Event Information

Tokyo MG Mr. Yonazu

Thank you very much. First of all, I would like to give you an outline of where Tokyo aims to support startups as a background to this project.

First I will explain the “King Salmon Project.” The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will play a role as an early adopter and provide a testbed for startups to establishing a cycle to nurture global startups. We will try to increase the number of outstanding startups that can go out into the world. In that sense, it will be necessary for us to provide a venue for field trials and promote public procurement, and to take initiatives to spread this system. I would be very grateful if you would listen to the result of the field trial by the startups as an advanced example

Tokyo Metropolitan Government is making various efforts to foster an awareness to working with startups. In this context, I would like to clarify the positioning of the King Salmon Project as an initiative of Tokyo Metropolitan Government that contributes to startups

At the base of the King Salmon Project, there is "Startup Ecosystem Tokyo Consortium". With the endorsement of the government, we are creating a business environment in which startups can flourish around the world. We have received the cooperation from a wide range of people and organizations. One of the important things is that universities and large corporations are concentrating in Tokyo, and it is important cooperate with them. We will intensively implement various measures, including advocacy for national system and regulation, and as part of this, we are implementing the King Salmon Project.

There have been various discussions on the background of such efforts. I have listed three points here. One is to further utilize the accumulation of knowledge by strengthening our bases, mainly at universities. In addition, we have to be considerate of the diversity on a global scale. In addition, the post-corona era is quite a difficult time, but we have had discussions from a broad perspective on the point of creating innovation. I hope to realize such change through the various initiatives. That's all for me. Thank you.

DTC Tanaka

Mr. Yonazu, thank you very much. Next, I would like to explain the details of the King Salmon Project. There are four specific business areas.

First, we will conduct a field trial using startup products and services in order to solve the social issues in the Tokyo administration field. The second is an initiative that will lead to a discretionary contract with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government for the products and services that were certified based on the results of the field trial. Third, in order to expand the overseas sales of selected startups to help them become global, we will support the formulation and implementation of strategies for overseas expansion. Fourth, we will use the results of this project as a successful model of working with startups to solve social issues and provide information to subsequent startups.

Next is a summary of our work in fiscal 2020. First of all, three of the selected startups have conducted field trial this fiscal year, and one is scheduled to do so next fiscal year. The details and results of the field trial will be reported later by each startup company. With regard to the promotion of public procurement, we are preparing for public procurement based on the results of the three companies that conducted field trial. As for strategic planning and implementation support for overseas market expansion, we have analysed the target market of each selected startup and plan strategies based on the results of the market analysis, and also plan to hold pitch events and match with overseas companies. Finally, in the horizontal development, we hold seminars in cooperation with other Tokyo Metropolitan Government projects for not only startups and enterprises but also for students of the universities that are members of the "Startup Ecosystem Tokyo Consortium" in order to nurture subsequent startups.

Details of these initiatives are available on the website of this project. If you are interested, please search "Tokyo King Salmon" and it will appear at the top of the search results. This concludes the overview of the King Salmon Project.

Next, I would like to report the results of the field trial conducted by the selected startup companies.

For this year's field trial, we have selected startups within three themes, and selected Innophys and Triple W Japan for "Nursing and nursing support using robots and wearable devices", Holoeyes for "Proactive use of ICT at municipal hospitals", and WAmazing for "Inbound tourism promotion by taking advantage of the opening of the Tokyo International Cruise Terminal". Today, Innophys, Triple W Japan, and Holoeyes will report the results of this year's field trial, and WAmazing will explain the details of the field trial planned for next year.

DTC Tanaka

First presenter is Mr. Orihara from Innophys.

Innophys Orihara

My name is Orihara, CEO of Innophys. I would like to report on the usefulness of this muscle suit in the welfare field through the result of field trial. First of all, Innophys, which develops muscle suits, was established in 2013 as the first university venture of Tokyo University of Science. The product we are developing is a waist support product called muscle suit. It is a category called wearable assist suit. This product is characterized by the fact that it operates only by air without electricity, such as batteries. In addition, it is very lightweight and can provide very strong support. The remarkable characteristic is that the price of our previous product used to be about 500,000 yen, and now it has been lowered to 136,000 yen so it can be implemented in various field. In addition to nursing care and assistance, which had been the main target of conventional products, the product is now expanding to factory, agriculture, construction and logistics.

The mission of our company is to realize an independent life as long as we live. With the declining birth-rate and aging population, we will contribute to improving the quality of life of middle-aged and elderly people, and by developing robots, we hope to realize a more fulfilling life and work for each person. We have sold over 16,000 muscle suits. I believe that industry-government-academia cooperation is being realized through our cooperation with Tokyo University of Science and Chemistry. This initiative is taking place in a variety of industries, including nursing care and assistance, agriculture, factories, and logistics. In a sense, we believe that Japan is an advanced country in the field in terms of issues such as labour shortages and the aging of society. We at Innophys want to send out products like this from Japan, which is an advanced country in this field, and eventually grow them into products that can be sent out and used around the world.

Now let me explain the field trial next. This field trial was conducted at Hino Rehabilitation Center, a social welfare organization in Tokyo. It's a facility where a wide range of people from 27 to 86 years old live. As for the problems, they want to reduce the physical burden and lower back pain of the staff. In addition, we are working to develop the necessary elements to promote the use of assist suits. The purpose of the field trial is to see how much load can be reduced by wearing the “Muscle Suit Every” to perform each task. Specifically, we conduct a qualitative analysis through questionnaire and quantitative analysis through electromyography and motion capture.

