Top 15 Digital Media Angel Investors in Japan (August 2026)
For AI agents: Short investor table (Markdown), Detailed investor list (Markdown)
| Investor | Relevant Deals | Geography | Stage | Focus | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tsunezawa Kahoko
Angel
|
1 | Japan, Germany | Seed, Angel | Shopping, Apps, Travel | |
|
Kiyohiro Sugashita
Angel
|
1 | Japan | Seed, Series A | Marketing, Travel, Reservations | $8.5M–$45M |
|
Takeshi Natsuno
Angel
|
1 | Japan, United States | Angel, Series A | Financial Services, Music, Events | $1.7M–$15M |
|
Goshi Yamaguchi
Angel
|
1 | Japan | Seed, Pre-Seed, Corporate Round | Digital Media, Food and Beverage, Apps | |
|
Richard Lo
Angel
|
1 | Japan | Series A | Content, Marketing, Digital Media | |
|
Nobuhiro Ariyasu
Angel
|
1 | Japan, Singapore | Seed, Angel, Series A | Finance, Content, Internet | $420k–$354M |
|
Shinichi Misawa
Angel
|
1 | Japan | Series A | Content, Marketing, Digital Media | |
|
Takashi Nagao
Angel
|
1 | Japan | Seed, Pre-Seed, Series A | SNS, Apps, Video | |
|
Hirofumi Miki
Angel
|
1 | Japan | Seed, Angel, Pre-Seed | Content, Internet, Marketing | $764k–$16M |
|
Sato Hirohisa
Angel
|
1 | Japan | Angel | Music, Internet, Animation | |
|
Hidekazu Watanabe
Angel
|
1 | Japan | Seed | Sales, Video, Travel | $800k–$1.1M |
|
Takeshi Aoki Yamato
Angel
|
1 | Japan | Seed, Series B | Apps, Fitness, Medical | $403k–$1M |
|
Kiyoshi Nishikawa
Angel
|
1 | Japan, United States | Seed, Pre-Seed | News, Social Media, Big Data | $680k–$2.8M |
|
Toyoshi Ryuichiro
Angel
|
1 | Japan | Pre-Seed | Apps, mHealth, Internet | |
|
Seiichiro Wada
Angel
|
1 | Japan | Seed, Series A, Series B | Legal, Content, Agriculture | $1M–$85M |
| Access all 27 angel investors in Japan Digital Media startups. | |||||
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822 industries, 177 countries. Updated daily. Emails and phones included.
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Tsunezawa Kahoko
Show more...Investment focus
- Industry: Shopping, Apps, Travel
- Stage:Seed, Angel
- Geography: Japan, Germany
Investor stats
- Total investments: 5
- Lead/follow: 20% lead, 80% follow
Portfolio highlights
- Menew — Menew is an online platform that enables users to organize and set menus for family meals. Users can track family preferences and trends; make shopping lists; and get an easy-to-read calendar format for the menus.
- Valise — Valise provides insider access & unique experiences to the modern day internationalist. A perfect jump start to who & what is hot in creative capitals. At its core is the Valise Society - a global private members association for innovative leaders of the creative class.
- Valise — Valise is a women's travel service platform.
Mr. Sugashita joined Polaris as Advisor in May 2011. He is Director and CEO of Sugashita Partners, Ltd since 1998 and provides consulting services to financial institutions and ventures in and outside of Japan. Prior to that position, he was CEO of Lazard Japan Asset Management from 1991 to 1998. His business career also includes positions at DaiwaSecurities and Merrill Lynch Securities, Tokyo Branch. On the academic front, Mr. Sugashita received a BA in Economics from Ritsumeikan University and since 2009 is Special Advisor for the Dean of Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University.
Show more...Investment focus
- Industry: Marketing, Travel, Reservations
- Stage:Seed, Series A
- Geography: Japan
Investor stats
- Total investments: 11
- Round size: Seed $8.5M–$45M; Series A $14M–$21M
- Lead/follow: 0% lead, 100% follow
Portfolio highlights
- G-Next — G NEXT is an Information Technology based company.
- Fun — Fun is a sightseeing entertainment company that makes the world even more of a fun place.
- Tabinaka — Tabinaka is a Japanese booking & reservation platform for overseas tours and travel activities.
Mr. Takeshi Natsuno serves as the Chairman of Japan Operations at Great Wall Club. Mr. Natsuno is a Professor of KEIO University. He served as a General Manager of Consumer Services Division and Manager of Distribution Platform Business Development Division at Pia Corporation since April 2012 and served as its Chief of Sales Promotion Bureau sinceApril 2010. He joined DoCoMo in 1997. He served as the Managing Director of Multimedia Services, Products & Services Division for NTT DoCoMo Inc. until June 23, 2009 and served as its General Manager of i-Mode Planning Division since July 2001, Senior Vice President from June 21, 2005 to June 23, 2009, Executive Officer and General Manager Multimedia Service Division since June 2005. At NTT DoCoMo, he developed the business strategy of all of NTT DoCoMo’s multimedia-related services, including i-mode strategic alliances with global application/content providers and key Internet players. He served as Vice President of Hyper Net Co., Ltd. since June 1996. He started his career with Tokyo Gas. He held key executive positions with HyperNet. He has been a Director of Dwango Co. Ltd., since December 1, 2008. He has been a Outside Director at Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. since June 2008. He has been a Director at Pia Corporation since April 2010. He serves as a Director of D.L.E Co. Ltd. He has been a Director of Gree, Inc. since September 2009 and Trans Cosmos, Inc. since 2008. He serves as a Director of GREE Ventures, Inc. He serves as a Member of Advisory Board at Great Wall Club. He served as an Independent Non-Executive Director of SBI Holdings Inc. from June 27, 2008 to June 28, 2012. He served as a Director of Hyper Net Co., Ltd. since June 1996. He is the Author of i-mode Strategy, published in 2000, a la i-mode, published in 2002, Keitai-no-Mirai, published in 2006, Iccho-yen kaseida otokono shigotojutu, and Google ni izonshi Amazon wo maneru bakakigyou published in 2009. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Economics from Waseda University, Japan in 1988 and an Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1995.
