Japan’s downbeat startups need a lift

Japan has produced only six of the world’s roughly 1,400 unicorns and no decacorn, despite VC fundraising rising from about $1bn in 2015 to $6bn in 2025. The article identifies three linked constraints: too little late-stage capital, an exit market that pushes 57% of startup exits into premature IPOs, and a culture in which only 24% regard entrepreneurship as desirable. Government support, AI success such as Sakana AI and tougher Tokyo Stock Exchange delisting rules help, but Japan still lacks a global-scale startup that can recycle talent and acquisitions through the ecosystem.