Osaka, 6 October 2026: Building upon regional strategic priorities surrounding sustainable growth, technology commercialisation, and cross-border economic integration, the ERIA Digital Innovation and Sustainable Economy Centre (E-DISC), together with the Kansai Economic Federation (Kankeiren), convened ‘CONNECT ~Co-Creating New Change Together~: ASEAN Startup Session’, a side event of Global Startup Expo (GSE) 2026 at JAM BASE in Osaka.

The event brought together policymakers, institutional investors, corporate leaders, and start-ups to identify actionable pathways for accelerating open innovation across Japan and Southeast Asia.

The programme began with welcome remarks from Mr Hiroshi Ishikawa, Director of the Startup Promotion Division at Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), who highlighted the strategic value of business opportunities created through Japan–Southeast Asia collaboration. Mr Tomonori Wada, Chairman of the Business-in-Asia Committee at Kankeiren, followed with remarks reaffirming the organisation’s commitment to promoting deeper business co-operation.

Representing E-DISC, Ms Chieko Tanabe delivered a keynote presentation on why ASEAN remains a premier region for innovation. She noted the region's population of over 700 million, nearly 50 unicorns, and projected economy of more than US$4.7 trillion in 2027 offer significant opportunities, despite an ongoing ‘investment winter’ that demands selectivity and resilience from start-ups and investors. She also outlined E-DISC mission to connect fragmented regional innovation ecosystems through community building, high-impact events, and actionable research.

The programme featured two panel discussions:

• Session 1 – ‘ASEAN Startup Outlook: Emerging Opportunities, Challenges, and the Road Ahead’: Moderated by Mr Ishikawa, the panel featured Mr Takeshi Ebihara, Founding General Partner at Rebright Partners, and Mr Shoyo Nishikawa, Chief Global Officer at Uzabase. They explored ASEAN’s evolving start-up ecosystem and practical approaches to strengthening business collaboration, highlighting how strong manufacturing bases and digital talent position Southeast Asia as a key destination for long-term partnership.
• Session 2 – ‘From Partnership to Impact: The Future of Corporate–Startup Collaboration in Japan and ASEAN’: The session was moderated by Mr Takehiko Koyanagi, Editorial Board Member at Nikkei Inc. and featured venture capitalists such as Mr Bayu Seto (Living Lab Ventures), Mr Mazran Md Saari-Ibrahim (Petronas Ventures), Mr Yang See Kiat (ST Engineering Ventures), and Dr Nobuyuki Oda (Yanmar Ventures). They examined how corporate venture capital arms, specialised accelerators, and family offices can facilitate the shift from one-way capital deployment to mutually beneficial co-creation.

Across both sessions, panellists highlighted opportunities to combine Japan’s strengths in research and development, intellectual property, software, advanced technologies, and industrial expertise with Southeast Asia’s dynamic markets and commercialisation capabilities. They also explored the potential of emerging technologies such as physical AI to create new opportunities for innovation and business development. The discussions emphasised the importance of collaboration amongst corporations, start-ups, and investors in reducing adoption risks, facilitating market entry, strengthening the regional innovation ecosystem, and advancing cross-border partnerships.

The programme continued with ‘ASEAN's Rising Three: Live Startup Pitch’, where three start-ups shared their products and services in five-minute pitches:

• Bo Discarga, Founder and CEO of Betterteem (Philippines), presented an AI-powered workforce intelligence platform designed to predict employee attrition up to six months in advance.
• Bintang Hidayanto, Co-Founder and CEO of Gani. AI (Indonesia), showcased an AI-native platform serving law firms and enterprise legal departments with customised, secure legal infrastructure.
• Kitiya Vongkamjan, Founder and CEO of Uni FAHS (Thailand), introduced precise bacteriophage biological tools that provide chemical-free antimicrobial solutions across the food and agricultural supply chain.

In his closing remarks, Mr Yasushi Ninomiya, Director-General for Osaka and Kansai at JETRO, highlighted ASEAN’s long-term growth potential, underpinned by its large, young population and an expanding middle class. He emphasised that the time is ripe to build enduring cross-border partnerships and position Kansai as a global hub for open innovation.

The event concluded with a networking lunch, giving participants an opportunity to exchange ideas, explore potential business partnerships, and strengthen connections between Japan’s and ASEAN's innovation communities.