We lent out 18 muscle suits to be used for jobs such as changing diapers, changing posture, bathing and transferring the patient. In terms of the results of the questionnaire, we confirmed the areas of pain, the degree of fatigue from nursing care, and the state of stress, all of which showed a general improvement trend. Next, in examination with motion capture and electromyography, as seen on the graph, the workload has been reduced by 30 to 40% by the used of muscle suit. In motion capture, the peak of workload was low to begin with, but the load level had been reduced as well.

In conclusion, I believe that the effect was verified from a quantitative and qualitative point of view. On the other hand, there were concerns pointed out by the users regarding the installation and size of “Muscle Suit Every”, as well as the place to put it. We believe that there will be more places to use in the field of nursing care in the future, but in order to achieve further effects, I think it would be better to review some of the work to make full use of the product. This is the end of my presentation. Thank you very much.

DTC Tanaka

Thank you Mr. Orihara. Next presenter is Mr. Nakanishi from Triple W Japan.

TWJ Nakanishi

Hello, I'm Nakanishi, the CEO of Triple W Japan. Our company has developed and is developing a urination prediction device "DFree". In particular, I would like to explain a field trial of autonomous urination support in acute care hospitals. To give you a quick overview, our company was established in 2015, so it's been about 6 years since it was established. We plan, develop and sell this urination prediction device "DFree". To briefly introduce the device, it is an ultrasonic wave wearable device, which is attached to the lower abdomen. By attaching, it measures how much the bladder is inflated at 10 levels and displays it on a smart device. We are currently developing two services, one for corporate clients, such as nursing care facilities and chronic care hospitals, and the other for individuals.

The number of people who have problems such as urination and incontinence, frequent urination, and so on, is increasing rapidly as the population ages. In particular, in the case of a patient who has a serious illness and is admitted to an acute-care hospital, when it comes to whether or not the patient can actually return home, the most important factor is whether or not the patient can independently use the bathroom. In case of stroke, which is one of the major causes for people to be in the need of nursing care, it is a very important thing to be able to independently use the bathroom because the assistance can be very burdensome. Currently, it is difficult to see the timing of the toilet by another person, so nurses feel a sense of burden to actively guide them to the toilet. Therefore, we used our device to firmly promote self-reliant urination, and demonstrated whether it could reduce the burden on nurses in the field.

It has been demonstrated at metropolitan hospitals, Hiroo Hospital and Bokutoh Hospital, for neurosurgery and neurology. In this study, we investigated how the level of incontinence, self-reliant urination, and the burden on nurses had changed during the three days before and after wearing "DFree". As for the result, when it comes to changes in the degree of independence, the majority of the respondents reported an improvement in the degree of independent urination, a reduction in actual incontinence, and a reduction in nurses' sense of burden. Concretely speaking, in terms of changes in the degree of independence, the majority (53.6%) of the respondents said that they had improved, but 46.6% of the respondents said that they had maintained the condition which we assume are people in acute stage with serious condition. 0% said that it had worsened. Overall, self-sufficiency in urination improved by 20%. More specifically, this kind of graph can be seen in the time series of bladder distention, but it is an example of a person being guided to the toilet when the sign is yellow and being able to defecate in the toilet.

In terms of urination status, it is said that actual urination in the toilet improved by 37.1% and incontinence decreased by 32.4%. Also, they were able to reduce the miss (which means that nurses lead the patient to the bathroom but there is no need to use the bathroom) significantly. Also, the number of diaper changes was reduced by 35.7%. As a nurse, I have obtained the result that the sense of burden has been greatly reduced, and in the first place, regarding urination care, although it is considered to be life threatening because it is in the acute phase, I have also obtained the result that awareness of independence of urination has increased.

As for the future, we received feedback that the network connection was not stable. There are some metropolitan hospitals that do not have the necessary infrastructure, such as Wi-Fi, but we would like to improve this. We also plan to reduce the size of the device because of the burden on the user, and improve the UI, UX, advanced production, and improvement so that anyone can use it easily. This smaller product will also be launched for corporate customers in June of this year.

As for the future, we have obtained the results of the field trial for the first time in hospitals, so we will build a business model for hospitals based on the results. We will expand the use of this model in hospitals not only in Japan but also overseas.

The result was that it was very effective for people who are or were hospitalized, or people who work at the hospital. I would like to further expand this result to the world. Thank you very much.

DTC Tanaka

Thank you Mr. Nakanishi. Next presenter is Mr. Taniguchi from Holoeyes.

Holoeyes Taniguchi

I'm Taniguchi from Holoeyes. Our company offers services for hospitals that use VR, AR and, more recently, mixed reality technology.

Let me show you exactly what we are doing. First of all, this image on the far left, this is a CT scan, which is taken by cutting the body into round slices and taking X-rays. In the middle, it says 3D volume rendering, but so far, the construction of 3D images from 2D CT images is done in hospitals. It's just that the volume rendering in the middle, which is very useful to be able to see in three dimensions of a body. However, because our bodied are in three dimensions, one dimension is different between this two-dimensional 2D monitor and our three-dimensional body. Our company's service fills the gap, and our company's service lets you build these things in 3D, either with VR headsets like this or with goggles like the Hololens.

The purpose of field trial with our company's service is to see how we can improve surgery, training, and what we're doing with this VR application based on this kind of two-dimensional information.

The field trial sites are 2 metropolitan hospitals, Metropolitan Bokuto Hospital and Tama Metropolitan Comprehensive Medical Center. Mainly, liver, biliary tract, pancreas, and surgeons there used it. It was called a prospective intervention study, and from a certain point of time, the degree of understanding was measured by three-dimensional construction of these several cases. In total, there were 28 cases of surgery involving the liver, bile and pancreas (Liver, biliary tract, and pancreas). In this way, the blood vessels around the pancreas, which are actually very complex, were seen with holograms.

