Last week we had the good fortune to be invited to participate in an expert panel for crowdsourcing alongside two major players in the crowdsourcing industry in Japan.
Through our sister company Japan Inc Holdings we have been involved in market entry for foreign firms since the 1990's, and one of the most common questions we are asked is how to find partners, resellers and clients.
Although there is a massive wifi grid throughout Japan (more than 600,000 access points), the ability for international visitors to access it easily is limited.
If you read the media, you would think that Japan is turning the corner. But when you talk to other business people in the street about business here and now, the story is not so bright.
A professor suggested that student loans be structured in a crowdfunding approach, where investors "buy" a share of the students earnings for a specific time at a defined and mutually agreed rate of revenue share.
Last week, significantly, the Singapore government announced that with a few exceptions, the restrictions on food being imported from Japan are being lifted.
The Japanese government is now plotting a future course based on software/content and soft (tissue) engineering. If really happening, it will create all kinds of opportunities for start-ups both local and inbound.
According to a NHK report, the police collared a renter after he ignored multiple requests to stop sub-letting the premises. Apparently his Adachi Ward neighbors complained of "strange people" staying at the building.
Of all the first world countries, we believe that Japan has one of the easiest immigration regimes for foreign entrepreneurs who want to be resident in the country.