GATEWAY Tech TAKANAWA 2026

To create global co-benefits *1, we are holding a pitch contest for startups with technologies and services that contribute to solving social issues. We are seeking business ideas based on the following four themes, with the aim of ensuring a fulfilling lifestyle 100 years from now. Utilizing TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY*2, partner companies, primarily JR East, will support these ideas.

*1 Reassessing current economic activities that place a heavy burden on the Earth and striving for profits that harmonize the Earth and humans.
*2 As part of the Shinagawa Development Project, the project will inherit the historical background of the area as the gateway to Edo and the memory of innovation as the site of Japan's first railway, and will work to create a city that will continue to give birth to new businesses and cultures as a "testing ground for a fulfilling life 100 years from now," with the development concept of "Global Gateway."

Scene from the previous event (May 2025)

Theme

Enviromental protection: ◆ Utilizing clean energy and Enviromental protection friendly materials
◆ Realizing a circular economy, including upcycling

Mobility vehicles and Robotics: ◆ Realizing inclusive mobility
◆ Supporting people through the use of technology such as AI and robots

Healthcare services: Preventive medicine utilizing the city, health promotion through food tech
◆Visualization of health status and early detection of diseases

Regional revitalization: ◆ Creating a related population, promoting tourism and human flow
Next-generation agriculture and utilization of local resources

Prize

In this pitch contest, companies that achieve outstanding results will be awarded various prizes, including cash prizes, demonstration experiments in Takanawa, and consideration of investment from the Takanawa global co-benefits Fund. The results will be announced at the TAKANAWA PITCH Awards Ceremony and Closing (held on May 14th).

TAKANAWA Grand Prix

The company will award a prize of 5 million yen and support a demonstration experiment at TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY.

TAKANAWA FUND Award

We will consider investment from the Takanawa global co-benefits Fund (TAKANAWA GATEWAY global co-benefits Investment Limited Partnership, jointly established by East Japan Railway Company and Global Brain Corporation).

PHD Lab. Award

Participate in PHD Lab. You will receive support, including advice from researchers at the University of Tokyo.

Supplementary prizes (awarded to all finalists)

Business Creation Facility "LiSH" Membership: For a limited time, coworking space membership (shared plan) at the business creation facility "LiSH" will be provided free of charge.
(Offer period: June 2026 to March 31, 2027)

Judges

Kiyohiko Igarashi

University of Tokyo

Professor, University of Tokyo / Special Advisor to the President
Director of Planetary Health Research Institute
Vice Dean, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences

Professor, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo. Completed his doctoral studies at the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences in 1999. While a student, he served as a visiting researcher at the University of Georgia in the United States. After obtaining his doctorate, he served as a JSPS Research Fellow (PD) and a postdoctoral fellow at Uppsala University in Sweden. In 2002, he became an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, in 2007, and an associate professor in 2009. He has held his current position since 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as a visiting professor at the Technical Research Centre of Finland, and since 2018, he has also served as a fellow at the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) Technology Strategy Center. He has served as a special advisor to the president since 2022. He will be appointed director of the Planetary Health Research Institute in 2025. He is a leading researcher in the production of energy and materials from trees and grasses.

Yasuhiko Yurimoto

Global Brain Corporation

President and CEO

After working at Fuji Bank (now Mizuho Bank) and as Vice President of Planning at Citibank N.A., he founded Global Brain Corporation and became its current President and CEO.
He started his own company, overcame the Internet bubble and the Lehman Shock, and built it into one of Japan's leading VC companies. Using his experience as an entrepreneur, he is now a valued advisor to startup entrepreneurs.

Tomoko Konuma

East Japan Railway Company

Executive Officer, Marketing Headquarters, Urban Development Department

After joining East Japan Railway Company in 1990, he worked at stations and branch offices before moving to the shopping center business at the head office. From 1995, he was seconded to a shopping center group company, where he was in charge of renewals and corporate planning. In 2005, he was transferred to the head office's Business Creation Division, where he was involved in formulating the shopping center business strategy. From 2013, he was seconded to Atre Co., Ltd., where he was involved in formulating marketing strategies, and in 2018, as Representative Director and President of JR East Commercial Development Co., Ltd., he worked to provide new value that anticipated local needs. Since 2023, he has been in charge of group company business at the head office's Marketing Division. He has been in his current position since 2025. He has positioned the southern Tokyo area between Hamamatsucho Station and Oimachi Station as the "Greater Shinagawa Area," and is working to improve the new appeal and value of Tokyo as a whole.