Now, let me briefly introduce the results. The leftmost one is a normal two-dimensional image. In the middle is a 3D built image, and in the red is our company VR image. A young doctor said that there was a huge improvement in his understanding. It was effective not only for young doctors but also for experienced doctors who perform advanced surgery. The red part is volume rendering, and then comparing what you're seeing on a 2D monitor to what you're seeing in 3D using our company's VR app. Yes, we asked Dr. Seyama of Tokyo Metropolitan Komagome Hospital to create the questionnaire on how well we understood all the cases. The result of this questionnaire is the graph. In this pancreatoduodenectomy, if you have a tumour in the head of the pancreas, you don't just cut off the head, you cut off the duodenum or the liver, bile tract, and pancreas, and you do this complicated stitching. When we do this kind of tethering, it's very complicated, how blood vessels run around the pancreas are different for everyone. Very experienced doctors with more than 15 years of experience have said that they have been able to understand it. Here's a quick rundown of the benefits of using our company services: by being able to understand it intuitively, we were able to perform the surgery safely and with peace of mind, which reduced the burden on doctors. I believe this will lead to a reform in the way doctors work. In addition, young doctors and interns can learn anatomy effectively in less time, just as intuitively. By doing so, the speed of the growth of surgeons will increase, and the appeal of surgeons will be passed on to young students and interns, and the number of students who want to become surgeons will increase.

Finally, for the future outlook, we did a field trial VR in a single hospital. The next step is to study cases in hospitals that use 5G lines or use the Internet, and we would like to use our company's services to effectively share the surgical techniques and strategies. Thank you very much.

DTC Tanaka

Thank you Mr. Taniguchi. Final presenter is Ms. Kato from WAmazing.

WA Kato

Hello, I am Kato from WAmazing. WAmazing provides a sightseeing platform service for foreign visitors to Japan, so-called inbound tourists. The number of visitors to Japan from all over the world is increasing year by year, so we offer a service that matches tourists with attractive tourist resources from all over Japan. it is like a travel agency in a smartphone that can not only transmit and send information such as Japanese accommodation, food and drink, activities, shopping, and transportation, but also actually purchase and make reservations. We provide a service as an in-hand travel agent specializing in inbound tourism of Japan. That's why we were planning to conduct a field trial at Tokyo International Cruise Terminal, which was originally supposed to open on July 14, 2020. As you all know, in recent years, tourism is reduced due to the serious situation of the novel coronavirus, so we were also affected by this. The opening of the port was opened in the fall of 2020. However, we are not in a situation where foreign cruise ships, for example, bring a lot of tourists, so we are planning to start this project next year.

Specifically, I would like to increase the convenience of foreign tourists visiting Tokyo on cruises, maximize the consumption in Tokyo, and realize visualization. One of the problems that foreign tourists have while traveling in Japan is lack of free public Wi-Fi. Cruise passengers, if you come to Japan by ship, you want to get various information by using your smartphone for sightseeing, or you want to send information by SNS, but if your smartphone is out of range. So when you disembark the cruise ship, WAmazing will provide you with a free SIM card by DOCOMO line. This is a service that you can use for 15 days, the free data capacity up to 500 MB, but if you need more, you can purchase it by credit card. While we are offering this free SIM card, we are planning to use it for tourists who come to Japan from overseas and cruise passengers to make shopping and transportation more convenient by using their smartphones. For example, in the area of transportation, each transportation company has a very convenient unlimited ride ticket for visitors to Japan, but since it is sold at the ticket window, there are so many lines. WAmazing has set up an unlimited ticket for visitors to Japan, which can be purchased on a smartphone, at the cruise terminal using a special machine like this, and you can get it without a ticket counter. As for shopping, foreign tourists can buy things in Japan at duty-free prices. This is also a duty-free EC service where cruise passengers can buy it on their smartphone or PC through EC so that they can buy efficiently in a short time. You can receive the item at the Tokyo International Cruise Terminal. Now that the Tokyo International Cruise Terminal has opened, I would like to visualize the economic effects of the opening of the terminal in anticipation of the arrival of new customers next year and make the best use of it as the next step. For example, we would like to optimize the selection of cruise ships, plan tourism promotion according to the target, and develop products such as new tourism experience products, clothing products, and products. Thank you very much.

DTC Tanaka

Thank you, Ms. Kato. This concludes the presentation of the field trial by the selected startup companies. Next, I would like to discuss issues that need to be addressed for the realization of the startup city, Tokyo, and the growth of startup companies, with guest speakers and selected companies.

First, I would like to introduce Ms. Keiko Hamada, a journalist who will be the moderator of today's discussion. Ms. Hamada has worked for The Asahi Shimbun and The Shukan Asahi Editorial Department before becoming AERA Editor-in-Chief in 2016. Since April 2017, Ms. Hamada has worked as Executive Editor-in-Chief of Business Insider Japan, an online economic media which operates in 17 countries around the world. She is currently working as a journalist. She has given lectures on TV commentators such as "Shinichi Hatori Morning Show" and "Sunday Morning" as well as diversity and work style reforms.

Next, we have two guest speakers for this discussion. Mr.Satoshi Kariyazono, Representative Partner of Globis Capital Partners Co, founded the venture capital business of Globis Co., Ltd., and participated in the establishment of the first fund, fund manager and Apax Globis Partners. In 2006, he was appointed as Managing Partner and Representative Partner. He also serves as Honorary Chairman of Nippon Venture Capital. Mr. Kariyazono will comment today from the viewpoint of seeing the growth of Middle to Late Stage startups.

Mr. Taichi Yamaguchi, Chief Strategy Officer of TBM Co. After being in charge of new business development at Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd., Mr. Yamaguchi has been engaged in business revitalization support and M & A support at PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC). Currently, he is in charge of the Corporate Planning Division of TBM and formulate business strategies, business plans and capital policies, and is promoting alliances with new businesses and operating companies. Mr. Yamaguchi will comment with his experience and knowledge as a member of unicorn company.

