October, November & December 2020
Japan’s startup news
The quarterly collection of Japan’s startup news, below, provides you with a simple single-page source for Q4 2020’s startup news headlines from Japan, as reported online in October, November and December of 2020, drawn from Startup News Asia’s monthly Japan startup news coverage and our daily startup news feeds.
Japan startup news headlines listed here are, just like our monthly summaries, hyperlinked to the online articles behind each Japan startup news headline – no middle-man platforms getting in the way, no misattribution or misappropriation of ownership or authorship – which provides Japan’s tech startup enthusiasts with instant, one-click access to the news platforms and journalists responsible for each tech news item featured.
October 2020 | November 2020 | December 2020
December 2020
- ‘FinTech Program, Asia meets Tokyo’ now accepting applications from overseas startups, providing mentoring and connections with Japanese firms
- An overview of the country’s opportunities in 5G in light of growing global restrictions on Huawei
- Indiegogo to expand Global Fast Track Program to aid Japanese entrepreneurs run successful overseas-focused crowdfunding campaigns
- An intro to 3 of the country’s artificial intelligence and machine learning startups
- A brief look at Toyota’s e-Palette, driverless, battery-powered vehicle with space for 20 passengers, originally intended to be showcased at the Olympics
- Japan’s SmartDrive fleet management startup partners Nippon Koei construction consultancy for traffic congestion relief project in Indonesia
- A brief interview intro to Mihoko Matsubara, Chief Cybersecurity Strategist with NTT Corporation, via GovInsider
November 2020
- Gov’t may bar Chinese firms from supplying drones over national security concerns around technology, supply chains, cybersecurity and intellectual property
- A brief 2-page collection of recent technology and startup headlines from Japan, linked for online reading and QR coded for offline reading from print
- 30+ major firms including 3 banks, telcos and brokerages to begin experimenting towards issuing a digital yen via common settlement platform
- An overview of the ecosystem, opportunities and startup support available in Kobe, UNESCO City of Design
- Japan Fair Trade Commission finds large companies often make unreasonable demands of startups they invest in, including free access to intellectual property
- An overview of Kobe’s startup ecosystem support now that the city has been set as a Global Startup Hub City by the Japanese government
- A look at the digital transformation elements in focus under the Suga administration
- Japan’s trading house Itochu launches online bespoke clothing system with China’s Tozi, providing clothing production using photos and AI-driven 3D imaging
October 2020
- Japan’s Dream Drive takes top prize at travel-focused WiT Startup Pitch event in Singapore with ‘luxury hotel on wheels’ camper van concept
- Japan’s DAIZ joins Thailand’s Let’s Plant Meat in receiving Asia’s Plant Protein Award based on soy-based meat alternative ingredient
- Thailand: Japan’s Line looks to Line Man food delivery business for financial edge following merge with Wongnai restaurant listings site, adding to Line’s 47M Thai users
- Andpad secures $18.8M with cloud-based schedule, blueprint and work sharing app for construction workers, supervisors and clients
- At least 18 prefectures hit by extortion attempts demanding bitcoin
- Get In The Ring Osaka 2020 AI edition applications now open – finals to be held online December 3rd
- A brief round-up of recent tech startup headlines, linked from PDF to each online news article and QR coded for offline-to-online reading
- LINE Corporation, best known for its messaging app, to launch blockchain platform allowing central banks to develop digital currencies
- Pro footballer launches his own KSK Honda Coin cryptocurrency to boost fan engagement, in partnership with Rally blockchain platform
- Genesia Ventures closes $75M fund to invest in early-stage Japanese and SE Asian startups
- Japan’s Paronym closes $6.5M round to expand interactive video solutions in Thailand, with tech allowing users to tag and add info to video
- Cambodia: The white paper produced by Japan’s Soramitsu, outlining Project Bakong, the central bank digital currency launched by the National Bank of Cambodia
- Japan’s SBI Group and Switzerland’s Sygnum Group establish early-stage fund for digital asset opportunities in SEA and Europe
- ICYMI: Cybersecurity-focused Memorandum of Cooperation signed between India and Japan
- India’s Tata Consultancy Services IT services major partners University of Tokyo for research, collaboration, talent exchange, innovation and startup engagement
- Japan’s Line integrates banking services into messaging app, launching in Thailand as first market
- Australia, Japan, India and the US set to agree to jointly counter disinformation campaigns by authoritarian states and to secure critical tech supplies and minerals
Asia’s tech news, today
All-day technology news looking at 17 primary locations in South & Southeast Asia, Australia & New Zealand:
• news on LinkedIn / connect on LinkedIn
• Social media: on Facebook / on Twitter
