A startup hub in the making: The challenge of SusHi Tech Tokyo and the future of innovation

JSTORIES ー As Tokyo strives to position itself as Asia’s leading hub for innovation and finance, the metropolitan government has been pushing forward initiatives to foster a sustainable startup ecosystem. One of the most ambitious efforts in this regard is SusHi Tech Tokyo, one of Asia’s largest international startup conferences, which launched two years ago.

Now entering its third edition, SusHi Tech Tokyo 2025 is set to expand its scale significantly, targeting 50,000 participants, including over 500 international venture capital firms, and more than 5,000 business meetings. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government sees this event as a key driver in attracting global talent, investment, and cutting-edge technology, ultimately positioning Tokyo as a global innovation hub.

To understand the vision behind SusHi Tech Tokyo and its potential impact on Japan’s startup ecosystem, we spoke with Manabu Miyasaka, the vice governor of Tokyo. (This article is a reconstructed account of the press conference held on Jan. 30, 2025.) 

Manabu Miyasaka, vice governor of Tokyo (referred to as Miyasaka below): We don’t have a rigid goal like “producing a specific number of high-revenue startups by a certain year.” However, we have identified three key numerical targets to transform Tokyo into a startup powerhouse:

These are nonnegotiable targets for us.

That being said, while numerical goals are important, there’s another crucial aspect we prioritize: fostering a culture of challengers. Tokyo is already home to artists, entertainers, and culinary pioneers — people pushing the boundaries of their respective fields. Startups, in essence, are business-world challengers.

We envision Tokyo as a city where innovators from all fields — beyond just business — are inspired to take on global challenges. Events like SusHi Tech Tokyo are part of our broader effort to make Tokyo a place that nurtures and supports bold, ambitious entrepreneurs.

Miyasaka: The biggest difference this year is scale. We expect a significant increase in participating startups, attendees, and partnerships with overseas startup ecosystems.

Beyond numbers, we’re also seeing a qualitative shift. Until now, the event mainly attracted business leaders, government officials, and financial institutions. This year, we are introducing a Public Day, allowing students and the general public to participate.

Our goal is to engage a wider audience, including families and young people, to educate them on the future of cities and technology. It’s no longer just about startups and investors — it’s about making innovation accessible and relevant to everyday life.

Miyasaka: Tokyo is home to many high school students, and we want to provide them with opportunities to engage with business professionals from around the world. Because this is a startup-focused event, many of the participants are relatively young. From a high school student’s perspective, they will see young professionals — just a few years older than themselves — working hard in Japan, a foreign country to many of them.

Given our strong emphasis on English education, we hope that SusHi Tech Tokyo provides  a practical opportunity for students to use English in a real-world setting.

Miyasaka: For Japanese startups, focusing solely on the domestic market is an option — but it’s limiting. The world is vast, and the best way to scale globally is to build international connections.

That’s why we are actively inviting international startups, venture capitalists, and policymakers to Tokyo. Connecting local startups with global investors and partners increases their chances of successful overseas expansion.

To facilitate this, English is the primary language of the event. Admittedly, in the first year, we were uncertain whether an English-first startup event in Tokyo would attract enough participants, especially given that it was held right after the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, to our surprise, more than half of the attendees came from overseas, and Japanese participants — regardless of their English proficiency — made a genuine effort to engage. This convinced us that Tokyo can indeed host a truly global startup event.

This year, we aim to attract even more international participants, especially from Asia, to further strengthen cross-border collaboration.

Miyasaka: This is still a young event, but continuity is key. It’s crucial that we build on our experiences year after year, rather than treating it as a one-time initiative.

Currently, many Japanese businesses actively participate in overseas conferences to expand globally. However, we rarely see international businesses prioritizing Japan as a key destination for innovation events.

Given Japan’s economic scale, I strongly believe that we should establish a global business tradition — where, at least once a year, Tokyo becomes the place where international entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, financial institutions, and policymakers gather to discuss the future of urban innovation.

May is one of the best seasons in Tokyo, with beautiful weather. I want to make SusHi Tech Tokyo an event that international startup leaders automatically schedule into their calendars every year.

Ultimately, I envision a future where Tokyo in May is synonymous with innovation, where global entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers come together to shape the cities of tomorrow.

Translated by J-Stories (Anita De Michele)

Edited by Mark Goldsmith

Top photo by Tokyo Metropolitan Government 

For inquiries regarding this article, please contact jstories@pacificbridge.jp

Click here for the Japanese version of the article