14 Japanese tech titans that aren’t Sony or Nintendo

Japan is a land of tech giants. There’s a good chance that your television set, digital camera, or game console bears the name of one of the country’s greats – even as the consumer electronics industry contracts in the face of increased pressure from the likes of Apple, Samsung, and Xiaomi. But many of Japan Inc.’s flagship brands are old, subject to corporate bureaucracy that may hinder their ability to move quickly against younger companies and even scrappy startups. Sony, for example, was founded in 1946. Nintendo, originally a playing card company, turned 126 this year.

This list of powerful tech firms focuses solely on those born after 1980. Many weathered the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s to become household names. Mobile gaming unicorns that sprung up in the early 2000s are prominent, though their rankings have dropped significantly compared to two or three years ago. Despite each having a market cap of over US$1 billion, there’s a chance you’ve never heard of some of these companies, because a few are focused almost entirely on the domestic market. Depending on where you live, others might spring to mind as investors.

Here are Japan’s 14 modern tech titans, in descending order based on current Nikkei top-100 market cap ratings. When available, founder and/or CEO net worth has been included based on the Forbes Japan’s 50 richest list. Clicking a company name links to its English website, if available.

14. Gurunavi

Gurunavi, short for “gourmet navigator,” is Japan’s second-largest restaurant listing site behind Tabelog, a subsidiary of Kakaku (number five on this list). It also lists a number of Japanese restaurants in English, so foreign tourists can eat like a local. Users can filter restaurants by location, cuisine, seating size, price, and even dress code.

Founder and/or current CEO

Hisao Taki, founder
Net worth: Unknown

Gurunavi data

Market cap: US$1 billion
Year founded: 1989
Industry: Restaurant listing

13. Gree

12. GMO Internet

11. Cookpad

10. DeNA

9. Colopl

8. CyberAgent

7. Mixi

6. GungHo

5. Kakaku

4. M3

3. Rakuten

2. Yahoo Japan

1. SoftBank