Tag - entrepreneurs

 
 

ENTREPRENEURS

Tech entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist Masayoshi Son made his fortune by becoming a bridge between California's technology culture and Japan.
COMMENTARY
Oct 31, 2024
Masayoshi Son may be the oddest of the oddball billionaires
Masayoshi Son made his fortune by becoming a bridge between Californian tech culture and Japan.
Capsule hotels were created as a way to deal with the amount of overwork employees tend to do in Japan. Can't commute home? Then spend the night in an tiny, affordable sleeping space.
BUSINESS / Tech / Longform
Oct 12, 2024
Japan wakes up to the market for a proper sleep
After years of sleep deficits and drowsy mornings, a growing number of products and services are being developed to help us rest easier.
Entrepreneurs who participated in the Beyond Japan Zero to X program last year share their experiences in the United States during a meeting in May in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 23, 2024
Japanese startups advised to internationalize to get some global mojo
Occupying the No. 1 spot in the Japanese market affords many comforts, but global dominance is unlikely to be one of them.
Several support networks have launched to help startup founders in Japan whose native language isn't Japanese.
BUSINESS / Companies / Longform
Jul 8, 2024
As Japan's startup ecosystem grows, so does a supportive community of entrepreneurs
Interest in startups is outpacing ecosystem capabilities, which has led more founders to turn to each other for guidance and support.
Fawn Weaver's book “Love and Whiskey,” out this month, is an engrossing narrative tracking the author's discovery of the truth behind one of the most popular whiskey brands in the world.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 30, 2024
‘Love and Whiskey’: A tale of how an obsession delivered a woman from grief
Through Fawn Weaver’s efforts, bracketed within a personal tragedy, the true story of how Jack Daniel learned how to make whiskey from a Black slave comes to life.
Health minister Keizo Takemi speaks to reporters in Tokyo in March.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 27, 2024
Panel sets out investment vision for Japan's health care startups
Since 2019, the number of health care startups established each year in Japan has declined to around 50.
Balaji Srinivasan addresses the Singapore Fintech Festival in November 2022. A techno-libertarian, Srinivasan, who made his name as an anti-government crusader, tried to attach himself to the U.S. government when he was under consideration for a position in the Donald Trump administration.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 19, 2024
How techno-libertarians fell in love with big government
When faced with the prospect of the government becoming a major client for Silicon Valley techno-libertarians, once-principled opposition to state power dissipates.
Tokyo has proved to be an attractive destination for Chinese entrepreneurs in recent times, away from the challenges hitting the economy at home.
BUSINESS
Jun 16, 2024
Chinese entrepreneurs bet on Japan
A Chinese-language MBA program has been catering to those seeking opportunities in Tokyo.
Startup Genome officials speak to representatives from startups that will participate in the Global Hypergrowth Tokyo program during its kickoff event last week in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 3, 2024
New mentoring program aims to help later-stage Japan startups go overseas
While many acceleration programs target young startups, the new initiative focuses on later-stage firms that already have a certain degree of experience.
Workers collect recyclable garbage including plastic bottles on World Environment Day in Tokyo in June 2020.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 6, 2023
New solutions tackle Japan’s waste problem at its core
Issues like the plastics and climate crises seem insurmountable — until we apply "systemic design," as several Japanese initiatives are showing.
Yasuhide Uno, Usen-Next Holdings CEO, has transformed his father’s company into Netflix’s biggest competitor in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 28, 2023
Reluctant CEO becomes billionaire at Netflix rival in Japan
Initially wanting nothing to do with his father's cable music company, Yasuhide Uno's faith in video streaming helped him rebuild it for a new era.
Sam Altman, then the chief executive of OpenAI, in Redmond, Washington, in February
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 19, 2023
The perpetual rise of Sam Altman takes an unexpected turn
The former OpenAI CEO was the face of an AI-fueled future. He was the most Silicon Valley person alive. Then, on Friday, he was fired.
Currently, if foreign nationals hope to obtain a residence status enabling them to start a business, they must secure a place of business and have two or more full-time employees or a capital fund of at least ¥5 million ($33,000).
JAPAN
Oct 30, 2023
Japan mulls eased residency requirements for foreign entrepreneurs
Foreign nationals may be allowed to stay for two years if they have certified business plans and even if they do not have a place of business or capital.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 21, 2023
SoftBank’s Son goes back on offense to cement his tech legacy
The billionaire is ending years of relative dormancy after his Vision Fund, the world’s largest pool of tech capital, racked up billions of dollars of losses.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
May 31, 2023
Chinese tech business owners seek residency abroad as U.S. tensions soar
Dismayed by U.S.-China trade spats and restrictions on a growing number of Chinese companies, ambitious Chinese technology entrepreneurs are taking more drastic steps to expand into the U.S.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 1, 2023
Alibaba founder Jack Ma joins University of Tokyo as professor
As a visiting professor, he will provide advice on research topics and conduct research, especially in sustainable agriculture, as well as give seminars about entrepreneurship.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 25, 2023
Low-cost airline kingpin prepares for life after AirAsia
Tony Fernandes, the larger-than-life character credited with revolutionizing budget air travel in Asia, plans to focus more on areas such as health, education and private equity.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2023
Ukraine's tech entrepreneurs fight war on a different front
Military innovation in Ukraine's once-thriving technology sector has bolstered the country's out-manned and out-gunned armed forces.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 25, 2022
Tokyo aims to be 'most startup-friendly' city with new support for firms
The capital, which is aiming for a tenfold increase in 'unicorns' over five years, plans to create a hub for young firms and increase its procurement from such companies.

Longform

Visitors to Kyoto walk along a street near Kiyomizu Temple in April. A popular tourist spot, Kyoto has seen what locals feel to be an overwhelming amount of tourists in 2024.
Is Japan ready for 60 million tourists?