An exciting occasion to know about the Italian startup ecosystem and the investment opportunities it offers.
Italian startups pitching their ideas, business experts introducing the Italian startup ecosystem and VC industry,
guest speakers giving precious insights.
On top of that, Italian style aperitif with good Italian food and drinks for networking in a relaxed mood and space.
In the heart of Tokyo, JETRO Exhibition Hall, Ark Mori Building 5th Floor, Roppongi Itchome.
English-Japanese simultaneous interpretation available (日英同時通訳付).

Program*

Doors open at 13:00

Opening Session
13:30 - 14:10
Welcome from organizers
"Industrial Policy for Fostering Japan's Startup Ecosystem", Yoshiaki Ishii, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)
"The Italian VC industry, towards a European perspective to support global startups", a dialogue between Emil Abirascid and Masaru Ikeda

Pitching Session
14:10 - 15:10
Presentations from startups and Q&A
"Collaborating with foreign startups", Katsuyoshi Nakajima, Massive R&D

15:10 - 15:25
Coffee break

15:25 - 16:30
Presentations from startups and Q&A
"Utilize LINE platform for Japan entry", Shinichiro Isago, LINE Corporation

Closing Session
16:30 - 17:00
Speeches from co-organizers (JETRO, NTT Data Open Innovation Forum, Italian Foreign Direct Investment Desk)
Final greetings

Networking Session
17:00 - 19:30
Networking, refreshments and B2B meetings
* This program is still incomplete and subject to change.

Special Guest Speakers

Yoshiaki Ishii

New Business Policy Office Director
METI
Director of the New Business Policy Office, Economic and Industrial Policy Bureau, METI, and Consulting Fellow at RIETI, he will speak about the importance of attracting foreign startups to foster Japan's startup ecosystem.

Katsuyoshi Nakajima

Senior Consultant
MASSIVE R&D
After a long career in international trade and e-commerce business development, in 2016 he joined Massive R&D, the official partner in Japan of DIS Design Italian Shoes, an Italian startup presented at the first edition of the Italian Innovation Day.

Shinichiro Isago

Platform Evangelist
LINE CORPORATION
Chief evangelist at LINE Corporation, the largest SNS platform in Japan, that is increasingly including AI and chat bot in its platform. In his career, he has supported lots of startups  both in technical aspects and business development. @shin135

Keynote Speakers

Emil Abirascid

Masaru Ikeda
Journalist and founder of Startupbusiness, the social network where startups, investors, enterprises, universities, incubators and scientific parks can exchange experiences, resources, projects and do business together.
He writes about innovation and innovative startups on Il Sole 24 Ore, the main Italian financial newspaper. He is also curator of StartupDigest Italy and advisor of International Accelerator. For more information, visit his website.
Masaru Ikeda currently acts as co-founder of The Bridge, one of Japan’s leading media outlets covering the startup scene in Japan and the rest of the world.
He started his career as a programmer/engineer, and previously co-founded several system integration companies and consulting firms. He’s been traveling around Silicon Valley, Europe and Asia exploring the IT industry and prominent startups.

The Startups

One-on-one Meetings
From IoT to AI, VR/AR and robotics. From healthcare to agritech, smart security and entertainment.
Keep an eye on these startups and and their future developments!
Want to get in touch with the startups and collect more information for potential deals or collaborations?
Contact us for arranging a meeting.

Event Report 2017

The second edition of the Italian Innovation Day had 166 attendees, up 27% from last year, of which 20% were investors and financial institutions, while around 70% were corporations interested in the new technologies, business models and products proposed by Italian startups.
Moreover, more than 40 one-on-one meetings were organized during the event and in the following days.