In a new report published by StartupBlink, the Tokyo-Yokohama Area was listed as the top startup ecosystem in Japan, and increased its standing to become the 14th strongest startup ecosystem worldwide. The 2023 Global Startup Ecosystem Index Report, released on May 31, 2023, is the newest in an annual series of reports which includes comprehensively compiled indexes and ranking of the startup ecosystems of 1000 cities and 100 countries.

“The Japanese government has been active in Japan’s startup economy development with the promotion of Tokyo, Yokohama, Fukuoka, Kyoto, and Kansai as leading startup cities, in addition to state-sponsored funding and accelerator programs for startups. Moreover, the country’s strong relations with the US has produced a partnership that could boost Japan’s startup scene through initiatives such as the U.S.-Japan Competitiveness and Resilience (CoRe) Partnership. With fintech and healthtech showing a lot of promise in Japan, we hope to see the country’s startup ecosystems attract more global recognition,” notes the report.

Tokyo and Yokohama are respectively the first and second largest cities in Japan by population, and Yokohama’s targeted improvements to its local innovation ecosystem have helped increase the combined ecosystems’ ranking compared to 2022. A special case study on the Tokyo-Yokohama Area which features Yokohama is included in the StartupBlink 2023 Global Startup Ecosystem Index Report, and lists notable startups, coworking spaces, and accelerators, as well as public sector initiatives that the city offers and a list of reasons why companies looking for a location in Japan could prefer Yokohama over central Tokyo or other locations in Japan.

StartupBlink’s Insights on the Tokyo-Yokohama area’s Startup Ecosystem for 2023:

Tokyo-Yokohama Area’s startup ecosystem is ranked 1st in Japan, and 3rd in East Asia. This ecosystem is 14th in the world, far ahead of other Japanese ecosystems, such as the 2nd-ranked ecosystem in Osaka which ranked 128th globally this year. When looking at the gaps between Tokyo-Yokohama and Osaka, there is a difference of over 8 times compared to over 6 times in 2022.

The Tokyo-Yokohama Area is a leader in Hardware & IoT where it ranks 7th in the world, and in other industries as well, including OECD (10th globally), Business Score (2nd in East Asia), Energy and Environment (1st in Asia Pacific).

About StartupBlink: StartupBlink is the world’s most comprehensive startup ecosystem map and research center. StartupBlink’s Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2023, released on May 31, 2023, ranks the startup ecosystems in 100 countries and 1000 cities. The Index algorithm is powered by official global data partners such as Crunchbase, SEMRush, UNAIDS, Meetup, and more than 100 governments worldwide.

The full 2023 Global Startup Ecosystem Index Report from StartupBlink can be downloaded for free here: https://lp.startupblink.com/report/