Can Regional Universities Drive Innovation? Utsunomiya University Assoc Professor Yukio Kimura Reveals the Realities of Industry–Academia Collaboration and the Keys to Building Successful Innovation

Japan’s efforts to foster innovation increasingly depend on university spin-offs and industry–academia collaboration. The Japanese government has committed substantial funding to strengthen support mechanisms that help translate academic research into practical applications. However, while major research universities such as the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University have achieved measurable success, regional national universities continue to face persistent challenges in fostering startups and building innovation ecosystems. What structural obstacles are holding regional universities back? And what is needed to ensure that promising research outcomes do not remain confined to academia but instead generate sustainable businesses that deliver value to society?

To explore these questions, we interviewed Associate Professor Yukio Kimura of the Innovation Support Center at Utsunomiya University. Kimura brings a distinctive combination of experience spanning international business at a major Japanese manufacturer, a secondment to a U.S. startup, and the management of large-scale government-funded projects at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), one of Japan’s designated national research and development agencies. Drawing on his experience across the private sector, a national research institute, and a regional national university, Kimura offers valuable insights into the challenges of building innovation ecosystems outside Japan’s major metropolitan areas—and the strategies needed to overcome them.

The Center for Innovation Support, where Mr. Kimura is affiliated.

From the Private Sector to a National Research Institute and a Regional University: A Unique Career Shaping a Practitioner’s Perspective

Kimura’s career stands out among professionals involved in industry–academia collaboration in Japan. After graduating from Keio University in the late 1980s, he joined a watch manufacturer and trading company that is now part of the Seiko Group. During his early career, he gained extensive experience in domestic corporate sales, operations at overseas subsidiaries, and the management of international manufacturing businesses. In the late 1990s, he was seconded to a U.S.-based watch startup, where he gained firsthand experience in developing and operating an international business model for casual watches targeting European and American markets. At a time before personal computers and smartphones had become widespread, this experience immersed him in the realities of American startup management and business development. It became a formative experience that would significantly influence his subsequent career.

Following his secondment to the U.S. startup, Kimura worked in Seiko’s headquarters-based development and planning division, where he was involved in numerous open innovation initiatives. These included collaborations with medical device startups in Silicon Valley and strategic alliances with German companies. Driven by a desire to share his practical business experience with academia and younger generations, he pursued graduate studies while working before entering the doctoral program at Keio University’s Graduate School of Business and Commerce. In 2004, Kimura joined the Venture Development Strategy Research Center at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Tsukuba. The center was part of a major national initiative supported by approximately JPY 5 billion in funding from Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) over five years. Within this large-scale project, Kimura was involved in developing commercialization frameworks for research and development outcomes and formulating strategies to build innovation ecosystems. Beginning in 2014, he spent approximately nine years promoting the Tsukuba Innovation Arena (TIA), an open innovation hub operated in collaboration with AIST and other institutions. He ultimately served as Secretary-General of the TIA Secretariat. During his time at TIA, he contributed to initiatives aimed at restructuring Japan’s domestic semiconductor and nanotechnology industries. He had also been involved in international semiconductor collaboration prior to this period, including discussions with major European and American institutions. In addition, he served in secretariat roles for nanotechnology consortia across Asia, contributing broadly to innovation initiatives.

In 2023, after many years at Japan’s leading national research institute, Kimura joined Utsunomiya University. Today, he teaches entrepreneurship and global business to undergraduate and graduate students while working at the university’s Innovation Support Center. His responsibilities include supporting the creation of university spin-offs, administering gap funding programs, and conducting academic research on university-based startup ecosystems.

From Digital Transformation in Asia to Japan–UK Comparisons: Returning to Fundamental Principles Through Academic Research and Policy Recommendations

Kimura’s research at Utsunomiya University extends far beyond the boundaries of a single institution. His work reflects a global and multidisciplinary perspective, with two major international research projects currently at its center.

The first examines university spin-offs and digital transformation (DX) across Asia. Kimura is conducting comparative research on university-originated DX startups and national digital transformation trends in Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. During the 1980s and 1990s, Japanese companies expanded aggressively into Southeast Asia, establishing a strong manufacturing presence throughout the region. Today, demand for digital transformation is growing across local manufacturing industries, alongside increasing interest in environmental DX. By contrast, an examination of Japan’s domestic DX business landscape reveals a strong emphasis on tools that improve administrative and back-office efficiency, as well as solutions targeting specific operational areas. Each industrial domain, including construction and manufacturing, faces its own distinct challenges in implementing digital transformation. The roles and technological capabilities expected of university spin-offs also vary considerably across Asian markets. Financially advanced cities such as Singapore and Hong Kong present very different innovation environments from rapidly developing economies such as Malaysia and Thailand. Through field research and cross-country comparisons, Kimura aims to uncover the underlying structures shaping digital transformation across Asia.

His second major research theme involves a comparative analysis of national research and development agencies and independent administrative institutions in Japan and the United Kingdom. This work builds on his earlier research into impact-driven businesses and university spin-offs addressing social challenges in European countries, including Spain, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom.

 Kimura offers a measured perspective on the relationship between academic research and commercial implementation. Even when universities and researchers make serious efforts to promote technology transfer and bring innovations into practical use, a substantial gap often remains between research commercialization and the creation of businesses capable of achieving significant market scale. For this reason, he emphasizes that it is not enough to focus exclusively on the commercialization of individual technologies. Instead, it is essential to examine the fundamental principles underlying science and technology policy, social sciences, and science and technology studies, and to translate those insights into meaningful policy recommendations for national and local governments. How should society understand the role of science and technology? What social needs and policy objectives justify the allocation of public funding to research? And how do Japan’s approaches compare with international models? Kimura regards answering these fundamental questions—and objectively positioning Japan’s industry–academia collaboration model within a global context—as an essential part of his mission as a researcher.

The Dual Challenge of Scale and Institutional Incentives: Structural Barriers to Startup Creation at Regional Universities

Despite repeated calls by national and local governments to increase the number of university spin-offs, regional national universities in Japan often struggle to produce meaningful results. Kimura identifies two fundamental structural challenges: disparities in institutional scale and research capacity, and the breadth of academic responsibilities combined with insufficient incentive structures for entrepreneurship.

The first challenge is the limited number of research opportunities and potential entrepreneurs available at smaller universities. Major national universities, including the University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, Osaka University, and Tohoku University, typically operate at a scale of approximately 25,000 students and 3,000 faculty members and researchers. At institutions of this size, the sheer volume of research activity and entrepreneurial talent creates a pipeline in which promising technologies and aspiring founders emerge on a relatively consistent basis. A similar mechanism operates at large national research institutions such as AIST. Regional national universities such as Utsunomiya University, however, operate on a much smaller scale. With roughly 300 to 500 faculty members and a student population that represents only a fraction of those at major metropolitan universities, the number of potential research-based business opportunities is inherently limited. The challenge becomes clear when viewed through the lens of corporate research and development. Generating a small number of commercially promising technologies generally requires a much larger pool of initial research ideas, experiments, and discoveries. When the number of researchers is an order of magnitude smaller, the pipeline of high-potential commercialization opportunities is correspondingly constrained. This creates a fundamental structural disadvantage that cannot be resolved simply by encouraging individual researchers to become entrepreneurs.

The second challenge lies in the wide range of responsibilities assigned to university faculty and the limited institutional incentives for entrepreneurship. University researchers are expected to fulfill multiple important missions, including advancing academic knowledge, educating students, and contributing to their local communities. Utsunomiya University, for example, has deep historical roots in agricultural education and research, and plays an important role in supporting the agricultural development of its surrounding region. At the same time, academic evaluation systems continue to place considerable emphasis on traditional research outputs, particularly peer-reviewed publications. Within such a framework, entrepreneurial activities and the commercialization of patented technologies are not always adequately recognized or rewarded. For faculty members, launching a startup involves substantial risks, time commitments, and operational responsibilities. When these efforts receive limited institutional recognition, entrepreneurship can become an additional burden rather than an attractive professional opportunity. Kimura therefore argues that universities need organization-wide systems that support and appropriately evaluate researchers pursuing commercialization, while continuing to respect the diverse roles and missions of academic research.

The policy environment adds another layer of complexity. Japan has approximately 85 national universities, and government initiatives such as the International University of Excellence program, together with discussions surrounding a hub-and-spoke model for higher education and research, reflect a broader movement toward concentrating research resources and funding among a smaller group of leading institutions. Within this context, the prospect of approximately 25 research-intensive universities receiving greater strategic emphasis raises serious questions about the future of regional institutions. As funding and resources increasingly concentrate in major research hubs, how can smaller regional universities maintain their relevance, develop distinctive strengths, and build sustainable innovation ecosystems of their own? For regional national universities outside the primary research hubs, this is becoming an increasingly urgent strategic challenge.