In addition, the panel discussion will include four representatives of the four startup companies.

Now, let's move on to the panel discussion, and in this discussion, we will invite questions from the participants. If you have any questions, please post on "Q & A" at the bottom of the event screen with the recipient's name clearly written. From now on, I would like to pass the baton to Ms. Hamada as the facilitator.

Journalist Hamada

Yes, thank you very much. I would like to start now, but firstly, thank you very much for the presentation. I was quite surprised to learn that such a field trial can be conducted in cooperation with the government. I would like ask why you felt that you could not have done it without cooperation with the government. Mr. Orihara, what do you think?

Innophys Orihara

After all, by working with the government, I had a chance to communicate with the people who actually use it at the site. I think it was very big. When we took the data, we were able to capture the data from the actual caregivers, and we were able do the simulation that is very close to the real work. Such opportunities are not common, so I believe that by taking advantage of these opportunities, we have become able to explain the effects of our products in a more quantitative and easy-to-understand manner to our customers. This is a very helpful point.

Journalist Hamada

The trial was done at Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s organization.

Innophys Orihara

Yes.

Journalist Hamada

This is a experiment conducted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and I wonder if there is such a sense of trust that the employees can cooperate willingly.

Innophys Orihara

Yes, I think that’s also a factor. There was a strong sense of trust, so the caregivers had been very cooperative with us. I am very grateful for this opportunity because there are not many opportunities that we can have many people to cooperate to measure its effectiveness.

Journalist Hamada

Thank you very much. Mr. Taniguchi said that the experiment was conducted at a municipal hospital, but did the discussion go smoothly because it was a demonstration experiment conducted by the metropolitan government, rather than asking a private hospital to use it by themselves?

Holoeyes Taniguchi

Well, in technical terms, it is called a prospective intervention study, and I think it was a very big harvest for us that we were able to do such a thing as to try out some cases from a certain point. We will compile the results of that research into a report, make it evidence, and use it as a marketing tool. After that, I would like to see if we can continue to carry out such a project in Tokyo, for example, by developing similar projects in local areas or in other countries, and using the fact that we did such a thing in Tokyo as an evidence.

Journalist Hamada

SO you can use it for further expansion.

Holoeyes Taniguchi

Correct.

Journalist Hamada

Thank you very much. Mr. Nakanishi also tested in metropolitan hospital. Was the test conducted smoothly because it was a project of Tokyo?

TWJ Nakanishi

Definite. Especially acute care hospitals is basically off-limits now because of the coronavirus.

Journalist Hamada

This year must have been difficult.

TWJ Nakanishi

There was no atmosphere to do anything new at all, but because it was a project by Tokyo Metropolitan Government, we had great cooperation and we are grateful for it.

Journalist Hamada

Thank you very much. Mr. Yamaguchi, Mr. Kariyazono, how was it? Including your impressions of this presentation, may I ask Mr. Kariyasono how you feel about the meaning of this project and how it helps the stratups to grows?

Globis Kariyazono

Yes, first of all, the venture company does not have funds in various aspects, human resources, and management resources in various aspects, but I think there is the biggest problem among them is trust. Therefore, from the perspective of collaboration between the government and startups, I think that the meaning of this is credit enhancement, which is the most important thing. A few years ago, I had a chance to talk with an entrepreneur who received an award from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. He said that the brand and credit enhancement of local governments are much bigger than that of the private sector. In particular, he said that the Tokyo brand is the most powerful among them. Because of the award from Tokyo, he had been contacted by leading operating companies and opinion leaders in the industry.

Journalist Hamada

Thank you. And Mr. Yamaguchi?

TBM Yamaguchi

Yes, our company had been authorized by Tokyo Metropolitan Government in 2017 and we have printed materials and novelties for Tokyo Metropolitan Government . In the future, I would like to work with the Environment Bureau to promote recycling and resource recycling. As you mentioned, the local government's efforts, especially in Tokyo, is a great track record and evidence for a startup, and since they say they have a very wide budget and have a very wide range of proposals, I think there are more than 30 bureaus in Tokyo, but since they have various bureaus in the area of tourism, medical care, logistics, and the environment, I think it is a great advantage to be able to point out the products and technologies that each startup company has.

Journalist Hamada

I believe that you are actually conducting such experiments and obtaining data that will lead you to the next stage of growth and development. After that, for example, the relationship with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has probably been established, and as a public works project, you mentioned a discretionary contract. What do you mean by that, Mr. Yamaguchi?

TBM Yamaguchi

Well, if we can get results from one project, I think we will be able to have a chance to try it in another project even if the purpose is different. So I think we can expect that kind of expansion.

Journalist Hamada

Thank you very much. I would like to ask you about the next topic. I think it is a characteristic of each of you that you are tackling various social issues in Japan, which is very serious now, especially the aging society, the declining birthrate, inbound tourism, etc. Unfortunately, due to the effects of the coronavirus this year, we were unable to conduct one experiment because inbound visitors were not able to make it. However, I believe that over the past year, you have had time to think about what you felt was an issue and how you would like to link it to the experiments in the next fiscal year. What do you think of this as an experiment that takes into account to some extent the impact of the coronavirus?

WA Kato

Yes. What WAmazing is working on is tourism. For Tokyo, tourism is something to earn foreign currency. Customers from abroad come to Tokyo to eat and drink, buy, stay and play, so it has a considerable economic effect and a consumption effect. However, on the other hand, in the pre-COVID-19 situation, overtourism, or congestion, became more of a problem, and since the number of foreign tourists increased in a very short period of time, the capacity of the host became full, causing more inconvenience to the local residents and Tokyo residents, or hindrance to their daily lives. WAmazing wants to tackle the issue of overtourism and the visualization of the economic effect of tourists. By using the WAmazing service, not only people go to Tokyo Tower or sightseeing resources that are already known, but there are wonderful things in many places, so I hope that we can contribute to the decentralization of tourism by publicizing those places, and by analyzing the data on what is popular and what kind of actions we are taking in the Tokyo metropolitan area because we can obtain user data including location information within the app. We also hope to contribute to the development of new products and decentralization, and to ensure safety and security in corona and with-corona by non-face-to-face or non-contact.

