Shibuya Startup Support is an initiative by the Shibuya City Office to support international founders on their startup journey here in Japan.
We are SHIBUYA STARTUP SUPPORT, an initiative led by the Shibuya City Office to invite your startup business (whether in Japan or from abroad) to Shibuya to grow with us. Think of us as a concierge to help you establish and expand your business in Shibuya as smoothly as possible.
Through this page we provide you with up-to-the-minute resources, access to face-to-face advice, and the opportunity to connect you to local business opportunities.
Yoshiro joined Shibuya City Office in January 2020 to take charge of internationalizing Shibuya City by building a startup ecosystem. He worked for the Consulate-General of Japan in San Francisco for eight and a half years, involving himself in numerous activities in the Bay Area, such as setting up non-profit organizations. Upon returning to Japan in 2016, he worked as a board member of a startup in Tohoku and then joined Komatsu Ltd. He also served as Vice President of Landlog, a venture company established by Komatsu. Yoshiro is committed to developing Shibuya into a startup ecosystem to rival Silicon Valley, using the skills he acquired overseas and his work experience at both major corporations and startups.
Gai joined the Shibuya City Office in 2017. After working as a revenue collector, he was tasked as an industrial promotion section chief in April 2020 and is now also in charge of international strategy promotion. Hailing from a family tradition of public service, his recent success includes sealing agreements with WeWork and Yokohama City. A leading GenZ figure to take charge of Shibuya City of the future.
Tsutomu has represented Shibuya City’s interests since 2015, first at the Board of Education and then at the Cabinet Office. He has taken part in international affairs in the fields of Science, Technology, and Innovation, coordinating bilateral and multilateral cooperation and ministerial meetings. In 2018, he visited Estonia as a delegate from the Shibuya City Office, where he experienced the cutting edge of a modern, digital nation. Since 2021 he has been a member of the Global Core Cities Promotion Office, where he leverages his international business and government experience to help build Shibuya’s startup ecosystem.
Saeko joined the Shibuya City Office's Global Core Cities Promotion Office in April 2021 as the department’s 2iC. Before that, she worked in various fields in the municipal government including public relations, foreigner registration, senior welfare, human resources, and system operation. Fluency in both IT systems and English (unfortunately hard to come by in the halls of regional government!) marks her as a great communicator and an integral part of the Shibuya Startup Support team. She loves both Southern California and her dog.
Special Advisor for Public Relations: Naotake has helped many startups through his experience of PR/Marketing. He leads many NPOs including Public Meets Innovations, Japan Public Relations Associations, Shibuya Connectors 30 and others.
Venture investor at Eight Roads supporting founders in technology and fintech. Previously worked at Innospark investing in AI startups. During her MBA at MIT, she worked with N26, a European neobank and published research on cryptocurrencies with the MIT Digital Currency Initiative.
CEO of Code Chrysalis. Kani helped industry leaders transform the way they build software, drive customer success, innovate, and disrupt businesses across industries in multiple geographies. Worked in the US for 18 years before deciding to pursue his passion for education at Hack Reactor.
indigo inc. CEO & Business Producer. Aiko joined an advertising company in 2007 and started to handle new business development in 2017. Since then she has engaged in consultation from a technology and branding point of view to form an ecosystem connecting enterprise and startups in Japan. Founded indigo inc. in January 2020.
Takayuki Suzuki is CEO of ParadeALL, strategic EnterTech consultant based in Tokyo, Japan, bridging music and AI, Web3 and other cutting edge tech across Japan, US, EU and China. Aș entrepreneur, he leads MetaTokyo, multiverse entertainment studio for Web3 metaverse. In addition to this, he takes on various roles such as advisory board member of SXSW Pitch, Belgium MusicTech Accelerator, Director of JASRAC, Japanese major music copyright organization and etc.
Schyler Cole is a venture capitalist, ecosystem builder, and policy specialist based in Tokyo. Her undergraduate research led her to founding and receiving funding for a health and food-focused company. She has experience in startups, VC, and think tanks in the US and Japan and is the co-founder of Startup Co-Creation, a community dedicated to providing genuinely exciting opportunities and resources for globally-minded founders and startup-related stakeholders in and interested in Japan. She earned her BA in Economics from Stanford and her MPP from the University of Tokyo.
Christopher Chang is the Founder of BEE CAPITAL PARTNERS, a co-op family office. Previously, he was the Chief Operating Officer of venture capital firm BEENEXT, after being an Investor at GCM Grosvenor and an Analyst at JPMorgan Securities Japan. Outside of work, Christopher was selected to be part of the Milken Institute’s Young Leader’s Circle, an Associate Leader for The U.S.-Japan Council, and a recipient of the Forbes 30 Under 30 List. He is also a Visiting Lecturer for Stanford University and a Program Member of the Georgetown University Alumni Association. Christopher received his Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown University and his Master of Business Administration from the University of Oxford.
Terrence Giang has over 20 years of public and private equity investing, M&A advisory, and corporate management experience. Based in San Francisco, Terrence is a Managing Partner at Digital Garage Ventures focused on Fintech, Retail / E-commerce, Enterprise SaaS investments. In Tokyo he was a founding member of Nippon Renewable Energy, one of Japan's first venture-scale cleantech startups in the post-Great East Japan Earthquake era. As an advocate for a global Japanese startup ecosystem, Terrence is active in the international venture community as an early stage institutional investor, startup board advisor, founder mentor, angel investor and has appeared on conference stages, in print and on television. He is a graduate of Yale University.
Shibuya Bridge B-5,
1-29-3 Higashi, Shibuya City, Tokyo
JAPAN 150-0011
Shibuya Startup Support
