All posts on startups, venture capital, real estate, and the Japanese economy.
Korean startups with strong products and funding struggle in Japan due to execution challenges rather than technology issues.
Jun 30, 2026Japan's social media landscape differs significantly from Western markets, with LINE, X, and YouTube central while LinkedIn has minimal impact.
Jun 24, 2026Analysis of the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2026: the startup economy is recovering with AI generating value, but Asia is not capturing enough.
Jun 22, 2026a16z opened its first international office in Tokyo, signaling Tokyo's growing importance.
Jun 16, 2026Founders outside Silicon Valley face distinct fundraising challenges when approaching global investors.
Jun 12, 2026How investors discover startups: cold outreach vs warm introductions.
Jun 11, 2026Founders fail at cold outreach due to preparation issues that precede messaging.
Jun 1, 2026First-hand account of Venture Institute Cohort 6.
Apr 24, 2026Successful Japan-entry patterns from dozens of market entries.
Mar 20, 2026Cold outreach strategies for emerging fund managers, insights from Treeo VC's Arzoo and Sarah Lacy.
Mar 17, 2026AI wrapper businesses built on LLM APIs and their structural weaknesses.
Mar 13, 2026Japanese startups expanding globally; JIC research on structural funding challenges.
Mar 2, 2026BOJ's Dec 19, 2025 rate increase to 0.75% and implications for homeowners.
Dec 23, 2025Challenges media portrayals of Japan as xenophobic.
Dec 10, 2025October 2025 changes to Japan's startup visa requirements.
Nov 27, 20252025 VC dynamics: early-stage squeezed, late-stage AI on fire.
May 16, 2025U.S. tariff implications for Japan's industries, stock market, currency, daily life.
May 8, 2025Unoccupied urban condos distorting Tokyo's real estate market.
May 2, 20259M seniors in Greater Tokyo, 9M vacant homes nationwide; generational real estate shifts.
Apr 30, 2025Pandemic-era travel guide.
Sep 27, 2021Reflections on decision making in the algorithm age, inspired by Yuval Noah Harari's Homo Deus: with enough biometric data and computing power, algorithms can know us better than we know ourselves and manipulate our daily decisions.
Sep 8, 2020Yu Li Shein's bilingual (English/Burmese) autobiography, tracing her journey from a small island in southern Myanmar through Yangon, Computer University, and her first job to an international career in India, Japan, and the United States.
Aug 25, 2020