Journalist Hamada

Thank you. Mr. Nakanishi, when I heard that self-reliant excretion affects the quality of life and, more importantly, reduces the burden on nurses,. In fact, by being able to excrete independently, does it mean that the burden of nurses is reduced compared to changing diaper?

TWJ Nakanishi

Well, it takes work to lead people to the bathroom, but the current process is to take people to the bathroom once an hour but it can be reduced to only when necessary. I think the burden will be greatly reduced. Another issue is the use the of diapers. 4% of all general waste are disposable diapers, and it is said that it will be 7% by 2030. Actually, in terms of consumption, the population of the United States is three times as large as that of Japan, but Japan uses three times as much as that of the United States. We do not deny the use of diapers but because diapers are chemical products that are directly linked to CO2, we are aiming to reduce the use of diaper pads by half in 2030.

Journalist Hamada

You are solving multiple problems. In other words, the quality of life of the elderly and the reduction of the burden on the medical field is a problem that the medical field faces, and the other is the environmental problem. Was that your idea to begin with?

TWJ Nakanishi

Not at first, but we saw the issues more clearly after starting the business.

Journalist Hamada

Thank you very much. Mr. Kanayazono, more and more entrepreneurs want to solve social problems. In particular, I believe that there is a major trend toward SDGs. Could you tell us a little about the background behind the increasing number of companies that are solving social issues?

Globis Kariyazono

I also feel strongly that entrepreneurs are showing their interest to solve social issues. I think this is especially characteristic in the 2010s. In the 90s and 2000s, the eyes of entrepreneurs were focused on the Internet, smartphones, and IT. I think that when we created new business models, they were suited to these kinds of situations. When I think about Japan, I felt the change of tide was the Great East Japan Earthquake. There is a real increase in the number of entrepreneurs who aspire to contribute to society not only through the use of IT. I believe that many of you who are here today have original experiences or stories that are unique to individual entrepreneur.. I think a strong will can be a breakthrough in solving social problems. When it comes to solving social issues, there are many difficulties, of course. They have to start from scratch. There must be conflicts with vested interests. However, the question of whether there is an original experience and a driving force to overcome such difficulties is, after all, the fact that startups have the potential to overcome social challenges.

Journalist Hamada

All the presenters today said that they had a problem that was clear, and yet no one had been able to solve it befroe. I think the hurdles are probably high, as Mr. Kanayazono said, and I felt that you are confronting high hurdles with technology. How do you feel, Mr. Yamaguchi, including this driving force of everyone?

TBM Yamaguchi

Well, as with services and merchandise, I think the areas that you are aiming for are very relevant to social issues. According to Innophys, in the field of nursing care, as well as in the field of construction and logistics, Japan is actually one of the leading countries in the field of such issues, so if we can give examples in Japan, I think that there will be a vision that can be developed horizontally in a country with an aging population. I have a very strong impression that the intentions and paths that have been resolved at each company are clear. As Mr. Kanyazono says, the perspective of investors is very suitable for ESG. I think there has been a change in the trend, or a change in the way of looking at it, such as seeing it as a soxial contribution activity to a profit-making area. I think the market is big. W I think it is a field in which each company has room for growth.

Journalist Hamada

Thank you very much. As a final point, I would like you to discuss with us what is necessary for the four companies you are presenting today to grow further. Mr. Yamaguchi, as a senior at a unicorn company, could you give us some advice first?

TBM Yamaguchi

Well, I'm not in a position to talk big, but in the case of our company, for example, we are developing new environmental materials. As an important point, our company emphasizes the importance of resources and the coexistence of ecology and economy toward a sustainable society. After all, eco-friendly products and materials have tended to be niche products in the past, and although they are environmentally friendly, they can only be introduced by a few companies because they are expensive. However, by giving them price competitiveness, we are thinking that they are becoming materials that people can use more often. Therefore, I believe that each company has a strategy to reduce costs and a sales strategy, but I think the key point is how to formulate a strategy to spread good products in the world.

Journalist Hamada

Mr. Orihara, the price of the muscle suit is much lower than the initial price. How did the cost come down so much?

Innophys Orihara

Well, I've been trying a lot. After all, the muscle suit in the front was made of iron using aluminum. I think one of the key points is that the number of parts has been drastically reduced by molding it with resin. Up until now, the scale of the machines had not affected the cost, even if the number of machines had increased. However, by molding them together with resin and reducing the parts to make them into molds, we were able to make them in such a way that if the number of machines increased to a certain extent, the unit cost would be greatly reduced accordingly. I believe that this was one of the main reasons that we were able to significantly lower the price.

Journalist Hamada

Other than the price, what do you think are the hurdles for various facilities and companies to use the muscle suit?

Innophys Orihara

After all, I think it started from the fact that muscle suits and wearable robots are not well known. So, we started selling the muscle suit every for 136,000 yen, but we still think that it is relatively new idea to wear a robot to reduce the burden on the lower back. So, I think it is important to explain this to our customers and to state the effects accurately. The rest is not only the effect, but also concrete examples of usage. I think it is important to create a precise example of how customers should use it in this kind of situation, and explain it to new customers when we propose it. In that sense, I think that the fact that we were able to properly explain that we were able to obtain very accurate data in this way, that it would have such an effect, and that it would be able to reduce such a burden has become a very big, in a sense, strength for our future marketing activities.

