ups wishing to develop in this charming, car-friendly area of Greater Tokyo which sees the lowest incidence of earthquakes in all of Japan.

The European delegation also visited Shibuya Startup Support (SSS) which, as the name suggests, supports some of the 2,000 (out of 8,000) start-ups in Tokyo that are based in the major commercial and finance centre of Shibuya. At SSS, we had the chance to meet some of the founders who had come to Tokyo on a start-up visa and gained further insights into the government’s role in supporting innovation at a session with the Japan Startup Association, Japan Venture Capital Association (JVCA) and Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).

PC: Simon Bonny

The next couple of days were dedicated to meetings with venture capital (VCs) funds – Japan Airlines, Energy & Environment Investment, Inc., Cool Japan Fund; and corporate venture capital (CVCs) funds – Mitsubishi Chemicals, Honda Xcelerator, Hitachi, Panasonic, Toshiba, Google Cloud, Yamaha Music and ‘sogo shosha’ companies such as Mitsui & Co. and Marubeni, who are major Japanese holding companies that trade in a variety of products and materials. These VCs and CVCs broadly invest in digital, mobility and green solutions, for example, age-tech (to address Japan’s depopulation), climate tech, aerospace, Web3, and AI.

One of our last visits was to Shizenkan University where the group rounded up insights into the ‘sleeping giant’ of Japan and the role of education – and meditation, which is a course on their MBA programme in Design and Leadership for Societal Innovation – in building the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders. The immersion bootcamp culminated in a networking evening at SivanS Lab in Shibuya where more than 130 attendees were greeted by H.E Jean-Eric Paquet, EU Ambassador to Japan, and event partners EIT Global Outreach and EIT Manufacturing. Attendees enjoyed light snacks and drinks while they engaged with existing connections to deepen ties, struck up conversations to forge new bridges of innovation and digested insights from the mission.

PC: Simon Bonny

Creative UK’s delegate to the Connect & Experience programme, Nataliya Nikolova, noted: “It has always been a dream of mine to visit Tokyo, but to have had the opportunity to come to this part of the world in my role as UK Administration & Partnerships Manager, EIT Culture & Creativity is nothing short of incredible. Huge thank you to Ido Rosenblum, Adina Beer and Eva Somodi from the EIT Global Outreach team, and Ryo Tokoshima, Atsushi Tsukiyama, Madoka Uchikoshi, Takuji Futamura and Zvi Hauser from Deloitte Tohmatsu Venture Support (DTVS), for the tireless organisation of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to forge meaningful new connections and collaborations between the UK, the rest of Europe and Japan. I have enjoyed experiencing first-hand Japanese culture where tradition meets modernity, and where punctuality and trust are at the core of business relations.

“Founders know that things take time here: on average, it may take a year and a half to two years to land a deal in Japan. But with every region looking to attract start-ups and scale-ups, such as Gunma who are planning construction on the former Tsutsumigaoka Airfield site in Takasaki City with green, creative and digital at its core, there’s probably never been a better time for foreign founders to come to Japan to start a company or expand their business to the Japanese market.

“From my perspective, I also wanted to give a shout-out to the following creative businesses and start-ups we met along the way: Heralbony furniture design by disabled artists; Tomokimono upcycling of kimonos for everyday use, who are looking to expand from Japan into Europe; 8hammer media production based in Gunma, Greater Tokyo; Konbasoft, a learning platform for learning Japanese through visual storytelling; Lunson Consulting, innovation in the film industry; DeStudios Inc. content conglomerate, in particular movies; SivanS Lab creative agency; and last but definitely not least, Yamaha Music – as well as investors Cool Japan Fund and Faith Future Fund, Inc..

“If you’re a creative company, SME or start-up looking to do business in Japan, regardless of whether you’re a Creative UK member or perhaps not, do get in touch to see how we can help.” 

Inspired by what you’ve read? 

Now that the UK is back in Horizon Europe, the Connect & Experience series of EIT Global Outreach is open to senior leaders from technology transfer offices, accelerators, innovation agencies, research centres, labs, incubators and other business creation activities from academia or industry. 

There’s still time to apply to the Connect & Experience Programme – UK and – Silicon Valley!