Japan’s Startup Revolution (feat. Kathy Matsui) | E2235
This Week in Startups
Jason Calacanis
4.2 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 14 January 2026
⏱️ 68 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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Today’s show:
Why do 40% of Japanese students want to build a company rather than join the corporate workforce?
On TWiST, Jason considers this question along with special guest Kathy Matsui, general partner of the global VC fund MPower Partners.
Their wide-ranging discussion also features a look inside one of Jason’s favorite international companies, Japan’s own fashion retailer Uniqlo, where Kathy is a board member. (While in town, he took the opportunity to check out their flagship store in Ginza.)
They also take a look back at Japan’s economic crisis in the ‘90s, and why recovery took such a very long time… MPower’s philosophy while raising their second fund, and why they’re so focused on what they call “Japan Dynamism”… the key question of whether Japanese startups should focus on the domestic market first BEFORE chasing global customers… why an ESG (environment, social, governance) focus in Japan is so different from DEI in the US… and much more.
Timestamps:
(00:00) Kathy Matsui is on the board of one of Jason’s favorite companies, Uniqlo (and its parent, Fast Retailing)
(10:52) Why deflation in the ‘90s was “poison” for Japanese businesses and workers
(13:41) Every.io - For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit http://every.io/
(15:05) Why do American entrepreneurs keep falling in love with Japan?
(18:17) How the Japanese government is encouraging more founders to start tech companies
(20:05) LinkedIn Jobs - post your job for free at http://linkedIn.com/twist then promote it to get access to LinkedIn Jobs’ new AI assistant.
(21:15) Why more Japanese grads are becoming entrepreneurs
(23:46) What MPower means by “Japan Dynamism” and why they’re focused on it for Fund 2
(24:26) The various reasons so few female founders are getting funded in Japan
(27:38) The differences between MPower’s approach and corporate DEI in the US
(30:03) Zite - Zite is the fastest way to build business software with AI. Go to https:/zite.com/twist to get started.
(31:48) Is the “first Japan, then the WORLD” approach a waste?
(35:34) In Japan, you don’t build trust in just one meeting…
(39:19) Kathy’s take on the complex relationship between Japan and the MENA region
(42:13) Why the UAE and Saudi Arabia aren’t “dumb money,” as some in Silicon Valley assume
(43:49) Can Japan still rely on the United States as a strong geopolitical partner? There are question marks…
(48:16) Regarding China: “When you move up the stack… be careful what you wish for!”
(49:06) Q: Aladdin is developing smart trash cans… Kathy and Jason’s tips on founder Yuki Kanai’s pitch
(54:31) Q: Maya Hojnacki from AltSource Capital asks about how MPower helps startups facing regulatory or policy obstacles
(57:17) Q: Hiroki from Goi wants Jason and Kathy’s take on Japan’s point-based immigration policies
(1:06:38) Why Japan desperately needs AI to start taking more jobs
*
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Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Unlike many other countries, Japan has a very, very small and shrinking workforce. |
| 0:05.4 | So young people, for young people today, it's a seller's market. |
| 0:10.4 | They have so many opportunities in front of them. |
| 0:12.3 | Why do entrepreneurs when they come here fall in love with it? |
| 0:16.1 | As a measure of, let's say, quality of life, this country is very hard to beat. |
| 0:21.2 | And I think most of my Japanese colleagues here will agree to that if you've ever lived outside |
| 0:26.3 | of Japan. |
| 0:27.8 | And whether it's, I think, particularly as a parent, our kids are riding the subways alone |
| 0:33.1 | at night. |
| 0:33.9 | That's six years old. |
| 0:34.6 | I never had to shuttle them around, like a bus driver, like all my friends in America |
| 0:38.1 | had to do with their children, always worried about where they are, you know, in whatever hours |
| 0:42.5 | of the day. |
| 0:43.4 | The food, you know, more Michelin Star restaurants than any place else on the planet. |
| 0:47.4 | I mean, you know, and frankly, there are restaurants who refuse the star because they don't |
| 0:51.9 | want people who are not their clientele to take up seats, |
| 0:55.7 | right? So it's just a really unique oasis. Obviously, it's quite peaceful. This weekend startups |
| 1:01.0 | is brought to you by Zite. Zite is the fastest way to build business software with AI. |
| 1:06.9 | Go to zite.com slash twist to get started. LinkedIn jobs. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com slash twist. |
| 1:14.3 | Then promote it to get access to your LinkedIn jobs's new AI assistant. |
| 1:18.7 | Every.com. |
| 1:19.8 | For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes, or other back office administration needs, visit every.io. |
... |
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