# Top 15 Social Startup Investors in Japan in May 2026

## Makuake
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Relevant deals: 1
- Stages: Product Crowdfunding, Equity Crowdfunding, Seed
- Focus: E-Commerce, Manufacturing, Food and Beverage

Makuake is a operation of various support services centered on the cloud funding platform "Makuake".It is a product production support project utilizing R & D technology.

## Maezawa Fund
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan
- Relevant deals: 1
- Stages: Seed
- Focus: Beauty, Social, Nutrition

The Maezawa Fund is a joint-stock company that invests in entrepreneurs and organizations whose business themes are “solving social issues” and “pursuing hobbies,” and is based on Yusaku Maezawa’s personal assets. It was established for the purpose of investing 100 million yen.

## Hiroshi Sawa
- Type: Angel
- Relevant deals: 1
- Focus: Social, Big Data, Analytics

Joined Fujitsu Limited in 1991, after working at Osaka City University's Faculty of Science. He has a wide range of business experience, from programming to new business development, such as developing Internet services. After that, engaged in IT-related new business development at Sojitz Corporation, and at a major business investmentcompany, engaged in business investment in venture companies, creation of business plans for companies, launching new services, and M & A. In 2008, he became an outside director of eLicense Corporation. In 2009, he was appointed Representative Director of Data Section Co., Ltd. after developing a trend analysis service utilizing big data. Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers on December 24, 2014. Outside director of Japan Data Exchange, Inc. Currently, he is an outside director of Solid Intelligence Co., Ltd. In June 2018, he became chairman.

## KDDI Open Innovation Fund
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Relevant deals: 1
- Stages: Series B, Series A
- Focus: Software, Internet, Mobile

KDDI Open Innovation Fund is a corporate venture capital fund that will support promising startup companies. Total size of the fund is JPY10 billion. This is the first corporate venture capital fund established by KDDI. The fund will be managed by Global Brain Corporation (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO, Yasuhiko Yurimoto),which has a strong track record in the venture capital business. By combining KDDI’s know-how and assets with Global Brain’s investment and management support capabilities, we will work together to accelerate cooperative activities with promising startup companies. Through this fund, as well as "KDDI ∞ Labo," a startup incubation program currently inviting a second round of applications, we will continue to support the growth of the next startup companies.

## Kento Hayashi
- Type: Angel
- Location: Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Relevant deals: 1
- Stages: Series A
- Focus: Social, Big Data, Analytics

Kento Hayashi - President & CEO @ Datasection

## Shunsuke Ikegami
- Type: Angel
- Location: Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Relevant deals: 1
- Stages: Seed
- Focus: Social, Cooking, Big Data

Shunsuke Ikegami is an angel investor.

## aucfan Co.,Ltd.
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Relevant deals: 1
- Stages: Series A, Corporate Round
- Focus: E-Commerce, Marketing, Internet

Aucfan is the only company in Japan that provides all the eCommerce price data across the big three market, America, China and Japan. The data Aucfan aggregates has reached more than 800millions with last 8 years coverage and Aucfan provides these data through its website Aucfan.com. (www.aucfan.com).The data Aucfan provides both to theconsumers and the retailers include the the price across the major global EC and Auction sites such as Rakuten, the No1 shopping site in Japan, Yahoo! Auction, the No1 Auction site in Japan, and Amazon Japan as well as eBay.com, the No1 EC site in US, and Taobao, the No1 Auction site in China.By visiting the Aucfan.com, buyers and sellers can easily find the price and the value of the product globally.Aucfan currently focuses on the consumer buesinss but Aucfan's next strategy is to expand its business to the BtoB by providing the price data to the EC and retail markets and helping them make the critical judgement for the price setting and purchsing just like the Bloomberg providing the financial informationto the financial brokers and helping them make the business judgement.Aucfan's next ambition is to expand its business globally and as the part of that strategy, Aucfan has already launched the Chinese website in JULY/2010 and plans to open the US site in SEP/2010.

