Last month I spoke on a panel about the future of climate tech.

I was joined by Emi Naganuma, the founder and General Partner of Apprecia Capital and Richard Youngman, the CEO Cleantech Group, with Michael Matsumura of Scrum Ventures moderating.

Right now is both a challenging and an exciting time for climate tech innovatoin.

It's a fascinating discussion, and I think you'll enjoy it.

For the last 150 years, Japan has made a science of borrowing the best ideas from the West and transforming them into her own.

The startup world is no exception. Japanese startup culture is heavily shaped by foreign influence, but not in the traditional top down way where leadership chooses which changes are introduced.  Japan's startup ecosystem is being shaped by bottom-up experimentation by both Japanese and foreign founders on the ground here in Japan.

Today we talk with Sandeep Casi, an entrepreneur and Partner at Antler. We talk about the challenges foreign founders still face in Japan and how they are changing Japanese entrepreneurship for the better.

It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

Progress is not only slower in Japan, it is often different.

Looking at the numbers, it's clear that venture capital is even more male-dominated in Japan than it is in the West. Our guest today explains not only how that's changing, but how she's changing it.

Sophie Meralli is a Partner at Shizen Capital and co-founder of Tokyo Women in VC. We sit down and dive deep into the keys to developing a creative, global mindset among Japanese founders and VCs, the role immigrants have to play in developing Japan's startup culture, and what really works in changing, not only minds, but actions related to the role of women in startups and venture capital.

It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

American startups dominate this innovation cycle not as a result of startup innovation, but of enterprise innovation.

Today we sit down with Dai Watanabe and dive into the dynamics of industry disruption and startup innovation. For the last 25 years Dai has held leadership roles at the center of Japan's major innovation trends. From the glory days of Japan's mobile internet, to the utter disruption unleashed by the iPhone, to today's doubling down on startup innovation.

We talk about what's in store for the future of Japanese startups, and why opportunities in innovation are never quite what they seem at first.

It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

Fifteen years ago, University-run venture funds were all illegal here in Japan, but today a higher percentage of major Japanese universities have VC funds than in the US or Europe.

Today we sit down with Kei Furukawa, a partner at the University of Tokyo IPC, a $300M venture fund, and we talk about the unique role these funds play in Japan, how they drive innovation in rural areas, and why he has to talk professors out of becoming startup CEOs.

It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

Today we are going to sit down with an old friend.

It was over seven years ago when I first had Tim Rowe on the podcast and we mapped out what we saw as the future of startup innovation in Japan. In today's short episode, we talk about what we got right. what surprised us, and what we think is next for Japanese startup innovation. 

It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

Today we are going to break down some startup stereotypes. 

I sit down with Kunio Hara, co-founder and CEO of Beatrust and break apart the stereotypes of the uncreative Japanese enterprise and the young startup founder, and Kunio explains how Beatrust is already teaching old dogs new tricks.

It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

While American AI startups are dominating the headlines, one Japanese company has begun rolling out "AI employees" to famously cautious  Japanese enterprise customers. 

Today we talk with Shota Nakagawa the CEO of Caster and discuss their model of human-AI collaboration, why Japan is positioned to lead real-world AI deployment, and the big steps needed for Japan to catch up with the West. 

It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

Welcome to Disrupting Japan. Straight talk from Japan’s most innovative founders and VCs.
I’m Tim Romero, and thanks for joining me.
There is so much happening in Japan right now.
Startups and innovation are beginning to reshape Japan with the same dynamism we saw during the post-war boom or the Meji-era re-opening.
And I’ve been in the middle of this for a long time. I’m now a partner a JERA Ventures, but over the over 30 years that I’ve lived in Japan, I’ve started four startups here, worked at TEPCO Ventures, ran Google for Startups Japan, and, of course, I’ve been running the Disrupting Japan podcast for more than 10 years.
Every episode, I sit down with friends, VCs, founders, and leaders who are shaping Japan’s startup ecosystem to give you an inside look at what’s really happening here in Japan.
So, please subscribe and join me on this journey.
I’m Tim Romero, and thanks for listening to Disrupting Japan.

Japanese business loves paper.

From fax machines, to business cards, to massive project binders. Paper processes are slow to die in Japan, especially in industrial facilities.  

Today we talk with Jumpei Yoshida of Kaminashi who explains why that's finally changing and how foreign workers are driving the transformation. 

It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

Most outside of the energy industry are (pleasantly) surprised to learn how aggressively startups and CVCs are pushing decarbonization forward. 

Decarbonization is a fascinating and incredibly important issue, so please join me on this short but special episode. 

It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

Japan is lagging behind in AI, but that might not be the case for long.

Today we sit down with Jad Tarifi, current founder of Integral AI and previously, founder of Google’s first Generative AI team, and we talk about some of Japan's potential advantages in AI, the most likely path to AGI, and how small AI startups can compete against the over-funded AI giants.

It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

While the rest of the world is copying Silicon Valley, Tokyo is looking at Paris.

Today we sit down with Mark Bivens and Matt Romaine, the co-founders of Shizen Capital to talk about Japan's new startup policies, the changing role of M&A, the main force behind the changing attitudes about startups in Japan.

