BE Health Empowers 7 MedTech Startups to Penetrate Japan’s Digital Transformation Market
GBI News | Reporter: Lin-Yao Li, Taipei
April 13, 2023
The “2023 Taiwan X Japan Investment Forum,” co-organized by BE Health Ventures and Startup Island TAIWAN, was held today (13th). Representatives from Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and the Osaka Industrial Bureau were invited to share insights on Japan’s startup support policies. A special keynote was delivered by Health2Sync, a company that has received multiple rounds of Japanese investment, sharing its direct experience in the Japanese market. Additionally, seven Taiwanese startups—including OmniHealth, iScent, Pulsetic, Neural Med, FaceHeart, and others—took the stage to pitch, aiming to increase their exposure to the Japanese market.
Building a Startup Ecosystem: Japan’s “10 Trillion Yen” Plan Koji Namekawa, Vice President of the Growth Business Development Department at SMBC, shared how the bank assists Japanese startups. He noted that startup investment in Japan has grown tenfold over the past decade. Consequently, the Japanese government designated 2022 as the “First Year of Startup Creation,” selecting four key regions—Kansai (Kyoto and Hyogo), Tokyo, Tokai (Nagoya), and Fukuoka—as primary hubs.
The Japanese government also launched a “Five-Year Plan for Startups,” allocating a budget of 10 trillion yen with the goal of increasing startup investment by tenfold within five years. SMBC further supports this via its “Mirai X” platform, which integrates industry, academia, and venture capital resources.
Health2Sync’s Market Entry: Integrating into Local Ecosystems Ed Deng, founder of Health2Sync—Asia’s largest diabetes management platform—shared his experience in Japan. He emphasized that entering the medical sector in a new country is a formidable challenge due to regulatory hurdles. He chose Japan because it is one of the world’s largest healthcare markets, second only to the U.S., and is highly receptive to high-quality innovative technologies. Currently, 45-50% of medical devices in Japan are imported.
