Japanese Leaders, their new visitor program

Between July 3 and 7

The Spain Japan Council Foundation will celebrate the first edition of Japanese Leaders, its new visitor program.

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Each year, Fundación will invite a group of Japanese professionals to Spain for a stay in the country based on an agenda of meetings with institutions and companies.

The first edition of the program will focus on the entrepreneurship and the startup ecosystem. A delegation of 4 Japanese professionals from that sector will visit Madrid and Barcelona with the aim of establishing a solid network of contacts that results in exchanges and collaboration opportunities.

Startups in Japan

In 2021, Japanese start-ups received just over $7.000 billion in funding, according to Statista.

The first half of the year, in particular, was a record semester. Although, according to the consultant McKinsey, the Japanese ecosystem still cannot be compared in size to that of United States or ChinaThe truth is that it is growing rapidly.

FinTech, robotics, health or Saas (Service as a software) are some of the most popular sectors among Japanese start-ups.

Program participants

Mariko McTier She is the founder of the startup mymizu, a platform dedicated to reducing the use of single-use plastic bottles by mapping drinking water refill points around the world. He also heads Social Innovation Japan, an innovation, consulting and training platform for socially conscious entrepreneurs. She was named by Forbes as one of the 50 Rising Stars of Japan in ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance). She is an advisor to various organizations, including the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Japan.

Sorato Ichiji is CEO and founder of Creww, a Tokyo-based incubator and accelerator. Operates Creww Growth, one of Japan's leading open innovation platforms; and STARTUP STUDIO by Creww, an incubation program. Previously, he was founder of 4 companies in the United States and Japan. He is a board member of the Japan Association of New Economy and also serves on the recommendation committee of J-Startup, the largest state-owned startup accelerator program in Japan.

Memori Yamato is Chief Business Officer of Alt, a startup specialized in artificial intelligence products and solutions. He develops AI applications for SaaS and is working on commercializing digital clones for personal and professional use. After a 12-year career in the financial sector, he started his own company to create job opportunities for artists sick with COVID. Later, he joined ALE, a startup in the aerospace sector where he was Chief Business Officer and CEO of its subsidiary in the United States.

Masaru Nagura is General Manager at Cambridge Innovation Center Tokyo. CIC is a global network of innovation centers that supports entrepreneurs and startups. In 2015, he was an innovative ecosystem researcher at MIT, and participated in the international expansion of CIC in Japan. He was also a director of Beyond Next Ventures, an accelerator and venture capital fund focused on technological innovation. He is a professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology.

A program focused on contacts between ecosystems

During their stay in Spain, participants will have the opportunity to meet with important actors in the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Madrid and Barcelona. Among other institutions, they will visit Wayra, the group's accelerator Telephone; The ship, the reference innovation center of the Madrid City Council; o Pier 01, the headquarters of the Tech Barcelona association.

They will also meet with the local investment and development organizations of both cities, Invest in Madrid and Barcelona Activa; and they will visit companies such as Fujitsu or Astara.

In the program there will also be space for institutional meetings, such as a meeting with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Global Affairs, Ángeles Moreno Bau; a meeting with the Spanish ambassador to Japan, Fidel Sendagorta; or a reception at the residence of the Japanese ambassador to Spain, Takahiro Nakamae.