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Venture Ecosystem Summit 2025 Seminar Review – Part 2

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2025.11.11

“From this day forth, change the future and achieve breakthroughs!”

Venture Ecosystem Summit 2025 was held on Thursday, October 2, 2025.

The idea for the summit started with a strong desire to provide a day of inspiration and learning that would transform entrepreneurs, with a vision of “From this day forth, change the future and achieve breakthroughs!” Over time, that concept evolved into a one-of-a-kind event that brought together top leaders from various fields, including Dr. Sachio Semmoto, co-founder of KDDI, and Ichiro Fujisaki, former Japanese Ambassador to the U.S.

This article summarizes the second half of the lecture portion.
(See the previous article about the first half here.)

Following a short break for lunch, the summit continued with a high-energy pitch session entitled “Next Breakthrough: Young Entrepreneurs Carving Out the Future”, featuring three speakers.

First was the president and CEO of Adora Inc., Naoto Tomita. His company operates “Kodomamo”, which is a parental control app designed to keep children safe during smartphone use.

Next was the president and CEO of Payke, Inc., Keisuke Furuta. His company operates the Payke app, which allows users to scan product barcodes with their smartphones to receive product information in their preferred language.

The third speaker was the president and CEO of M&A Cloud, Atsuhiro Oikawa. His company operates the first M&A matching platform in Japan where the faces of potential buyers are visible.

All of the summit attendees were incredibly inspired by the pitches from these three entrepreneurs in their 20s and 30s, who are each scaling services that solve societal issues.

This was followed by a panel discussion entitled “Why Support Startups Now?” featuring the chairperson of Shibuya Startups KK, Shiho Watabe, and advisor to D-POPS GROUP Co., Ltd., Genta Sugihara.

Both of them have worked at Google Japan in the past, and both are currently supporting startups in Shibuya. Drawing on their extensive global experience, they held an impassioned discussion about the appeal of Japanese startups and their shared desire to revitalize Japan.

Next, a panel session entitled “Next Billion: The Challenge of Reaching 100 Billion Yen in Sales” featured Yasushi Kobayashi (president and CEO of MarketEnterprise Co., Ltd.), Kiyoshi Shoji (president and CEO of Dive Inc.), Hiroaki Kabashima (president and CEO of LTS., Inc.), and Toru Saito (president and CEO of NEXT ONE Inc.).

They discussed key factors for reaching 10 billion yen in sales, the hurdles they faced, and their future visions, all while incorporating market analysis. Having overcome numerous challenges, they shared invaluable insights regarding what matters most to a business leader.

Following this, Executive Vice President of NTT DOCOMO BUSINESS, Inc., Shoichi Motodaka, took the stage. Mototaka has been involved with operating “docomo shops” since before the establishment of D-POPS Corp., so he has ended up working together with us for a long time. At present, he is involved in various business ventures as a leader within the NTT Group, including AI and regional revitalization in Japan.

At this summit for entrepreneurs, Motodaka delivered a presentation aimed at sparking collaboration with NTT DOCOMO BUSINESS. It turned out to be such a highly successful networking opportunity that he reportedly went through an entire box of business cards during the after-party.

Next, former Japanese ambassador to the U.S. and current president of The America-Japan Society, Inc., Ichiro Fujisaki, spoke on the topic of “How Will Japan Survive the Trump Era?” With his typical brilliant humor sprinkled throughout, Ambassador Fujisaki provided an easy-to-understand presentation on the dynamics of the relationship between Japan and the United States.

At first glance, it might seem strange for a diplomat to speak at a seminar for entrepreneurs, but there was a lot for business leaders to learn from his methods of negotiating with superpowers and his meticulous analytical skills. Furthermore, Ambassador Fujisaki’s unique perspective on Japan’s current situation—including insights that cannot be gained from only reading the news—contained invaluable lessons for business owners with overseas operations to consider in their future planning.

Finally, co-founder of KDDI and serial entrepreneur, Dr. Sachio Semmoto, took the stage. His opening words ignited a fire in the hearts of the participants: “I believe that less than 0.1% of people in Japan have the ambition to tackle new things…and everyone here today is part of that 0.1%. The thirty years of stagnation in Japan are over. The next thirty years will be a period of total recovery and growth.”

He told the story of KDDI’s founding, spoke on the current global situation, and the importance of taking risks in facing new challenges. His talk resonated deeply with the business leaders in attendance, as evidenced by the numerous comments that participants shared afterward, such as “My soul was profoundly stirred” and “I was so deeply moved, there were tears in my eyes”.

To conclude, a raffle was held, and the lucky winner was given the “ambition” (志) calligraphy panel created by artist Yuuna Okanishi earlier that day!

