Tag - startups

 
 

STARTUPS

Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 11, 2020
Founder of software company who turned down SoftBank joins ranks of Japan’s billionaires
Masayoshi Son had offered to buy Shunji Sugaya's business idea for $2.8 million.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2020
SoftBank creates $100 million fund to back companies led by people of color
The effort stems from U.S. and international disgust with the death of George Floyd, who died after a white Minneapolis cop knelt on his neck for over eight minutes.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 1, 2020
E-ticketing platform Zaiko's livestream success sees unwelcome imitators
The ticketing company pivoted to livestreaming events when the coronavirus struck, a move that may change how we experience music in Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Food Sustainability in Japan
Apr 11, 2020
To meat, or not to meat: The future of Japanese cellular agriculture
Would you notice if the cubed meat in your cup noodle wasn’t “real” meat? If you did, would you care? What if the future of our meat supply counted on it?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 12, 2020
Augmented reality startup Magic Leap to explore a sale
Magic Leap Inc., the startup that raised more than $2 billion to build an augmented reality device, is exploring options including a sale, according to people familiar with the matter.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2020
In Fukushima, a 'village' aims to lure young people back to disaster-hit town
In a deserted part of Fukushima Prefecture dotted with vacant lots, a sleek modern building stands out. In a workshop inside, a woman with a ponytail wearing purple protective eyeglasses carefully melts a tiny glass tube into the shape of a plum blossom.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 18, 2020
Masayoshi Son's big real estate venture with Oyo runs into real problems in Japan
Last March, months before the meltdown at WeWork, Masayoshi Son worked through the prospects for another one of his favorite portfolio companies — a startup from India called Oyo.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 13, 2020
SoftBank's Masayoshi Son considers new type of fund for startup investing
SoftBank Group Corp. founder Masayoshi Son said he is considering a new type of fund for startup investing, showing his determination to keep cutting deals after missteps with WeWork and several other companies.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 4, 2020
AI startup digs up business opportunity in aging water pipes in Japan and elsewhere
When a fifth of the people living in the city of Wakayama faced a three-day water stoppage last month to fix a 60-year-old pipe network, they rushed to get ready, only to learn that the repairs could be made without a shutdown.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 5, 2020
Robot-maker ZMP targets tractors, taxis and carts for elderly
Robot-maker ZMP Inc. is aiming to launch the first commercial level 3 automated bus operation in Japan at an airport in 2020.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 9, 2019
SoftBank's new tech fund to fall shy of target, Telegraph reports
SoftBank Group Corp. has scaled back ambitions for its second Vision Fund after the failure of big bets, including WeWork, by its first fund rattled partners such as Saudi Arabia, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 7, 2019
Japanese government may offer companies 25% tax break on investment in startups
The government and ruling coalition plan to allow companies to deduct 25 percent of the amount they invest in startups from their taxable income, informed sources said Friday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 6, 2019
Defying local skepticism and 'Tokyo first' mentality, Science Park thrives in rural Yamagata
When Keio University professor Masaru Tomita accepted an offer in 2000 to head a new science lab in the city of Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture, his fellow researchers — shocked at what they evidently considered his relegation to the countryside — warned him that his career was done for.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan