TOKYO (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese healthcare startup Cancerfree won the pitch competition at the annual Kozarocks startup event in Japan's Okinawa on July 6.
Kozarocks is organized by Koza Startup Arcade, the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OSIT), and several partners from across Japan. Now in its fourth year, this year’s Kozarocks was themed, “Bankoku Shinryo: Okinawa as a Bridge between Asia and Japan.”
Thousands of participants within the startup sector from Japan and other Asian countries took part in the expo. Kozarocks also worked with Taiwan’s National Development Council and Startup Island TAIWAN this year, welcoming Taiwanese startups Cancerfree and Turing Drive to take part in the pitch competition.
Cancerfree, backed by Silicon Valley investor Tim Draper, provides personalized cancer drug testing services. It placed first in the pitch competition, while Taiwanese autonomous driving startup Turing Drive came in second.
Expanding to the Japanese market through Okinawa offers global startups several benefits. Okinawa’s strategic location provides easy access to both the Japanese mainland and other Asian markets.
The region boasts a supportive business environment, with tax breaks and subsidies contributing to a 30% lower operating cost compared to Tokyo. Okinawa also has a growing tech ecosystem, with over 50 tech meetups and several incubators and accelerators, such as OIST.
According to the host, “The Ryukyu Kingdom, which is the former name for Okinawa, once thrived by connecting Japan and Asia through maritime trade. The Bankoku Shinryo Bell, hanging proudly in the main hall of Shuri Castle, symbolizes this spirit of bridging worlds.”
The Okinawa startup ecosystem inherits this spirit and has the potential to connect countries and people, fostering mutual understanding across different regions and cultures.
It was clear Okinawa was eager to have more collaboration with Taiwanese startups this year. At the event, all the keynote and panel discussion sessions used Taiwanese startup VM-FI’s real-time translation technology. The event venue also featured Taiwan-style lanterns everywhere. Also, Kozarocks worked with Taiwan’s Ningxia Night Market, bringing its unique atmosphere to Okinawa.
Toyosato Kenichiro, founder of Koza Startup Arcade, and his business partner Saito Tomokazu are setting up a new venture fund with 1 billion yen (NT$214 million) in capital. The fund will invest in startups, including those from Taiwan, looking to expand from Okinawa to mainland Japan.
“For Taiwanese startups, before expanding to Tokyo, Okinawa can be the perfect testbed and proof-of-concept (POC) location to test if they are ready for the Japanese market. With Okinawa’s resources, I hope to help more Taiwanese startups enter the Japanese market,” said Toyosato.
