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.
Paul Bragiel is a three-time entrepreneur whose venture includes Bragiel Brothers, an early stage technology fund focusing on Silicon Valley. He's collectively invested in the seed rounds of over 250+ companies with holdings in other multi-billion dollar companies like Niantic (Pokemon Go), Stripe & Zappos.
Chika is an entrepreneur and ecosystem builder based in Berlin. She is the founder of CROSSBIE , which focuses on bridging Japan and the global startup ecosystem. Also, she is an ambassador for AsiaBerlin, a collective platform, powered by the Berlin Senate Department, to bring together startup communities in the world, and Digital Hub Global Ambassador for, Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI), the economic development agency of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Taisuke Alex Odajima is the CEO of EDGEof Innovation. He has been a bridge for startup ecosystems in Japan and overseas. Working with embassies and startup support organizations in more than 20 countries, he is involved in innovation-related policies in each nation. He was appointed as the selection committee for the “J-Startup” program by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Japan.
Yosuke Sasaki is a partner, chief of staff and head of CEO Office at SoftBank Investment Advisers(SBIA). After starting his career at the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi (now MUFG Bank), he joined Softbank Corp (now SoftBank Group Corp), where he led multiple financing activities, M&A transactions, and the management of several portfolio companies. As part of the SoftBank Vision Fund’s founding team, Yosuke helped launch and build the world’s largest technology fund. He is based at SBIA headquarters in London and serves as co-representative of SBIA’s Tokyo office. Yosuke also acts as an advisor and investment committee member of Deepcore, which is AI-focused early stage VC fund. MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Tom McInerney is an active angel investor and company advisor. Tom was a seed investor in Segment, Notion, Bird (series a), Arcadia Power, Getaround, Memsql, Mode, Labgenius, Tala and others. Tom began his career as an engineer / scientist at Apple’s worldwide headquarters in cupertino and worked at sony on the VAIO computers before becoming an entrepreneur and investor. An avid environmentalist, Tom is on the national council of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Justin Waldron is co-founder / President of Playco, based in Tokyo. He’s an active angel investor in 60+ companies and previously co-founded Zynga, an unicorn company based in San Francisco.
Jonathan Siegel is a Founder of Xenon Partners based in Japan and Silicon Valley. Jonathan is the author of “The San Francisco Fallacy.” He has multiple degrees like MBA, Computer Science and others.
Special Advisor for Global Outreach. Ayumi Ode represents the Japan chapter of 500 Startups, one of the most active accelerators in the World. Ayumi has previously worked for two startups. She gained an MBA from Columbia University.
Shibuya Bridge B-5,
1-29-3 Higashi, Shibuya City, Tokyo
JAPAN 150-0011
Shibuya Startup Support
