There could be a unicorn in one of these 14 Japanese startups

One of Japan’s premier startup events, Infinity Ventures Summit, took place this last Thursday and Friday on Japan’s southern most island.

This year’s event featured talks by some Japan’s most prominent business leaders and pitches by 14 of the country’s most innovative startups.

Check out the companies below.

First place – SmartHR

SmartHR automates employee benefit and insurance programs.

Four years ago the founder and CEO Shoji Miyata was wheelchair bound with a rare disease. Thanks to national health insurance he was able to make a full recovery, but he realized that filing the appropriate paperwork is a nightmare.

During his pitch, Shoji went over some of the forms required to make insurance claims. “Here you have to choose your sex. One, that’s for a man. Two, that’s for a woman. Oh but look, here are several more options. Can you guess what three is? That’s right! It’s a man who works in a coalmine!”

The process is paper heavy, requires looking at reference guides, and has not been updated for years. SmartHR fills out and sends the paperwork for you, cutting down from what used to take weeks to minutes according to Shoji.
SmartHR announced it will be releasing its own API this week.

HackforPlay

HackforPlay is true gamification for learning programming.

Users can make their own games or choose from a number to play, or customize. The code is available for each game; you can even change it in real time. Boss too hard? Check out the code and lower his health points or sneak around behind him.

Tanren

BengoshiTalk (Lawyer Talk)

CallConnect

Scouter

Bukuma (Book Market) by Labit

Uridoki (It’s time to sell)

BitStar

InstaVR by Candlify VR Technologies

MilboxTouch

UnlimitedHand

Pyrenee

SmartPlate