Since the 1970s, Minato, a special ward in Tokyo, has been one of the largest business areas in the city and the corporate headquarters of multinational, innovative corporations like Sony, Toshiba, and Fujitsu.
The Toranomon District in Minato is specifically designed to create a global hub for business, building on Tokyo’s long storied tech history, which produced some of the most globally recognized technology companies including Panasonic, Nintendo, and Canon.
Tokyo has not rested on its laurels, creating a dynamic ecosystem for startups infused with an innovative spirit. In fact, Tokyo climbed the rankings to rank among the top 10 in the Startup Genome 2024 global startup ecosystem report.
Because of its location and vision for the future, CIC strategically chose this neighborhood as the home of the CIC Innovation Campus in Tokyo, which opened in 2020.
The Intentional Design of the Toranomon District
Each aspect of the Toranomon District is designed to elevate its status as a premier hub for global business and innovation. It began a decade ago, with the opening of the first of four buildings in Mori Building’s Toranomon Hills complex which includes the Toranomon Hills Mori Tower, the Business Tower, the Residential Tower, and the Station Tower.
“If you look at a map of Tokyo, it is almost exactly the center of the map. So it’s very easy to get to,” Tim Rowe, CEO and founder of CIC, told the Japan Times. In addition to its prime location and transportation options, the complex offers entire floors dedicated to bars and restaurants, a luxury hotel, and a residential building.
The area surrounding the Toranomon District features embassies, government offices, venture capital hubs and large corporations. Minato is in the middle of Tokyo and strategically linked to other startup clusters across the city, including Shibuya, Meguro, and Marunochi-Nihombashi.
Intentional partnerships are key for successful CIC Innovation Campuses. Mori Building turned to CIC to co-create a best-in-class innovation center in the Toranomon District. CIC Tokyo, located in the Toranomon Business Tower, offers shared flexible workspace that supports a diverse innovation community of local and global businesses from early-stage startups to satellite office space for fast-growing multinational companies.
Toranomon’s Global Innovation Ecosystem is Part of a Sustainable, Bright Future
Innovation in Tokyo’s top industries – such as life sciences, energy and environment, climate tech, fintech, advanced manufacturing, AI & robotics and space tech – is and will continue to be vital in solving global problems of today and tomorrow.
Take cleantech as one example of the impact of innovation, a sector tackling climate change and how we navigate a path forward. Incorporating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles and technology, the Tokyo Bay eSG project aims to create the world’s first ESG city by 2050 to serve as a global model for sustainable cities of the future.
Global interconnection is foundational to the Japanese innovation landscape. Some of the key programs in Toranomon that support international expansion to and from Tokyo include:
- Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), a government-affiliated agency that facilitates trade and investments, supports overseas business development by providing Japanese startups access to global markets through their programs. More specifically, they provide mentoring, outbound trips, attend exhibitions, etc. To that end, JETRO sponsors CIC Japan Desk programming that helps Japanese startups enter the U.S. market specifically.
- The Tokyo Metropolitan Government aims to make Tokyo the most startup friendly city in the world with its 10x10x10 vision for the future of innovation – aiming for a tenfold increase in the number of global unicorns from Japan, startups and public-private partnerships by 2027. It organizes the annual City-Tech.Tokyo event to highlight groundbreaking technology and innovation.
As a global leader in building and operating innovation campuses, CIC Tokyo is now home to the city of Tokyo’s startup support center and more than 300 companies including Sakana AI, Restore Vision, Donut Robotics, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, Shizen Capital, and KPMG. It has also been the backdrop for many announcements and visits from Japanese officials.
Innovation is Central to Tokyo’s Identity
Japan has remained a global technology leader for nearly a century because of how integral innovation and discovery are to the government and businesses alike. For example, in 2022, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced a five year plan outlining significant investments to support startups.
Government support includes a focus on internationalizing Japan’s innovation ecosystems. This was on full display in May 2024, when Tokyo hosted Asia’s largest global innovation conference for startup ecosystems, SusHi Tech Tokyo, where a quarter of the attendees were from other countries.
Japan’s location and government support for technical infrastructure such as 5G connectivity and the cloud are among some of the top reasons why companies of all sizes want to establish a presence in the nation’s capital. The country, at all governmental levels, is committed to supporting the next generation of Japanese startups that will follow in the footsteps of Tokyo’s tech giants.
Large corporations are similarly investing in Japan’s innovation ecosystem, with corporate investments making up a significant portion of the total investment in Japanese startups. The tenfold investment growth includes corporate venture capital, direct investment programs, and dedicated open innovation teams.
A World Bank Group analysis in 2021 synthesized research about Japan’s innovation and startup ecosystem, sharing key data points showcasing the country’s strength as an innovation powerhouse:
- Tokyo leads the global top 100 innovation clusters that produce scientific publications and patents
- Third highest corporate research and development (R&D) investment
- One of the highest R&D intensity levels in the world, which is measured by R&D per GDP
Academia also plays a major role in Japan’s robust research, development, and discovery work. Tokyo’s high number of researchers and patents also helped it secure third place in the comprehensive Global Power City Index rankings of global cities, behind London and New York.
Home to some of the top research universities and institutes in the world, the number of university startups has more than doubled over the last decade. Entrepreneurship classes and programs that promote the commercialization of academic research are also on the rise.
The supportive startup ecosystem in Japan is a testament to the power of partnerships among like-minded organizations. The Tokyo Innovation Base, for example, is a collaborative effort between government entities, corporations, startups, and universities that fosters growth today and creates opportunities for the next generation to innovate and embrace the entrepreneurial spirit.
Discover if Tokyo is the Right Place for Your Startup
The Toranomon District in Minato offers a central location for startups and businesses of all stages to build and collaborate together, paving the way for global partnerships and connections.
At the heart of Tokyo, Toranomon offers a model of how to successfully create an intentional innovation ecosystem with the support of municipal, regional, and governmental bodies. The success of the CIC Innovation Campus in Tokyo led to planning for the CIC Innovation Campus in Fukuoka, scheduled to open in spring 2025.
If you’re interested in how CIC Tokyo or one of our other innovation campus locations can support your organization, book a tour today.