Moving Beyond an Isolated Innovation Model: Lessons from CrowLab on Building Financially Sustainable University Spin-offs

Despite these structural constraints, Utsunomiya University has produced distinctive examples of successful entrepreneurship. One notable case is CrowLab Co., Ltd., a startup originating from the university. CrowLab applies audio recognition and analysis technologies, particularly those involving crow vocalizations, to provide consulting and practical solutions for bird-related damage and nuisance problems. Its services address challenges such as crows disturbing urban garbage collection sites and bird-related damage affecting agricultural communities and local governments. Drawing on scientific research into bird behavior and vocal communication, the company has developed specialized deterrence techniques, including the use of specific sounds designed to discourage crows from entering targeted areas. Its activities also sit within the broader context of wildlife-related challenges facing Japanese communities, where concerns about human–wildlife conflicts, including the increasing appearance of bears in populated areas, have attracted growing attention. Unlike venture-backed startups pursuing rapid expansion and eventual public listings, CrowLab does not necessarily follow the conventional high-growth, J-curve model. Instead, the company demonstrates a different approach to entrepreneurial success: identifying a clear societal need, delivering practical value to customers, and maintaining a financially sustainable business. Its significance lies not in pursuing growth at any cost, but in developing a commercially viable model appropriate to its capabilities and market opportunities. For regional university spin-offs, CrowLab represents a realistic and compelling example of how specialized academic expertise can be translated into a sustainable business without requiring venture-scale growth.

However, Kimura also highlights the challenges faced by research-driven startups established primarily by university faculty members. Although these ventures may possess advanced technologies and strong scientific capabilities, they frequently lack expertise in marketing, customer acquisition, business development, and commercial strategy. This is where collaboration with external organizations becomes particularly important. Kimura argues that private-sector companies, accelerators, and commercialization support organizations can create substantial value by providing hands-on business support, developing strategic alliances, and helping technology-driven ventures identify and access viable markets. For universities such as Utsunomiya, where internal commercialization resources and industry networks are relatively limited, building relationships with experienced business professionals is essential. This includes engaging distributors, business development agents, and other partners with established networks in the Tokyo metropolitan area and beyond. Rather than attempting to build every capability internally, regional universities can strengthen their innovation ecosystems by connecting academic technologies with external commercial expertise, market access, and professional business networks. Establishing successful examples in northern Kanto, a region located relatively close to Tokyo, could also have significant implications for the broader industrial ecosystem.

From Regional Japan to Global Markets: Winning the Information Race and Building an Ecosystem That Generates Sustainable Profits

Toward the end of the interview, Kimura offered a series of recommendations for students, researchers, entrepreneurs, and private-sector organizations involved in industry–academia collaboration outside Japan’s major metropolitan areas.

His first message concerns the importance of overcoming geographic limitations through access to information and global networks. Thanks to the rapid development of digital technologies and online communication tools, physical location is no longer the decisive barrier it once was. Entrepreneurs and researchers can now connect directly with organizations around the world, exchange information, develop partnerships, and conduct international business negotiations regardless of where they are based. At the same time, however, advanced information, investment capital, and highly skilled talent are becoming increasingly concentrated in major metropolitan areas. Regional entrepreneurs must therefore remain highly proactive in gathering intelligence, identifying opportunities, and building relationships beyond their immediate geographic environments. In Kimura’s view, being based in a regional location is not necessarily a disadvantage—but becoming isolated from critical information and business networks is. He stresses the importance of cultivating a global outlook, maintaining access to relevant market intelligence, and making strategic use of agents and business partners with strong networks in Tokyo and other major markets. For regional startups, the ability to navigate this information landscape and establish effective external partnerships can be a decisive factor in building resilient business models.

His second message addresses what he considers one of the most fundamental—and sometimes overlooked—aspects of industry–academia collaboration: the need to generate genuine business revenue and profits. Collaboration initiatives that rely exclusively on government subsidies and research grants, only to exhaust those funds without establishing sustainable commercial activities, are unlikely to deliver lasting impact. For university spin-offs and private-sector companies, generating legitimate revenue, earning profits, and establishing a path toward sustainable growth are essential outcomes of successful commercialization. From this perspective, open innovation should not be viewed merely as the allocation of public funds or the implementation of collaborative research projects.

Its ultimate purpose is to create economic and societal value through commercially viable activities. Universities and innovation support organizations must therefore establish environments in which experienced business professionals can participate meaningfully and develop profitable enterprises. Even large national research projects supported by substantial public budgets risk falling short of meaningful societal implementation if they fail to establish commercial structures that allow participating businesses to capture value and sustain their operations. The challenge is to connect the promising research seeds emerging from regional universities with customers, industries, and markets in Japan’s major cities and around the world—and to nurture those technologies into businesses capable of standing on their own. Drawing on his uncommon career across global manufacturing, a national research institute, and regional higher education, Kimura presents a vision of innovation that is both pragmatic and forward-looking. His insights suggest that the next breakthrough in Japan’s industry–academia collaboration may not come from simply increasing the number of university spin-offs or expanding research funding. Instead, it may depend on building ecosystems that connect research excellence with market intelligence, professional business capabilities, and sustainable profitability—enabling regional universities to create value far beyond their geographic boundaries.