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Japan

Misty high-rise towers rise into fog above a wet city street in Tokyo.

Japan/feature

The Hongo Pipeline

The University of Tokyo has built the most complete route from lecture hall to cap table in Japan. Tokyo's five-year startup plan now asks the rest of the country to copy it.

An aerial view of a green-glass skyscraper whose rooftop holds a helipad, with a dense city behind it.

Japan/spotlight

Aidemy: from undergraduate apps to the Tokyo Stock Exchange

Akihiko Ishikawa started Aidemy as a University of Tokyo undergraduate, abandoned his first products, and listed the company at 30.

Tokyo Tower reflected in the glass facade of a skyscraper against a blue evening sky.

Japan/spotlight

Almondo: a first-year student, a professor's lab and a corporate AI shop

Kota Ito founded Almondo in his first year at the University of Tokyo, with a team drawn from Matsuo Lab. It now builds custom AI for Japanese corporations.