5 of Japan’s hottest industry verticals

Japan is often thought of as one of the world’s leaders in high-tech industries. For the last decade, it seems like some of the most eye-catching and unbelievable inventions have come out of Japan, particularly in incredible displays of robotics. But aside from the jaw-dropping displays of robotic ingenuity we see on YouTube and the news, what else is big in the industry in Japan?

n1. Fintechnn

Photo credit: Helloquence.

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It’s no secret that fintech is hot around the world right now, and Japan is no exception. Japan already has big players in business solutions, financial security, investing, and cryptocurrency, with more joining the fray by the day.

In 2014, venture capital funding for Japanese fintech peaked at over US$44 million, and while it declined leading into 2016, fintech is still one of the growth sectors in the Japanese industry at the moment. With firms like Freee, Moneytree, and Metaps making names for themselves, Japan’s fintech scene is one to look out for.

n2. Ecommercenn

Photo credit: Negative Space.

Ecommerce is, and for some time has been, huge in Japan. Both Japan’s youngest unicorn and its biggest are in ecommerce. The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry estimated in 2016 that the Japanese ecommerce market has grown to a burgeoning US$133 billion, and that growth is accelerating year over year. While consumer-oriented ecommerce may be what we mostly think of when we hear the term, business to business ecommerce is growing even more rapidly in Japan, with a 28.3 percent growth rate from 2015 to 2016.

n3. Lifestyle Appsnn

Photo credit: Rami Al-zayat.

Shopping, eating out, fashion, and social media. Consumer-facing phone apps are one of the most attractive prospects in Japan, both for startups and established companies. Line was one of the first to pivot to the “lifestyle” category in 2014. By 2015, the phone app market in Japan was estimated to have a value of over US$7.2 billion. Anyone who has spent time in Japan can also attest to how common QR codes or other forms of the internet of things are. With the upcoming Tokyo Olympics and rapid increases in tourism, the market is also trying to use phone apps to overcome linguistic and cultural barriers to make life in Japan more accessible.

n4. Robotics and AInn

Photo credit: Alex Knight.

Robots. We all know Japan is big into robots. But did you know that today, the Japanese robotics industry has come to hold over half the world market share of the robotics industry? Since then, the possible applications and avenues of development for robots have only grown larger. At present, the Japanese government has been pushing hard for the development of robots that can counteract the effects of Japan’s ageing population.

But take away the shiny exteriors and humanoid frame, plain old artificial intelligence is also a hot topic in Japan at the moment. Companies like Toyota are investing millions into subsidiaries for AI research. While in general, projects by large corporations to harness AI have steadily decreased, there has been an explosion of startups and small companies adapting AI to various fields.

n5. Virtual Realitynn

Photo credit: VRInside.

While most of the virtual reality projects you hear about may be American and European, this doesn’t reflect the huge growth and variety of the contributions made by Japanese firms to the fledgling world of VR. 2016 saw a flurry of Japanese VR startups get funding as well as critical acclaim at conferences and product showcases. Many Japanese startups are also establishing themselves in niches that aren’t being touched by bigger companies yet: cloud distribution of VR content, VR platforms for industrial design, and even incorporation of senses other than sight and sound into head mounted displays.

nUncover the industry at #tiatokyo2017n

If this article got you curious about what’s going on in the Japanese tech scene, it may be in the cards for you to join us at Tech in Asia Tokyo 2017 from September 27 to 28. We’re still offering tickets at 20 percent off with the code tiatokyo20. This deal only lasts until July 21, 2359hrs (GMT +9), so if you want to leverage this deal to get in on the action in Japan, you should do so post haste.

The conference will feature both the biggest names right now and the big names of tomorrow, so come on down and see what the future holds.

If the Japanese tech ecosystem is your home turf, then we may have something else that you shouldn’t miss. As always, we are opening up Bootstrap Alley for startups to showcase their product, network, and make connections with other members of the community. Just like admission tickets, Bootstrap Alley applications are 20 percent off if you apply for your booth by July 21. So what’s stopping you? Come on down and show us what you’ve got at #tiatokyo2017.