Journalist Hamada

What do you think, Mr. Taniguchi? When I heard what you said, I thought that this would certainly lead to a reform in the way doctors work and that it would be possible to equalize technology. What hurdles do we have to overcome in order to have it introduced to many hospitals?

Holoeyes Taniguchi

We are similar that it's so new after all. First of all, you wear something like this, which is very much not accepted in the world. Because it's a conservative industry, I think people are hesitant. Due to the current COVID-19, we can't go to the hospital directly, and now we are distributing various VR equipment to retailers and have them go to the hospital. Some we sent the headset by courier service and we explain various ways of using it online.

Journalist Hamada

How much are they?

Holoeyes Taniguchi

Hololens is 450,000 yen, OclusQuest is about 40,000 yen.

Journalist Hamada

Did the person who used it in the experiment say that they would like to introduce this at this price?

Holoeyes Taniguchi

いろいろありまして、例えばそのHololensという透過型のものは、だいたい450,000円ぐらいで。OclusQuestという非透過型のものは、40,000円弱ですね、はい。

Journalist Hamada

実際実験で使われた方は、このぐらいの値段でこの効果だったら導入したいなみたいなことなどをおっしゃっていましたか。

Holoeyes Taniguchi

Well, there are quite expensive medical devices, and from that point of view, they are perceived as being not so expensive. And, what's more, there is really only one such device that has a blood vessel in the liver and can examine various cases while pointing at it face to face, so there are some people who say that they really want it.

Journalist Hamada

It means that people who have used it once felt it was good. Mr. Nakanishi, I believe that your main business will be sales to hospitals and nursing care facilities. What are your thoughts on the hurdles involved in expanding these services?

TWJ Nakanishi

After all, the social security system in Japan is solid, so the program this time was very good in terms of introducing new systems together with the administration. But in most cases start with a denial. Therefore, I think it will be important to collect data on the places where you can cooperate and expand it. I think it is quite important to create an ecosystem in cooperation with the government. But for those who are still suffering from incontinence, I would like to optimize the entire incontinence care. I would like to create and expand an overall ecosystem like this.

Journalist Hamada

Ms. Kato, I understand that demonstration tests will finally begin next year. I believe that you have been expanding your services and continuing your business. How do you plan to grow?

WA Kato

The Tokyo International Cruise Terminal, which will be the stage of this demonstration projec, is very important. Even in Corona, After Corona, and With Corona, people cannot stay in China for sightseeing in Kyoto and Tokyo, so we have to convey advantage of what we can't feel it in a virtual way, and we try to do something about it by sight and hearing. The smell of the wind, but smell, taste, delicious food in Japan, touch feeling, touch feeling, touch feeling, etc. It is the best part of the trip, so I think this real pleasure will not go away. If people have to move around in a real way, Japan is an island country, so the the main touch point of tourists is a port or an airport. It is a great cause and it takes time to break through it. When we started the service at the airport, we were able to get the approval of the service at Narita Airport for the first time, and the service is now available at 22 airports throughout the country. The biggest point is that introducing the service at the key point there is a wide spread of the service, so while providing satisfaction to customers around the world at the Tokyo International Cruise Terminal, we will realize the issues of maximizing tourism products, eliminating overtourism and visualizing the service. For example, there are ports all over Japan, so we will introduce the service in Yokohama and Kobe. WAmazing is a place where visitors can approach visitors as soon as they enter Japan, so I would like to promote the recognition of services and their use.

Journalist Hamada

If you're going to make a lot of bookings on your phone, you're going to see a lot of opportunities for hotels, restaurants, and even tourism that have been seriously damaged by the coronavirus.

WA Kato

You're right. For example, in the airline industry, besides the revenue from selling airline tickets, the revenue from selling duty-free goods on the plane, which is called ancillary revenue, accounts for quite a lot of the revenue. It is said that the income of LCC by the air ticket is about half. On the other hand, Japanese hotels and hotels in Tokyo are mostly incomes of accommodation, or big city hotels and high-class hotels are incomes of parties such as banquets. For that reason, I have been dealing with customers for nearly 24 hours, so those people, for example, I will try to sell activities or duty-free goods online, and we can share the revenue for the things that the hotel sold as a point of contact, so I would like to offer a new revenue model to the accommodation industry that has been hit by the coronavirus.

Journalist Hamada

Thank you very much. Mr. Kariyazono, what do you think about the barriers that we have to overcome from now on and the growth margins that we have to overcome?

Globis Kariyazono

Yes, as for the theme of this King Salmon project, I think it's a new initiative if the metropolitan government itself provides a field trial as an early adopter, and in addition to that, public procurement and firm purchase of products. What I really think is even more amazing is that the project is supporting the implementation of strategies for overseas expansion and globalization. I think that this consistent approach is very advanced and unique among administrative and startup organizations. After finishing the demonstration experiment in Japan, when going to the global market, each company probably faces the following issues: whether their products are universal, that is, one-product that solve common problems for mankind, or whether they have to develop products in a multi-national business environment where there is global regionality and they need to adjust to each region. We need to come up with a strategy at the right time, so to speak, the sales strategy, the development strategy, and the human resources and funds to accompany it. Here, I think that integrating the whole will be a future issue. In that sense, not only TBM, but also Innophys and Holoeyes are probably strongly oriented towards Universal One products, and Triple W Japan and WAmazing are probably interested in multi-national services.

Journalist Hamada

Thank you very much. I have a question for Mr. Kariyazono. While social needs are high for solving social issues, it may be difficult to monetize. I believe that you will face difficulties in the future, but from the perspective of investors, how do you evaluate this?