As a whole, the seminar was so full of learning opportunities, it was almost like drinking water from a firehose. Our final article is a report on the social gathering that took place after the seminar, which was also a huge success!

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Venture Ecosystem Summit 2025 Social Gathering
“From this day forth, change the future and achieve breakthroughs!” Venture Ecosystem Summit 2025 was held on Thursday, October 2, 2025. The idea for the summit started with a strong desire to provide a day of inspiration and learning that would transform entrepreneurs, with a vision of “From this day forth, change the future and achieve breakthroughs!” Over time, that concept evolved into a one-of-a-kind event that brought together top leaders from various fields, including Dr. Sachio Semmoto, co-founder of KDDI, and Ichiro Fujisaki, former Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. This article covers the social gathering that was hosted after the seminar portion. (See our previous articles about the seminar presentations here and here.) First, we invited founder and chairman of WILL GROUP, INC., Ryosuke Ikeda, and the founder of Positive dream persons inc., Takamasa Sugimoto, to offer the opening toast. Their well-coordinated and entertaining dialogue set a fantastic tone for the rest of the evening. Our host, President Goto, prepared a special selection of premium sake and spirits for the guests, who received it with great delight and enthusiasm. The hotel catering featured a full buffet alongside sushi and tempura counters, where professional chefs prepared fresh dishes on the spot. The energy reached its peak with a DJ performance and a live set by a well-known guest artist who was secretly invited to play! We want to offer a huge thank you to all the Venture Ecosystem Summit staff members for their hard work! We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to the Sheraton Miyako Hotel Tokyo for providing the venue and for their generous flexibility in accommodating our detailed requests. Venture Ecosystem Summit 2025 was held with the underlying concept, “From this day forth, change the future and achieve breakthroughs!” We truly hope this day served as a catalyst for all those who participated to “jump into the future with ambition”. To all our attendees, speakers, and partners: thank you so much for making this event possible!
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2025.11.19
Venture Ecosystem Summit 2025 Seminar Review – Part 1
“From this day forth, change the future and achieve breakthroughs!” Venture Ecosystem Summit 2025 was held on Thursday, October 2, 2025. The idea for the summit started with a strong desire to provide a day of inspiration and learning that would transform entrepreneurs, with a vision of “From this day forth, change the future and achieve breakthroughs!” Over time, that concept evolved into a one-of-a-kind event that brought together top leaders from various fields, including Dr. Sachio Semmoto, co-founder of KDDI, and Ichiro Fujisaki, former Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. This article summarizes the first half of the lecture portion. The seminar kicked off with a performance by calligrapher Yuuna Okanishi. To the sound of traditional music, she presented a choreographed calligraphy inspired by the painting of a unicorn which we use as a symbol of our Venture Ecosystem. Reflecting the aspiration to “jump into the future with ambition”, she chose to paint the two Japanese characters 志 (ambition) and 飛躍 (a flying leap) for her dance-like performance. The seminar’s emcee was Kaori Hida, President and CEO of Talk Navi Inc. She built a career as an announcer before founding Talk Navi to create second career opportunities for other announcers. The seminar began after the calligraphy performance. First, Kazuhiro Goto, CEO of D-POPS GROUP Co., Ltd., and the organizer of Venture Ecosystem Summit 2025, took the stage. In a presentation entitled “The Key Points That Breakthrough Entrepreneurs Defend to the Death”, he shared 20 critical strategies he discovered through analyzing numerous founders who built billion- or trillion-yen scale companies. Among those in attendance were some members of “Goto School”, a study group led by President Goto. While some of the lessons President Goto shared here may have been review for them, he also shared the crazy roller coaster ride that he experienced as the founder of a startup, which he has not shared elsewhere. Next to speak was Shinichiro Naito, President and CEO of Findstar GROUP Co., Ltd. President Naito also serves as D-POPS GROUP’s Non-Executive Director.  In his talk, “Turning Points on the Path to Building a 40 Billion Yen Business”, he revealed key points for profit generation that are not usually disclosed, allowing attendees to learn the secret foundation of Findstar GROUP’s strength. Many companies in the audience likely reflected on their own businesses, after realizing the underlying philosophy behind the guidance President Naito always provides. Following him was Tetsuya Watanabe, D-POPS GROUP’s Senior Managing Executive Officer. Mr. Watanabe served as the head of purchasing for telecommunications and IT products at Yodobashi Camera for over 15 years, eventually becoming an Executive Officer and General Manager of the Business Division at Yodobashi Camera. His presentation, “Retail Empire Yodobashi Camera’s Business Strategies and Their Amazing Founder Fujisawa”, was packed with fundamental business principles and strategies for maximizing profit. These insights into Yodobashi Camera’s greatness—understood only by someone like Watanabe, who consistently supported the founder—offered significant learning not just for CEOs but also for the executive officers in the audience. Our next article features more priceless talks, the likes of which could never be heard anywhere except for this event, including those by KDDI co-founder Dr. Sachio Semmoto and former U.S. Ambassador Ichiro Fujisaki. So, please be sure to check out Seminar Review – Part 2!
