This year’s forum had twice the number of participating startups from Japan and across Asia, who captivated the audience with their innovative ideas.
The event was moderated by Sayuri Daimon, Executive Director at PBMC, and Toshi Maeda, the CEO. (Photo: Emi Takahata)
The second edition of Japan Global Innovators Forum (JGIF) was co-hosted by Pacific Bridge Media and Consulting (PBMC) and Mainichi Future Creation Lab, Inc., an accelerator backed by The Mainichi Newspapers Co., Ltd. PBMC operates Japan’s solution-focused news service “J-Stories,” which aims to promote innovative Japanese startups to the world. The first JGIF event was held in March 2024.
This year, there were 11 participating startups, nearly double from six last year. Japanese and international companies, including Taiwanese startups, took the stage and presented innovative ideas that have the potential to address global challenges.
The hosts and some of the presenters at JGIF 2025.
PBMC Executive Director Sayuri Daimon and CEO Toshi Maeda served as moderators. Besides hosting, PBMC was in charge of inviting startups covered by J-Stories, recruiting venture capitalists (VCs) and commentators, creating and editing the English-language program, and preparing the event’s script.
The event’s theme is “inclusive innovation,” which aims to create sustainable solutions that leave no one behind. It’s not only the number of participants that grew; the pitch categories expanded, as well.
This year, the forum added the categories “Life Sciences” and “Sustainability and Mobility.” Another category, “Challenges from Regional Areas,” was added to spotlight small startups from rural regions aiming to make an impact on the global stage. Nagasaki was the featured region this time.
For more details: https://jstories.media/article/japan-global-innovators-jgif-2025-startups
The pitch event’s panel featured VCs from Japan and Taiwan. Matthew Romaine, an investor from Shizen Capital and the co-founder of the cloud translation service Gengo, returned as a commentator.
The second commentator was Tim Romero, from Japan’s energy-focused VC, JERA Ventures, and a former startup lead at Google Japan. He is known in the community for his insights on Japanese startups for over a decade through his “Disrupting Japan” podcast.
The third one was Kazuaki Konno, the representative of Taiwan’s tech-focused VC, Darwin Ventures. He brought a unique background as a former engineer at Nissan and a former consultant at Boston Consulting Group.
◆Comment from our CEO, Toshi Maeda:
For its second year, the event expanded beyond Japanese startups tackling social issues and welcomed entrepreneurs from Taiwan, Central Asia, Europe, and the U.S. It became a global platform for cross-border growth. We are deeply grateful to the commentators for their thoughtful and insightful advice.
◆Comment from Tamotsu Takatsuka, CEO of Mainichi Future Creation Lab:
Each startup pitch was outstanding and truly inspiring. As we mark the second year of this event, we look forward to further developing it in the years to come.
