Some of Japan’s most promising startups are pitching at Tech in Asia Tour Tokyo next week

Tech in Asia Tour is rolling through the Japanese capital next Thursday, March 12 from 7 to 11 pm. Japan’s up-and-coming startups will take the stage at Recruit’s event space in the high-fashion and ritzy nightlife center of Ginza. The winner will be whisked away to Tech in Asia’s flagship conference, Tech in Asia Singapore, on May 6 and 7 thanks to a prize package that includes return airfare, event passes, and an exhibition booth.

The event will kick off at 730 pm with a fireside chat by three high-profile Japanese venture capitalists: Shinichi Takamiya, Jiro Kumakura, and Yasuhiro Seo. The trio, with combined experience both domestically and in Southeast Asia, will also stick around to judge pitches and network with attendees.

Takamiya is the chief strategy officer at Globis Capital Partners. The firm, considered a representative VC in Japan, has been around since 1997. Takamiya oversaw a nearly US$3 million investment in Globis portfolio company and lifehacking site Nanapi in 2013 – big potatoes back then. Nanapi was acquired by Japanese telco KDDI last October. He may also be familiar to Tech in Asia readers as the co-author of this popular analysis of Japan’s news app war.

Kumakura is a partner at Global Brain, one of Japan’s most venerable VC firms. He has been a key player on savvy deals like the Korean illustrator platform Rainbow dot and the Japanese content delivery network system Mist Technologies.

Seo, general manager at IMJ Investment Partners, is on the lookout for early stage startups in Indonesia and the Philippines, specifically, because both countries’ capital cities offer more than 100 million potential users. He was most recently in Japan at Hack Osaka, where he saw IMJ investee mClinica take the top prize. With the recent departure of Koichi Saito, Seo is sure to be seeing a lot of action around the region.

Tech in Asia Tour: Road to Singapore is a 10-city search across Asia for the best startups to showcase at the recently rebranded Tech in Asia Singapore 2015. The tour has already passed through Jakarta and Hanoi, and will arrive in Hong Kong next Tuesday. Following Tokyo (and an event in Bangkok on the same night), Tech in Asia Tour will visit Taipei, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Yangon, and Bangalore.

The Tech in Asia Tour Tokyo registration page can be found here.

Location

Recruit GINZA8 Building 11F
Ginza 8-4-17, Chuo-Ku, Tokyo

The nearest stations are JR Shimbashi (Ginza exit) and Tokyo Metro Shimbashi (Ginza Line, exit 5).

Agenda

19:00-19:30: Registration and networking
19:30-19:55: Opening
19:55-20:00: Break
20:00-20:30: VC panel discussion
20:30-21:30: Startup pitching
21:30-21:45: Winner announcement and closing
22:00-23:00: Networking hour

Judges

Shinichi “Shin” Takamiya, partner and CSO at Globis Capital Partners, leads investments in mobile, digital media, applications, and web services. Several of his portfolio investments have exited, including iStyle, Acufan, Kayac, and Nanapi. He also serves on the board of directors for a number of prominent Japanese startups, including Beyond, Pixta, Lancers, Viibar, and Mercari.

Jiro Kumakura, partner at Global Brain, is in charge of technology investments. He was an early member of Digital Design, an enterprise middleware provider that became the first company listed on NASDAQ Japan.

Yasuhiro Seo, the general manager of IMJ Investment Partners, leads all investment activity in Southeast Asia from his base of operations in Jakarta. IMJ has made 13 investments in the past two years, with a portfolio that includes mClinica, Bukalapak, Orori, Zipmatch, and Urbanindo.