Innovative region: Japan
Japan is the world’s third-largest economy, with a gross domestic of nearly $5 trillion, the country has been home to some of the most successful electronics and automotive businesses, such as Canon, Casio, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, Nintendo, Hitachi and Fujitsu for electronics, and Yamaha, Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Honda, Suzuki and Mazda for automotive, to name just a few.
Many of these have conducted strategic investments, and some have their own specialised corporate venture capital (CVC) vehicles. Japan Venture Capital Association (JVCA) has some 90 CVC members, most of whose publicly disclosed deals have been tracked by Global Corporate Venturing Analytics.
Regarding the Japanese innovation ecosystem, Gen Tsuchikawa, chief executive and chief investment officer for Sony Ventures Corporation, the newly formed subsidiary of electronics manufacturer Sony that oversees various vehicles including Sony Innovation Fund and Innovation Growth Ventures, told GCV: “We can attribute the recent significant growth of Japan’s venture capital market, to…
