J-STORIES – From a shared love of rugby to shaping innovation, Japan and Wales kicked off 2025 with a showcase of contemporary concepts and partnerships. The Welsh Startup Pitch and Networking occasion, held in Kitakyushu final month, aimed to strengthen cultural and financial ties whereas supporting Japan’s push for overseas funding.
Kitakyushu was as soon as closely economically tied to coal mining, much like South Wales. As Japan shifted away from coal within the mid-Twentieth century, Kitakyushu confronted a shrinking economic system. In response, the town diversified into vehicle manufacturing, robotics, and environmental expertise.
As we speak, Kitakyushu is a key participant in Japan’s inexperienced expertise and superior manufacturing, efficiently transitioning from a coal-based economic system to an industrial powerhouse.
In 2019, a friendship between Kitakyushu rugby followers and Wales was cast when the Wales nationwide crew selected the town for its pre-tournament base. An open coaching session at Kitakyushu’s Mikuni World Stadium, Wales’ pre-World Cup coaching base, attracted an astonishing 15,000-plus followers.
The locals hospitality moved the crew’s earlier head coach Warren Gatland. “For the gamers to see all of the flags and posters round city has been fairly humbling. It’s sensible that the town has acquired behind us. Satirically, there are such a lot of similarities between Kitakyushu and Wales when it comes to the historical past of the mining business and the ports.”
‘Wales and Japan 2025’ is a year-long marketing campaign by the Welsh authorities to stimulate new financial and cultural partnerships between the 2 nations, bringing long-lasting advantages to each international locations. Two promising Welsh startups have been invited to Kitakyushu to attend the Welsh Startup Pitch and Networking Occasion.
Osian Roberts, Industrial Supervisor of HydroWing, stated, “They understood our wants rather well” and felt “tremendous welcome.”
HydroWing is targeted on producing clear power by means of specialised followers that harness the facility of the tides. In contrast to different main tidal power producers, their modern expertise makes use of a compact mechanism with blade configurations that change path mechanically primarily based on water stream. The compact design “makes the fee cheaper than everybody else to put in, and far faster,” says Roberts.
HydroWing hopes that Kitakyushu, being a serious port with proximity to main cities in inexperienced power, can undertake its tidal power resolution. Specifically, the Goto Islands, situated roughly 270km to the south, are additionally a robust candidate for green-energy startups.
The Renewable Power Primary Plan of Goto Metropolis was enacted in 2014, selling the Goto Islands because the “Islands of Power,” specializing in tidal and wind power. By 2030, the Goto Islands plan to have a renewable power output of 132.4%, thus changing into an exporter of unpolluted power.
Kitakyushu Metropolis lately introduced its plan to take a position ¥100 million yen right into a startup fund formally launching in April of 2025. The fund will particularly purpose to reinforce tourism, help ladies’s initiatives, and promote sustainability. A brand new sustainability technique workplace might be established, which might support startups like HydroWing in implementing their initiatives inside the space.
HydroWing sees Kitakyushu as a strategic location. “If our initiatives transfer ahead, we’d use its port as a base for operations,” stated Roberts. “Japan’s geography makes it a great marketplace for tidal power. If land-based renewables are restricted, the ocean turns into the subsequent logical choice,” he continued.
HydroWing employees attended the Welsh Startup Pitch and Networking Occasion to discover alternatives for collaboration and enlargement within the Japanese market. Whereas in Tokyo, they met with a serious Japanese oil and gasoline firm about transitioning to renewables and a big banking company that might assist finance future initiatives.
HydroWing’s curiosity in Japan goes past its geographical entry to the ocean. “I feel utility corporations in Japan, in addition to oil and gasoline majors, are extra fascinated with diversifying their portfolios to include new renewable power sources,” Roberts says.
Regardless of encountering challenges with the bureaucratic course of to acquire marine licensing permission in Japan, “In Wales, you’ve got in all probability acquired to try this your self as a expertise developer. It might simply be simpler to get from a venture concept to venture implementation in Japan,” he explains
After the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear energy plant catastrophe, the decision for Japan to transition away from nuclear power grew considerably. From 2010 to 2023, Japan has decreased its power derived from nuclear energy vegetation by greater than 70%.
“There’s extra of a draw for tidal power in Japan. Wales will simply go nuclear,” explains Roberts.
Whereas the push to open Japan’s doorways is regular, challenges such because the language barrier and cultural variations could make it troublesome for abroad companies to navigate the Japanese market. But, collaborative occasions like ‘Wales and Japan 2025’ make it simpler for overseas buyers to become involved in Japan’s evolving market.
“We have now a possibility to entry a worldwide market of 53 billion kilos yearly. There are large alternatives for progress,” says Roberts
Written by Lucas Maltzman
Edited by Takonori Isshiki, Randy Wagenheim
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