The South Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups(MSS) held a roundtable discussion on the Japanese startup ecosystem on May 11th in Tokyo. The event was attended by Korean startups operating in Japan, as well as local venture capitalists and other investment institutions.

The roundtable discussion was led by MSS Minister Lee Young, who said that the current environment is optimal for Korean startups to enter the Japanese market. He noted that the improvement of relations between South Korea and Japan, as well as Japan’s new startup support policies, are creating a favorable environment for Korean startups.

Minister Lee also said that the MSS will actively support Korean startups that are looking to enter the Japanese market. He said that the ministry will provide support in areas such as market research, networking, and financing.

The roundtable discussion was attended by representatives from 8 Korean startups, including Bucketplace, which operates the interior and furniture recommendation platform “O-House“, and Danggeun Market, a local-based second-hand trading platform. Local venture capitalists and accelerators, including Shinhan Futures Lab, Megazone Cloud, Shinhan Venture Investment, Samsung Ventures, Global Brain, Rakuten Ventures, and Coloplnext, also attended the event.

The participants discussed the current state of the Japanese startup ecosystem and the challenges and opportunities facing Korean startups that are looking to enter the Japanese market. They also exchanged ideas on how the SMES Ministry can better support Korean startups.

The MSS plans to continue to hold roundtable discussions with Korean startups and Japanese investment institutions in order to provide better support for Korean startups that are looking to enter the Japanese market.