The , headquartered in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, is a public-private partnership between the Japanese government and 19 major corporations. Established as a temporary (15 years) corporate entity on July 27, 2009, the organization's prime objective is "boosting the competitiveness of Japanese firms by promoting a philosophy of 'open innovation' and creating next-generation businesses in promising new technologies by providing capital and managerial support, through private-public partnership." The business and investments of INCJ are supervised by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (METI).

History

In early 2009, the Japanese government along with major Japanese corporations conceptualized the legal framework of a corporate entity - whose aim is ''to leverage Japanese technological and industrial prowess to create sustainable next-generation businesses using a philosophy of "Open Innovation" and enhance the value of Japanese businesses.'' On July 27, 2009, the Japanese government under the ''Act on Special Measures for Industrial Revitalization'' and ''Other Laws to Foster Innovation in Industrial Activities in Japan'', established the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ). The INCJ was created to make investments aimed at creating an ecosystem of innovation and fostering an “open innovation” model, i.e. “flow of technology and expertise beyond the boundaries of existing organisational structures" — be it start-up companies, medium-sized enterprises or large, established firms. In September 2018, the INCJ was reorganized with Japan Investment Corporation (JIC) being spun-off as a new separate entity following the enforcement of the amendment to the Act on Strengthening Industrial Competitiveness. INCJ then became a subsidiary of JIC. The primary objective is to provide capital and managerial support to boost the competitiveness of Japanese firms and create next-generation businesses in promising new technologies, which contribute to innovative transformation of Japan’s industrial structure.

Organisation and leadership

The INCJ is headquartered at Tokyo and has a flat management structure centered around CEO and COO Its current CEO is Kimikazu NoumiBloomberg Business week executive profile , Kimikazu Noumi
/ref> and COO, Haruyasu Asakura.Bloomberg Business week executive profile , Haruyasu Asakura
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Investments

Investors

The INCJ is capitalized at 112 billion yen. The Japanese government also provides guarantees up to a total of 1,800 billion yen for INCJ investments. This funding is used partly as a combination of

venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

and “ buyout fund” to provide risk arbitrage to support a growth strategy of small and mid-size companies and to facilitate consolidation among established companies for the purpose of helping them become global leaders, as well as directly invest in new ventures. The breakup of investors and their investments made are the following,

Japanese Government

The Japanese government provides 102 billion yen out of the total capital of 112 billion yen. The government also provides guarantees up to a total of 1,800 billion yen for INCJ investments, giving it an investment capability of approximately 1,900 billion yen (US$24 billion).

Corporate investors

The following 19 major Japanese companies have made a total investment of 10 billion JPY. Each investor has contributed 500 million yen, with the exception of DBJ, which has contributed 1 billion yen. * Asahi Kasei Corporation * Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. * Sharp Corporation * The Shoko Chukin Bank, Ltd. * Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. * Sumitomo Corporation * Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. * Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited * Tokyo Electric Power Company, Inc. * Toshiba Corporation * JGC Corporation * Development Bank of Japan Inc. * Panasonic Corporation * East Japan Railway Company * Hitachi, Ltd. * Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd. * MUFG Bank, Ltd.
General Electric Company,Japan
* JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation

References

External links

Official web site

The Nature of Capitalism and Finance
(ICNJ COO Haruyasu Asakura and Globis University Graduate School of Management) {{Electronics industry in Japan Japanese companies established in 2009 Financial services companies established in 2009 Venture capital firms of Japan Public–private partnership projects Government-owned companies of Japan Chiyoda, Tokyo