Yuko Takeda

KDDI Corporation

General Manager of SU Growth Strategy Department, Open Innovation Promotion Headquarters

After working for an electronics manufacturer, he joined KDDI in 2007. He was involved in product planning for mobile phones and smartphones, and contributed to establishing an innovative product lineup that met consumer needs. Since 2019, he has been in charge of company-wide advertising and promotion in the Public Relations Department, where he has worked on numerous campaigns. He took up his current position in October 2021, and as the operations manager of the KDDI Open Innovation Fund, he is committed to strengthening the startup ecosystem. He is actively involved in promoting open innovation through startup investments and building strategic partnerships with a variety of companies.

schedule

For startups
Pre-briefing session

Tuesday, December 16, 2025
18:00-19:00

Method: Online (zoom webinar) * Participant's account and camera are not open
Target: Start-up companies planning to apply or considering TAKANAWA PITCH
Application deadline: Monday, December 15, 2025 23:59

program

"TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY" Overview of the City and Its Initiatives
Overview of the business creation event "GATEWAY Tech TAKANAWA"
Information on the pitch contest "TAKANAWA PITCH"
Introduction from previous award-winning startups
Message from the Chair of the Judges
Q&A

Information session application

Application details

Application requirements: ◆Startup companies (generally established within the last 10 years) that have technologies and services that contribute to solving social issues and have products, services, or prototypes in line with one of the themes of Enviromental protection, Mobility vehicles and Robotics, Healthcare services, or Community Creation, with the aim of creating global co-benefits.
◆Participate in the selection process and pitch on the day of the event, and be able to fill out the application form, pitch, and answer questions in Japanese.
◆All information provided on the application form and in submitted materials during the selection process must be complete and accurate.
◆The application form must be completed and the materials specified by the organizer must be submitted by the application deadline.
◆To agree to the terms and conditions of the application
Submissions: ◆Fill out the application form in Japanese
・ Submit pitch materials in Japanese, including service introduction * If you pass the 1st round, submit a video of your pitch (scheduled for February 2026)
* If you pass the 2nd round (selected as a finalist), submit photos of speakers, profiles, and company logo (scheduled for March to April 2026)
Selection Criteria: ◆ Social impact
◆ Economic impact
◆ Significance of implementing this project in TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY (vision, novelty, feasibility)
◆ Field compatibility
◆ Presentation skills
◆ Other
schedule: ◆ Application period: December 8, 2025 to January 31, 2026 23:59
◆ First selection (document screening): February 2026
Result notification: Late February
◆ Second selection (video screening): February to early March 2026
Scheduled notification of results: Late March (finalists confirmed)
◆ Pitch contest appearance: May 14, 2026
Participation Fee: ◆Free
*Transportation costs and other expenses are borne by each company.

Pitch Contest Application

Examples of city initiatives

Enviromental protection

Creating a city that is friendly to people, the city, and the earth by utilizing hydrogen, biogas, and a variety of renewable energies: The city is working to create an enviromentally friendly town by introducing one of the largest heat storage tanks in Japan, utilizing hydrogen, and developing a next-generation logistics platform.The city's first in-building biogas facility in the eastern Japan area reuses food waste from restaurants, Convention hall/Conference rooms, and hotels in the town's commercial facilities as a resource, working to reduce waste.The gas generated is used as fuel for a biogas boiler, and the heat generated is used to provide hot water at the JW Marriott Hotel Tokyo, promoting efforts to realize a circular economy.

Read the press release here

Mobility vehicles and Robotics

Introduction of "iino," an autonomous mobility vehicle that can coexist with pedestrians (Gekidan iino LLC): To create new encounters that come from coexisting with the city, facilities, and people, we considered the optimal form for TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY, designed the introduction of Mobility vehicles and Robotics based on the results of multiple demonstration experiments, and developed a "city x Mobility vehicles and Robotics" model that integrates people, city, and experience by combining Mobility vehicles and Robotics spots with information functions, driving routes, audio and light effects, etc. We will create a transportation experience that enhances the appeal of the places you travel and stirs the emotions of those who ride.

TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY x iino

Healthcare services

Laxative-free virtual endoscopy (Boston Medical Sciences, Inc.): Boston Medical Sciences is developing a completely laxative-free virtual endoscopy (colon CT) examination system that utilizes a world-first high-precision virtual bowel cleansing AI and polyp detection AI. By lowering the barrier to undergoing detailed colon cancer examinations with BMS's examination system, the company aims to promote early detection of colon cancer and reduce the number of deaths from colon cancer worldwide. This idea is in line with the "global co-benefits" vision, and led to the decision to make the first investment from the Takanawa global co-benefits Fund. In addition to continuing to conduct colon cancer screening awareness activities at events in Takanawa, the company is also considering introducing the system to the clinic area, which is scheduled to open in spring 2026.

Read the press release here

Regional revitalization

Regional revitalization initiatives through the "Regional Future Brain Link": Chiiki Mirai Brain Link Co., Ltd. is a new company jointly established in October 2025 by JR East and Nomura Research Institute, Ltd. (NRI) with the aim of revitalizing local communities. Its main activities include acting as a think tank that conducts long-term research on regional revitalization, incubating businesses that promote business creation aimed at resolving local issues, and providing related consulting. Using the TAKANAWA GATEWAY Link Scholars' Hub (LiSH) as a hub, it will promote collaboration with co-creation partners.

Official website is here