Globis Kariyazono

Yes, in that sense, I believe that social issues are equal to needs, and I believe that the current trend is clearly emerging, such as the culture of firmly paying for such needs, and the fact that the capital market will support such companies, as mentioned in the SDGs. In such a situation, the story is that social issues are resolved. In addition to one mission, the future will depend on the scale. For example, in the past, Innophys has been able to reduce costs by scale, and has been able to optimize prices. In the future, companies that are social solution oriented will need to have the management power to realize these two things simultaneously. I believe this will enable us to achieve solid sales growth and profit realization. In order to do so, we believe it is necessary for venture capitals to provide solid financial resources.

Journalist Hamada

Thank you very much. I would like to ask five startups, including Mr. Yamaguchi, about this. If you are planning to expand your business overseas, it would be difficult to do so without a connection. For example, I would like to ask you what kind of path you have drawn, which may not be right now. Do you think that you would like to go out in the future?

Innophys Orihara

For us, Japan is basically an advanced country for the issue, and I believe that it will become apparent in other parts of the world sooner or later, so in that sense, overseas expansion is a must. As for how to advance overseas, in reality, we are constantly thinking about how to do it, but what we are doing is actively participating in local exhibitions overseas and talking about potential local partners, going through local acquaintances, and using JETRO to help us, and so on. In the past year or so, I have concluded that there are some areas in which it is easy to make progress and some areas where it is difficult to make progress. However, we have been changing hands and changing goods, and we are constantly trying to figure out how to do this.

Journalist Hamada

Are there any characteristics of areas that are easy to advance? After all, the issues are just like in Japan.

Innophys Orihara

The proximity of social issues and the sense of speed of decision making vary from region to region. I feel that the speed of overseas expansion will be affected in no small way.

Journalist Hamada

And Mr. Nakanishi?

TWJ Nakanishi

We already have overseas subsidiaries. Basically, when I go abroad, I think it is more important to have a sense of whether there is a need in the first place. We should be called from overseas rather than saying that I am going overseas. I also think it is very important to have a team with people who have a solid understanding of the local business style and business customs.

Journalist Hamada

Do you feel that Japan and other countries share similar issues, particularly in the medical field?

TWJ Nakanishi

Well, in particular, in the area of nursing care and in the area of aging, there is a sense of crisis everywhere, including in Europe and the United States, and in China, the aging of the population is progressing at a much faster pace than in Japan, so the government is still trying to figure out what to do.

Journalist Hamada

Thank you very much. How about Mr. Taniguchi? When I go abroad.

Holoeyes Taniguchi

In Japan, there is such an organization that encourages people to go abroad, so you should use it. JETRO is full of very good people, and when I go there, they welcome me and give me a lot of briefings, introduce me to local companies, and so on. As we build this network, it expands in the form of a network. Also, our company has a program called Orange Hub, which was selected and supported by France Telecom's Orange Hub. After the program ended, we are invited to various events. For example, there was a contest for business using 5G, which is being held in Singapore, and then we had conducted a demonstration experiment with SINGTEL, a Singaporean mobile carrier. Also, with the King Salmon Project this time, I think the fact that they introduced us to a Chinese university has helped me a lot.

Journalist Hamada

Thank you very much. Ms. Kato, are you thinking of setting up a similar system overseas in the future?

WA Kato

Actually, I don't think about overseas with such a similar system. It is based on the idea that people from various countries come to Japan. 100% of the players are from overseas. Actually, our company, we have about 100 employees, and about half of them are foreign nationals. Naturally, they are native in the language and have a very strong network in their home country, but their foreign employees and WAmazing foreign employees have a strong influence on their home country and are working on various networks. On the other hand, as for the tourism resources in Japan, it is often better for the Japanese to negotiate, so the Japanese team will find out and do various things. In this company, this foreigner and Japanese seem to be working with each other over the idea that by sharing their knowledge, they can make products like this, and that they will appeal to foreigners. Local subsidiary is also in China now, and we are doing business in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Taiwan on a business trip basis, but we are thinking of establishing a base in Taiwan in the future, so we would like to use the attractiveness of Japan's tourism resources as leverage and connect with people from overseas.

Journalist Hamada

So the company is very diverse.

WA Kato

You're right. We often hear from foreign investors that they are interested in financing and investing. When Japanese companies do something, for example, if they bring something to a Chinese company, they will be imitated, or if they try to do something with an IT platform, they will have their own platform, which is even bigger. The tourism industry cannot be exported by any means, and the tourism in Tokyo can only be done in Tokyo. This is a place that is geographically restricted, so if a Japanese startup has a lot of unique products, we can send customers, so we may ask you to invest. However, if China money is included, the growth pressure seems to be very strong, so I thought that the organization would collapse at the moment, so I declined.

Journalist Hamada

I see. How about you, Yamaguchi-san? What kind of advice do you have when you want to expand overseas? What kind of advice do you have that we should be careful about or that we should aim for?

TBM Yamaguchi

When it comes to creating contacts with foreign countries, in the case of our company, we have received many inquiries because the Japanese government is presenting its technology in the form of Japanese technology at such environmental conferences as the G 20, COP 24, and COP 25. In addition, there are also many cases where major operating companies, foreign financial institutions, and shareholders introduce their overseas networks. On top of that, I believe that this is just the beginning, but I think it is also very important to build up a supply chain that can be used locally. In particular, I think it is important to build up a supply chain such as a distribution system and raw material procurement, if we want to do something that will be used in large quantities in production rather than being introduced in that sample. For this purpose, in our company, for example, we have been manufacturing some parts at our own factories, but we have changed the material features of our fabless cars (fabless: To operate as a manufacturer without owning a factory.) so that we can use plastic molding machines that can be found anywhere in the world as they are. If that is the case, it is said that the market for plastics is actually expanding in 120 countries, and the market for plastics is still growing. Factories molded from plastics in the plastic industry up to now are facing such a headwind that they will be able to use their facilities as they are and become factories that can produce environmental goods if only materials are changed. I wonder what they are saying. The fact that they are working in close cooperation with the industry is a very big part of their overseas expansion, so I wonder what they have to squash in order to actually spread it overseas, I think it is necessary to take action.

