Japan enjoys a wealth of promising university research, but what is often lacking, especially outside Tokyo, is the management talent to commercialize it.
That matters because deep tech takes time and money to develop. It can also be hard to explain to nonexperts. Startups built around advanced research in materials, energy, medicine or robotics need more than lab results. They need effective communicators and administrators who can attract patient investors and credible customers.
Alexander Farrell is a senior researcher at Yuri Group, a business intelligence firm whose clients include international institutional investors, business organizations and government bodies. A native of Austin, Texas, he has been based in Kyoto since 2003. He has extensive experience in media research and localization and has translated for Nikkei Business Publications and for Japanese news outlets such as The Asahi Shimbun and The Chemical Daily.
Enter the CxO, a catchall term for CEO, CFO, CTO, etc. In a young company, these are not corporate ornaments. They decide how to raise money, hire staff, find customers, protect intellectual property and build around complex technology.
Tokyo naturally attracts capital, investors, large companies and experienced startup workers. Many graduates from regional universities who might become startup executives relocate there to launch careers.
As for mid-career professionals supporting families, it is hard to justify a job at a managerial position at a university spinout, as it is often a nonpermanent role with a fixed-term contract.
Culture does not help. A career at a well-known company still carries weight in Japan, and changing jobs can be a delicate task. Some professionals are interested in startups but don’t want their employers to know. That explains why certain recruiting networks stay discreet. It also shows how far the labor market still has to move.
With capable executives in short supply, professors are often the only ones available to commercialize their research. Some do it well. Many are understandably better suited to research. The result: Technologies with export potential can remain stuck in laboratories, grant programs or small domestic markets.
Change is afoot. Japan’s labor shortage is boosting job mobility. However, cash-strapped may struggle to recruit mid-career jobseekers.
Kyoto’s response is worth watching. The city created the Kyoto Next CxO Community in 2025 to find and train executive candidates and connect them with university researchers and startups. As of late May, there were 106 regular members and 65 youth members. Its activities include researcher matching, entrepreneurship programs, study sessions and networking events.
The model is practical because deep-tech recruitment is not a simple job posting. Aspiring CxOs need patience, as they must understand the researcher’s ambitions and study the technology seriously before launching a company. Non-Japanese-speaking executives can also help, even if language limits the pool of researchers for potential collaboration.
Where should interested readers start? For those drawn to the regional university challenge, Kyoto University Innovation Capital’s EIR-iCAP program employs entrepreneurs in residence who search for university research seeds, build relationships with researchers and prepare to found spinouts. The University of Tokyo’s DeepTech Dive offers another route: a free talent-matching platform where people can connect with university-linked technology startups for full-time jobs, side roles, internships or executive opportunities.
If Japan wants to build a competitive startup ecosystem, it is essential to incentivize executive talent to help spinouts commercialize university research and scale globally. The Kyoto Next CxO Community could provide a model for cross-institutional collaboration that addresses this recruiting challenge.
This is an opinion article. The views expressed are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of JStories.