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D-POPS GROUP Set Up a Human Rights Policy
D-POPS GROUP is a community of enterprises that combine “real business, technology, and group synergy” in their operations, aiming to realize a Venture Ecosystem that remains essential to society even 100 years from now. In line with this commitment, D-POPS GROUP has established this human rights policy, based on the “Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights” adopted by the United Nations. A human rights policy serves as a company or organization’s internal and external commitment to fulfill its responsibility to respect human rights in its business activities, clearly articulating the specific philosophy and initiatives for doing so. We would like to express our deep gratitude to the Aikawa-Matsuura Law Office, our group’s legal counsel, for their significant contribution and support in the formulation of this policy. 【D-POPS GROUP’s Human Rights Policy】 We hereby establish D-POPS GROUP’s human rights policy as a guideline to promote our efforts to respect human rights as a matter of responsibility. 1. Regard for Our Policy and Range of Its Application Our vision is “to make a platform where entrepreneurs and startup companies with high aspirations can connect, supporting their growth and continuously creating new value for society”. Our mission is to “Support promising entrepreneurs, enable breakthrough growth, and produce multiple unicorn companies that bring about societal transformation”. These are underpinned by our five core principles—making the impossible possible, committing to using all of one’s ability, maintaining professionalism, always pursuing self-growth, and positive thinking—which in turn demonstrate our values of “growing and learning together through sincerity, humility, and gratitude”. With this vision, mission, and values, we aim to utilize synergy within our group to create new value for society. This policy demonstrates our commitment to human rights, in accordance with our philosophy and principles, and applies to all executive officers and employees of D-POPS GROUP. Furthermore, we will also encourage the support of this policy to our group companies and to our business clients who partner with us through provision of products or services. 2. Respect for the Human Rights of Our Employees We regard our employees as essential stakeholders. We not only commit to compliance with labor laws and regulations as a bare minimum, but also to respect our employees in the following ways. We prohibit discriminatory treatment in recruitment, hiring, and post-hiring labor management based on race, ethnicity, creed, gender, social status, lineage, disability, illness, sexual orientation, gender identity (such as LGBTQ+), or any other characteristic. We also protect the personal information of job seekers and workers during the processes of recruitment, hiring, and post-hiring labor management. We get rid of workplace harassment, including discriminatory speech, bullying, sexual harassment, power harassment, and harassment related to pregnancy, childbirth, or childcare leave. In addition, if our employees are exposed to excessive complaints or abuse from their customers, our response is to stand by them as an organization to prevent and eradicate customer harassment. Moreover, we prioritize employee health as a key company asset, striving for occupational safety and health management. 3. Respect for the Human Rights of Business Partners and Consumers In our partnerships with business clients and suppliers, we will eliminate harassment and human rights abuses stemming from dominant positions in business relationships, and we will comply with Japan’s Subcontracting Act and Anti-Trust Act to ensure fair trade. We will also ensure the safety of our products and services, strive for appropriate labeling, advertising, and sales methods, and comply with all rules that protect consumers. 4. Environmental Conservation We recognize that protecting people’s health and preserving a living environment for everyone are fundamental human rights that must be guaranteed. We are conscious of our duty to protect and improve the environment for future generations as well as the present one. We will comply with environmental laws, starting with Japan’s Basic Act on the Environment, and at the same, implement environmentally-friendly initiatives such as resource recycling and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. 5. Fulfilling Our Duty to Respect Human Rights In addition to the principles found in sections 2 through 4, we pledge to fulfill our duty to respect human rights in accordance with the UN’s “Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights”. To that aim, we will create a human rights due diligence system that can identify, prevent, and mitigate adverse impacts on human rights. We will also identify negative influences on human rights caused by our business activities, and work to prevent and mitigate those. Furthermore, if we are found to have caused or contributed to adverse human rights impacts in any way, we will strive to provide restitution through appropriate procedures. 6. Education We will make sure this policy gets firmly established across all our business activities by any means necessary, and provide continuous and suitable education and training to all executive officers and employees to ensure the policy is well-understood and effectively implemented. 7. Disclosure and Dialogue Through our website and other channels, we will regularly report on the progress and results of our efforts to respect human rights. Furthermore, in the process of implementing this policy, we will engage in sincere dialogues and discussions with our stakeholders. This policy has been approved by our company’s Board of Directors, and our President and CEO bears full responsibility for its implementation. Effective as of September 18, 2025 D-POPS GROUP President and CEO Kazuhiro Goto
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