It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

Today, we are going to talk about AI, but not in the way you expect.

Today, I’m going to give creatives a solid three-point plan to beat AI in the marketplace. I’m going to explain how musicians, podcasters, authors and other artists can survive and even thrive amidst the unstoppable flood of AI generated slop we will all be forced to wade though for the foreseeable future,  And to maybe do some good in the process.

It’s taken me over a year to write the script for this episode, and like so many of my solo episodes, I originally planned on it being very different from how it turned out. But sometimes the scripts takes on a life of its own, and I have to follow it to what always ends up being a far more interesting place.

The Japanese government is taking a very hands-on approach to funding startups.

Yuka Hata, Senior Managing Director of the Japan Investment Corporation (JIC) explains the kinds of startups and funds they invest in, and why.

We also talk about the two  biggest challenges new Japanese VCs face, and what it’s really like for women in VC in Japan

It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

We live in a global financial system, but the fintech innovation is surprisingly local.

Makoto Shibata, the head of FinoLab, has been leading financial innovation Japan for over 20 years, long before the term fintech existed. We talk about the evolution of Japan's fintech landscape, and which fintech sectors are facing consolidation and which are facing growth.

And we also explore Japan's rapid transition from a cash-based society to a cashless one and the startup opportunities that opens up.

It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

Disrupting Japan is 10 years old today!

This is a simple thank you rather than a full episode.

Thanks for listening!

 



 
Transcript
Welcome to Disrupting Japan, Straight Talk from Japan's most innovative founders and VCs.
I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me.
This is a very short and very special episode. It's not an episode really, more of a personal message.
You see, ten years ago today. I released the very first episode of Disrupting Japan.
And I just wanted to say thank you.
I really mean that. Independent podcasting is an incredibly personal medium and it depends on there being a real connection between the host, and the guests, and the listeners.  Commercial talk shows spend a fortune creating the illusion of that connection.
And being in the center of that in real life is an honor and it’s amazing.
It’s become a cliche when the host thanks their audience and reminds them that the show would not be possible without them, but it’s different at Disrupting Japan. You really do create a big part of the show’s value.  Let me explain.
It’s not about download numbers or affiliate link-clicks. I don’t sell anything and my guests aren’t selling anything on Disrupting Japan, so those metrics don’t matter much to me. However, my guests often comment on the surprisingly high quality of inbound contracts they receive  after appearing on the show. These connections have resulted in a lot of new hires, and a handful of investments have been made as well.
That community, the engagement and overall quality of the listeners is a big part of the show’s value. In fact, over the years, four Japanese startup founders have told me that listening to our guests’ tell their stories on Disrupting Japan gave them the confidence to start their own startup, and that’s pretty awesome.
So, thank you!
Ten years ago I never imagined how big Disrupting Japan would become. Honestly, it kind of freaks me out sometimes. But here we are. Ten years and well over 200 episodes later, and we have over 9,000 listers in more than 150 countries around the world — including one listener from Vatican City.
Now, I have no way of knowing for sure exactly who that listener is.  I mean, it could be anybody. But I like to think of it as a testament to the influential nature of Disrupting Japan’s listeners.
Building Disrupting Japan is an honor and a joy. I love putting the show together, and despite having a fairly demanding day job, I always make sure Disrupting Japan is released on schedule and is a quality show that woth the time you put into listening to it.
The show takes up a lot of weekends and evenings. I’ve done pre-interview research while in the hospital for a minor surgery. I’ve done post production editing in so many different airport lounges, and twice I’ve made a little pillow-fort in my hotel room so I would have decent acoustics to record the intro and outtro.
So, whether you are a new lister or have been a part of Disrupting Japan ever since episode 1 was released 10 years ago, thank you for taking this journey with me. Startup innovation is really starting to flourish in Japan, and we have exciting times ahead.
And most of all, thanks for listening and thank you for letting people interested in Japanese startups and VCs know about the show.
I'm Tim Romero and thanks for listening to Disrupting Japan.

SaaS startup valuations and growth rates have dropped sharply in most of the world, but not in Japan.

SaaS startups are growing fast in Japan, and that trend is set to accelerate even more over the next five years.

Today Shinji Asada of One Capital explains Japan's still-untapped SaaS potential, his unique SMB and product-focused investment thesis, and the big changes that are happening in Japan's startup ecosystem.

It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

If you have ever wondered what it really takes to start and grow a startup as a foreigner in Japan. Well, I have a treat for you today.

Earlier this year, at the Japan FinTech Festival, I had the privilege of sitting down with four fantastic foreign FinTech founders and talking about what you need to succeed in Japan.

There are some great insights here from Jeff Wentworth of Curvegrid, Paul Chapman of Moneytree, Sam Pemberton-Ahmed of SmartPay, and Samantha Ghiotti of Habitto.

It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

Japan has far fewer unicorns than one might expect - or than venture capitalists desire.

That fact, however, hides a fascinating story.

Today James Riney, founding partner of Coral Capital explains the danger of unicorn counting.

We dive deep into which startup sectors Japan is likely to lead in globally in the coming decade, how to identify unique startup value in Japan.

We also talk about how Japan has become more like Silicon Valley in the past ten years and why they are about to become very different.

It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.