At the IVS2026 session "Government as a Catalyst: Building Next-Generation Industries Through Public Demand"—held under the event’s banner theme of "Japan’s Back"—industry leaders and policymakers gathered to outline a radical paradigm shift in Japan’s industrial and startup strategy. The panel brought together a prominent lineup of speakers: Hiroshi Ishikawa, Director, Innovation and New Business Promotion Division, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Kazuhiko Chu

In an era where frontier artificial intelligence models and cloud architectures are no longer just drivers of corporate efficiency but critical instruments of national security, Japan is executing a quiet but ambitious revolution. At the recent IVS2026 panel titled "Domestic Cloud and AI as National Infrastructure — Sovereign Digital Foundations and Startups," key leaders from Japan’s public sector, infrastructure giants, and deep-tech startups converged to outline the nation

Japan’s startup-finance market is broadening beyond traditional venture equity, but significant gaps remain between late-stage private funding, IPOs, and sustained growth as a listed company. At the IVS2026 panel, "Rethinking the New Standard of Startup Finance," industry pioneers representing commercial banking, private placements, corporate investment, and public asset management convened to dissect the structural issues hindering Japan's startup ecosystem and map out a mor

Japan possesses some of the most advanced scientific research in the world, yet it has historically struggled to translate this academic brilliance into globally dominant biotechnology giants. To understand this paradox and explore the winds of change sweeping the sector, a high-profile panel of industry leaders recently convened to discuss Japan's growth strategies. The discussion featured Jun Hashimoto, Partner at venture capital firm AN Venture Partners; Mr. Shino from the

The "leapfrog" growth model has matured into a definitive economic mechanism, allowing emerging markets to bypass legacy Western structures in favor of decentralized energy, digital consumption, and social-trust finance. As traditional global systems face stagnation, India and Africa have emerged as the primary frontiers for this structural reconfiguration. By integrating real-time digital rails with a massive, youth-led demographic shift, these regions are no longer merely c