## Hirofumi Miki
- Type: Angel
- Location: Shibuya, Kanagawa, Japan
- Relevant deals: 1
- Stages: Seed, Angel, Pre-Seed
- Focus: Content, Marketing, Internet

After JTB Co., Ltd. and CYBIRD Co., Ltd. as an initial member of Glee Co., Ltd. is responsible for business development. Currently, he is mainly engaged in venture support in the Internet area, investing in venture and venture capital, and served as management advisor for dozens of companies. Hands-on business development, growth strategydevelopment, financing advice, HR organization design support, partner referral and Recruit Support. He is also engaged in business support for ventures in the healthcare and university venture fields. He served as Digital Health Meetup Advisor, NEDOTCP Mentor and Future 2016 Mentor.

## Recruit Strategic Partners
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Relevant deals: 1
- Stages: Series A, Seed, Series B
- Focus: E-Commerce, Software, Financial Services

Recruit Strategic Partners is a venture capital firm that invests in innovative startups from all around the world. It is a corporate venture capital arm of Recruit Holdings that seeks to invest in education and financial technology, digital healthcare, and infrastructure sectors.
It was established in 2008 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

## WERU Investment
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Relevant deals: 1
- Stages: Seed, Series A
- Focus: Information Technology, Consulting, Software

As a pioneer and innovator in venture capital in Japan for the past 2 decades, we are deeply engaged in developing and supporting entrepreneurs and start-ups by leveraging our strategic position as a conduit between government, business and academia.“WERU” is the first research unit in the field of entrepreneurship in Japan established byprofessors at the graduate school, Waseda University in 1993.　“WERU Investment” is the first venture capital closely associated with university research labs, centers and institutes in japan. WERU Investment provides financial services for institutional investors (e.g. Pension funds and Endowments) as a Japanese discretionary investment manager (DIM) by fully taking advantage of these research resources, accumulated know-how and strong network.

## Waseda University
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Relevant deals: 1
- Stages: Series A, Series B
- Focus: FinTech, Therapeutics, Biotechnology

Waseda University is a Tokyo-based private university that offers various degree programs. As the second private university to be founded in Japan, Waseda University is considered to be one of Japan's most prestigious universities, consistently ranking amongst the top universities in Japanese university rankings. The University has manynotable alumni in Japan, with seven Prime Ministers of Japan and many CEOs, including Tadashi Yanai, the CEO of UNIQLO and wealthiest man in Japan.Waseda University's main campus is located in the Nishi-Waseda district of Shinjuku. Apart from the main campus in Shinjuku, It has other campuses around the country, including Toyama Campus and Nishi-Waseda Campus in Shinjuku; Nihonbashi Campus in Chuo-ku; Higashifushimi Campus in Nishitokyo; Tokorozawa Campus in Tokorozawa; Honjo Campus in Honjo, Saitama; and Kitakyushu Campus in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka.The university has more than fifty thousand students and staff, comprising 13 undergraduate schools, 23 graduate schools, and other research and affiliated institutes, and is one of the 13 universities in the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's ""Global 30"" Project. It has partnerships with more than 600 universities and tertiary institutions, with many international students studying abroad at Waseda University each year.Established in 1882 as the Tōkyō College by Okuma Shigenobu, the school was renamed Waseda University in 1902 after the founder's hometown village.

## Sansei Capital Investment
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Koto, Tokyo, Japan
- Relevant deals: 1
- Stages: Series A, Series B
- Focus: Content, Software, Medical

Sansei Capital provides portfolio management, corporate management support, and financing services.

## Kodansha
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Relevant deals: 1
- Stages: Corporate Round, Seed
- Focus: Software, Media and Entertainment, News

Kodansha is the largest publisher in Japan and produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo. The Noma family—relatives of the founder—continues toown KodanshaSource: [Wikipedia] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodansha)

## Global Brain Corporation
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Relevant deals: 1
- Stages: Series B, Series A
- Focus: Information Technology, Software, Artificial Intelligence

Global Brain Corporation is a venture capital firm that invests in companies from seed or early to pre-IPO startups. Global Brain has invested in 300+ startups from seed/early to pre-IPO startups and achieved 25 IPOs and 61 M&As as a result of providing hands-on support services and resources to its portfolio startups. Global Brain hasmanaged a pure investment fund as well as multiple corporate venture capital funds partnered together with tier 1 public companies of telecom, real estate development, financial service, beverages, agriculture food, logistics, and electronic devices.

## Archetype Ventures
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Relevant deals: 1
- Stages: Seed, Series A
- Focus: Software, Information Technology, Machine Learning

Archetype Ventures is a venture capital firm specializing in B2B Tech seed and early stage venture investments.

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