Journalist Hamada

You are moving into the market with a view to protecting the industry to a certain extent, such as solving problems at the destination and protecting employment.

TBM Yamaguchi

That's right. I think it's important to squelch the market because I don't think it will become popular without their needs and advantages.

Journalist Hamada

Thank you very much. I would like everyone to leave a final message about the King Salmon Project and ask Mr. Yamaguchi and Mr. Kariyazono to summarize today.

Innophys Orihara

As I mentioned earlier, our products are expanding not only to facilities but also to various other areas. Therefore, I would like to approach a wider range of industries, and I would also like to expand that industry not only domestically but also overseas. I would like to continue to work with Tokyo Metropolitan Government to verify the effects of our products, and to use that as a leverage to expand the industry and the region.

Journalist Hamada

Thank you.

TWJ Nakanishi

In the midst of this novel coronavirus, we have obtained really valid data, and although we are the only people in the world who have such ultrasonic wearables, we would like to firmly establish standards for discharge care after the acute phase and from there. Thank you very much.

Journalist Hamada

Thank you.

Holoeyes Taniguchi

I believe that this is an excellent initiative, and I believe that a model has been created in which the government of Tokyo takes the initiative in putting these startup products into the field. For example, if we expand the model to local areas or even overseas, I think there are many people who think, for example, that local governments want to do something like that. If we say that we have done this kind of project with Tokyo with the King Salmon Project, then we would like to do it as it is in other countries, so we are thinking about doing this project and the proposal together.

Journalist Hamada

It may be very helpful for local governments to develop the structure of startup × administration itself. Thank you very much. Nice to meet you, Ms. Kato.

WA Kato

The world is still in the midst of suffering from the novel coronavirus, but according to a survey of countries around the world asking what would you like to do when the novel coronavirus subsides, zthe number one priority in any country is travel, followed by eating out. So before the COVID-19, Japan was a very popular country with the highest number of tourists and the highest number of tourists in the world. Therefore, we must accept the needs of those people and work hard to be useful for a tourism-oriented country. However, the AfterCorona era will not come any time soon, and at a time when the WithCorona era will continue for a while, I think there is still concern among Tokyo citizens about accepting foreign tourists. So, if possible, our company already handles insurance products. For example, if things get worse in Japan, they will feel safe, and it has become an insurance product that can receive cashless medical treatment. For Japanese people, for example, the IATA (International Air Transport Association) is now recommending an application that can be used as a certificate when they get vaccinated, and putting such things into the SDK or WAmazing application on the system to ensure safety, In addition, I have obtained the location information, so if you release the COCOA SDK, for example, you can put it into the WAmazing app. If there is anything like the spread of infection, you can follow the route well. There are many things that contact people can follow and can be solved digitally, so I will gradually resume international exchange while giving consideration to safety and security, and in the medium to long term, I hope that Japan will work hard towards the 60 million person tourism country in 2030 that Japan originally aimed to be.

Journalist Hamada

And Mr. Yamaguchi? You've heard a lot of presentations from everyone. What was your impression?

TBM Yamaguchi

Yes, I think each company's business model after that is very interesting rather than simply selling things. We're going to build a database of those (operative) procedures, and we're going to share revenue with hotels. I believe that it is an initiative with a great dream, such as raising the quality of life of people, and that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and local governments have a field that is very suitable for verifying such a business model. I think you can understand the behavioral characteristics. In our case, however, we are starting a project to recycle waste plastics generated by local governments. We are starting a series of activities to collect waste plastics generated by local governments and recycle them into garbage bags, which can be used as designated garbage bags by the local governments. These activities can reduce CO2 emissions by half compared to the ordinary new garbage bags, which do not require the use of new plastics or make effective use of waste plastics that have nowhere to go. In some cases, it is easy for local governments to make efforts to encourage people to take action, so we would like to make the most of these efforts.

Journalist Hamada

Not only do local governments support startups, but startups can also change the way the government and local governments work and change the system, leading to administrative reform.

TBM Yamaguchi

Well, when it comes to something new, there will always be elements like rulemaking, so I think it is important to be able to verify with the local government in such a place.

Journalist Hamada

Thank you very much. Finally, I would like to ask you to summarize the whole of Mr. Kanyazono, including today's comments.

Globis Kariyazono

I have been working as a venture capital firm for more than 20 years. I have supported and looked at the environment. In the midst of that, I heard about the presentations of those four companies and the demonstration experiment, and I think that there has never been a time when it has been so fortunate for startups. After all, in terms of the development of a company, the government, a large company, and from the aspect of funds, and from the aspect of attention from overseas, the startup has always faced a wall. Now, I think that the various networks that had been split up under the initiative of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government have become a single ecosystem, creating an environment like this one that provides a place for early adopters. Taking advantage of the unique environment of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, I believe that the King Salmon Project will become a unique government-run startup support program that is unique in the world. In that sense, I have heard that this is the first time for the government to support the ecosystem in Japan, and I really hope that it will continue to evolve.

Journalist Hamada

Thank you very much. I hope that they will continue to do this and that the day will come when we can say from there are unicorn startup from Tokyo. Thank you very much everyone and to all of you who watched it, please give a round of applause for the speakers. Thank you very much.

DTC Tanaka

Ms. Hamada, thank you very much. Also, I would like to thank the guest speakers Mr. Kariyazono, Mr. Yamaguchi, and the selected startup companies. This concludes this event. After this, the questionnaire will be displayed on the browser.I appreciate your cooperation. Once again, thank you very much for joining us today.