26
Jun
Japan venture capital: Hello world
The ambition coursing through Japanese venture capital is captured in the government’s start-up development plan. A 10x increase in investment is targeted for the five years through 2027, which will enable the creation of 100,000 start-ups and 100 unicorns. It is an increasingly international story as well, with incentives offered to overseas VCs that invest alongside local peers and Japanese start-ups moving quickly to establish global footprints. Investors foreign and domestic map out the future.
- Do start-ups need additional support, and if so, what form should it take?
- Incentives aside, what makes global VCs want to invest in Japan?
- Which segments of Japan’s technology sector are most suited to global expansion?
- What are the most likely exit routes for investors?
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SpeakersYuka Hata Senior Managing Director, Head of Fund Investments JAPAN INVESTMENT CORPORATION
Satoshi Fukushima Partner GLOBIS CAPITAL PARTNERS
Masashi Kataoka General Manager, Alternative Investment Department DAI-ICHI LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
Aya Tanaka Partner, Director, Asia ANDREESSEN HOROWITZ
Kiichiro DeLuca Head of Research WERU INVESTMENT
Yutaro Saka Partner JAFCO
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Yuka Hata is a Senior Managing Director and heads Fund Investment Team at Japan Investment Corporation (“JIC”).
Ms. Hata joined JIC in July 2020 in order to build and support Japan’ private equity / venture capital ecosystem as well as to provide the risk capital with the investment funds which bring Japan’s industry to the next stage. Prior to joining JIC, as a co-head of private equity, Ms. Hata worked for Nissay Asset Management where she was mainly responsible for European small-mid buyout, GP stake investments, secondary and Japan’s VC funds. She also worked for Nomura Asset Management (or Nomura Private Equity Capital) and managed fund of funds focused on Asia market as a member of Investment Committee.
Ms. Hata is a Chartered Member of the Security Analysts Association of Japan., and received a B.A. in Environmental Information from Keio University and an M.B.A. from Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales-HEC in Paris.
Satoshi Fukushima is Partner at Globis Capital Partners (GCP). He leads investments in problem-solving startups with a focus on healthcare and life-style sector as well as fund-raising of GCP 7th fund (JPY 73B). His track record includes Medley (4480) and acting as a board member of AI Medical Services (Endoscopy AI), Kakehashi (SaaS for pharmacies), SDP (Clinic group specializing in surgery), justInCase (Mobile&AI based insurance), White Plus (Online dry cleaning) and Yoriso (Online platform for seniors). Prior to joining GCP in 2014, he worked at Deutsche Securities Inc. where he was acting as FA for SoftBank and other tech-companies’ fundraising and cross-border M&A transactions. He received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Tokyo in 2007.
Masashi Kataoka is General Manager of Alternative Investment Department at Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company. Prior to his current role, he had led various teams since 2014; hedge fund investment, PE fund investment, infrastructure fund investment, venture fund and direct investment team. He worked 4 years until 2014 at Dai-ichi Life’s NY office and led the manager selection / due diligence practice as well as strategic activities with US asset managers. Since joining Dai-ichi Life in 1997, he has about 20-year-experience in investment related sections including Investment Planning Department where he engaged in the asset allocation of entire Dai-ichi Life’s general account asset. He also has an experience working at an US based hedge fund as a trainee in 2007. He earned Bachelor of Economics in Keio University.
Aya Tanaka focuses on expanding our network in APAC. In collaboration with our LPnetwork, Aya also drives our initiatives in fostering innovation within the region.Previously she worked at Blackstone Group and Wellington Management as a trustedinvestment advisor for some of the world largest institutional asset owners in the APAC.She received Sloan Fellow MBA degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technologyand Bachelor of Economics from Kobe University, Japan. She also holds the CharteredFinancial Analyst designation.
Kiichiro is a venture capitalist at WERU Investment, the oldest university affiliated venture capital firm in Japan. He leads investment research at the firm, covering a broad range of technology and industry domains. He serves on the board of multiple portfolio companies including LeoLabs and Confidencial, leading startups in the space and cybersecurity domains.
Prior to joining WERU Investment, Kiichiro led technology-focused business development efforts at startups in the US and Japan. He began his career as an aerospace engineer working on spacecraft development at NASA/JPL and industry. Kiichiro holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering with Highest Honors from Georgia Tech
Yutaro Saka joined JAFCO in 2012. His main investments include Money Forward, Chartwork, and WACUL. He was ranked No.2 in 2017 and No.9 in 2021 on the Forbes Japan's Midas List of most influential venture capital investors in Japan.
Other than investment operations, he has experience serving as CFO of a portfolio company and, as a member of the business development team, he has built the respective foundation of the current sales/marketing, HR, and back-office support operations. He has been Partner since June 2022.