[Interview] SusHi Tech Tokyo enters its third year: Deputy Governor Manabu Miyasaka discusses new challenge

JStories ー Previously known as “CityTech Tokyo,” the city's signature startup event SusHi Tech Tokyo (short for Sustainable High Tech City Tokyo) is now in its third year. Leading this initiative is Manabu Miyasaka, who brings extensive technology industry experience as former president and chairman of Yahoo Japan and has served as Tokyo's deputy governor since September 2019.

In an era where cities worldwide are launching startup conferences under the banner of becoming "startup cities," SusHi Tech Tokyo faces pressure to evolve. What's new this year? We spoke with Miyasaka to find out.

Business events, including startup conferences, typically attract invited speakers, exhibitors and ticket purchasers, and are usually held on weekdays. However, this year's SusHi Tech Tokyo introduces a new initiative — opening the final day (Saturday) to the general public as "Public Day."

Miyasaka explains that the inspiration for Public Day came from his experiences at VivaTech, an annual startup conference in Paris. Given that Tokyo and Paris have been sister cities for over 40 years, Miyasaka has frequently appeared at VivaTech in recent years to promote Tokyo's appeal as a startup hub.

"VivaTech's final day is a public day, where participating startups shift from business-oriented presentations to explanations tailored for general citizens. They use accessible language to explain how their technologies and services will contribute to the future. I was impressed seeing children among the attendees enthusiastically participating," Miyasaka said in an exclusive interview with JStories. 

"Exposing children to startups, entrepreneurs and emerging industries that may become established in 10 or 20 years is important. I believe those children will likely be exhibiting at VivaTech a decade or two from now. As a government initiative, we're emphasizing next-generation development and long-term ecosystem building — work that can only be accomplished with an extended timeframe."

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government positions Public Day not just as a way to connect with citizens, but as "an initiative to cultivate startup culture from a long-term perspective." In a society where established companies might last decades and startups just a few years, Miyasaka emphasizes the need for government-led initiatives with a long-term vision.

While many startup conferences hosted by local governments focus on their regional startups, Tokyo serves as Japan's startup hub. From a regional revitalization perspective, Tokyo bears responsibility for distributing startup momentum and energy throughout Japan.

"We recognize our role as an event contributing not just to Tokyo but to Japan as a whole," said Miyasaka about SusHi Tech 2025. This year, 35 local governments from outside Tokyo will exhibit — 10 times more than last year. This dramatic expansion reflects the growing interest in startup ecosystems among local governments.

"I find it interesting that regions are participating as broader consortiums—like Hokuriku, Chukyo, Kansai and Setouchi — rather than individual cities like Osaka or Nagoya. Local governments across Japan want to connect with overseas ecosystems, but it's difficult for international visitors to visit every city. At SusHi Tech Tokyo, they have the opportunity to encounter startup ecosystems from all over Japan,” he said.

“If Tokyo's government initiative aimed to make Tokyo itself an ecosystem hub, we would become rivals with other cities. That's why it's important for Tokyo to serve as a node connecting various players. SusHi Tech Tokyo functions as an annual node, while Tokyo Innovation Base (TIB) operates as a year-round connecting point."

This year's SusHi Tech Tokyo aims to attract 50,000 participants, about 20% more than last year's 40,000. The event has set "5-aligned" goals: 50,000 participants, 500 participating companies and 5,000 meetings. These numbers serve not just as targets but as indicators of the event's scale and influence. Now in its third year, Miyasaka said that "international recognition has definitely improved."

The name SusHi Tech Tokyo stands for "Sustainable High City Tech Tokyo," reflecting a focus not only on startups but on technologies that enable cities to grow sustainably. With this perspective, the event emphasizes diversity — half of this year's speakers are from overseas, and an impressive 45% are women.

Silicon Valley, the archetypal startup hub that cities worldwide emulate, developed organically around Stanford University as a source of talent, semiconductor companies like Hewlett-Packard and Fairchild, and investors such as Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), who gathered to support them.

This history suggests that the original startup hub formed entirely through private initiative, without government support. In contrast, outside the United States, central and local governments have often invested substantial subsidies to create somewhat artificial startup hubs.

Government intervention in startup development can sometimes have negative consequences. Startups that fail to gain market traction after trial periods naturally exit the market, but government support can sometimes merely postpone this inevitable outcome.

For these reasons, the author was previously skeptical about excessive government support for startups but has since reconsidered. Even globally renowned entrepreneurial ventures like Elon Musk's SpaceX and Tesla have survived through NASA and Defense Department contracts (via the Small Business Innovation Research program), Energy Department loans and tax incentives, and General Services Administration (GSA) procurement.

This suggests that government support is a rational scheme in developing new industries that transform social structures, with benefits ultimately returning to society, including taxpayers. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has recently strengthened procurement initiatives targeting startups, increasing from nine cases in 2022 to 153 in 2024, with plans to expand to 500 cases.

"Being selected by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, one of the world's major cities, provides significant credibility for startups,” Miyasaka said. “While the monetary amount might not be substantial, the fact that Tokyo has adopted their solutions builds trust, which can lead to expansion to other domestic municipalities and even foreign government agencies.”

“Support for startups isn't just about direct funding; providing credibility in this way is also important. Large administrative organizations sometimes issue contracts too large for startups with limited financial resources to fulfill. However, having been adopted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government provides valuable credentials that can lead to future business opportunities," he said.

A "Tokyo Model" of startup ecosystem development is taking shape. Miyasaka aims not for a temporary boom but for strengthening Japan's overall startup capacity in a sustainable manner, as the name "Sustainable High City" suggests. The future results of Tokyo's unique initiatives will be worth watching.

Written by Masaru Ikeda

Edited by Desiderio Luna | JStories

Top photo: Moritz Brinkhoff | JStories

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