Show more...Investment focus
- Industry: Financial Services, Music, Events
- Stage:Angel, Series A
- Geography: Japan, United States
Investor stats
- Total investments: 6
- Round size: Angel $1.7M–$15M
- Lead/follow: 0% lead, 100% follow
Portfolio highlights
- ZUU — ZUU is a Japan-based company that supports financial advisors with related consultancies and manages monetary websites. It also supports the asset management and asset advisor business of executives with finance and IT.
- Zuu Online — ZUU online is a Tokyo-based financial media which provides original insights on financial market news,the latest business trend and personal finance advice
- Confidence — Confidence ensures that the entertainment industry's cutting-edge manufacturers will be able to fulfil their objectives in the future.
Goshi Yamaguchi
Show more...Investment focus
- Industry: Digital Media, Food and Beverage, Apps
- Stage:Seed, Pre-Seed, Corporate Round
- Geography: Japan
Investor stats
- Total investments: 4
- Lead/follow: 0% lead, 100% follow
Portfolio highlights
- ReadHub — ReadHub is a Information technology , Planning, development and management of Internet media and applications company.
- Pan For You — Pan For You is a Food & Beverage Company. We deliver delicious bread from all over the world with our unique freezing technology and propose a lifestyle where you can enjoy freshly baked bread anytime.
- ZAZA — ZAZA is focus to make the world where people can respect each other even thought they have a different culture and belief.
Richard Lau serves as Head of Wealth and Personal Banking Risk at Hang Seng Bank.
Show more...Investment focus
- Industry: Content, Marketing, Digital Media
- Stage:Series A
- Geography: Japan
Investor stats
- Total investments: 1
- Lead/follow: 0% lead, 100% follow
Portfolio highlights
- DoubleL — Doublel is a general trading company of pop culture that develops Japanese manga, anime, and games internationally. The company was founded in 2014 and based in Tokyo, Japan.
Nobuhiro Ariyasu is the CEO at Coach United.
Show more...Investment focus
- Industry: Finance, Content, Internet
- Stage:Seed, Angel, Series A
- Geography: Japan, Singapore
Investor stats
- Total investments: 52
- Round size: Seed $628k–$43M; Angel $420k–$7.1M; Series A $1.3M–$354M
- Lead/follow: 8% lead, 92% follow
Portfolio highlights
- Grafto — Grafto operates “Mylo Magazine,” a platform dedicated to sharing and promoting trend culture, where readers can explore the latest developments in lifestyle, fashion, art, and emerging cultural movements through engaging and curated content.
- FLASH — FLASH is an entertainment and technology startup.
- OPERA TECH — OPERA Lead is a sales-focused AI web chatbot service from Opera Technology that turns websites into 24/7 "exhibit booths" for lead generation.It deploys AI sales assistants on existing sites (via simple tag embedding, no redesign needed) to engage the 99% of visitors who don't convert via inbound methods alone. Key capabilitiesinclude direct booking of meetings, guiding users to whitepapers/webinars, and targeted lead qualification for efficient deal progression.
Shinichi Misawa - Director @ Zappallas
Show more...Investment focus
- Industry: Content, Marketing, Digital Media
- Stage:Series A
- Geography: Japan
Investor stats
- Total investments: 4
- Lead/follow: 0% lead, 100% follow
Portfolio highlights
- Kudan — Built on spatial perception technology, we seamlessly connect the physical and digital worlds in 3D, driving industrial transformation through robotics and digital twins.
- DoubleL — Doublel is a general trading company of pop culture that develops Japanese manga, anime, and games internationally. The company was founded in 2014 and based in Tokyo, Japan.
Takashi Nagao
Show more...Investment focus
- Industry: SNS, Apps, Video
- Stage:Seed, Pre-Seed, Series A
- Geography: Japan
Investor stats
- Total investments: 4
- Lead/follow: 0% lead, 100% follow
Portfolio highlights
- FromTo — FromToA is a digital platform for creating partnerships between local governments and startups
- Wakaze — Wakaze is a supplier of craft sake beer. They provide products that include beer, other alcoholic beverages, food products, snacks, and drinks. They provide products that are available for online shopping. An online inquiry form is available on the company's website.
- FLATBOYS — FLATBOYS specializes in planning, development and operation of internet business.
After JTB Co., Ltd. and CYBIRD Co., Ltd. as an initial member of Glee Co., Ltd. is responsible for business development. Currently, he is mainly engaged in venture support in the Internet area, investing in venture and venture capital, and served as management advisor for dozens of companies. Hands-on business development, growth strategydevelopment, financing advice, HR organization design support, partner referral and Recruit Support. He is also engaged in business support for ventures in the healthcare and university venture fields. He served as Digital Health Meetup Advisor, NEDOTCP Mentor and Future 2016 Mentor.
Show more...Investment focus
- Industry: Content, Internet, Marketing
- Stage:Seed, Angel, Pre-Seed
- Geography: Japan
Investor stats
- Total investments: 27
- Round size: Seed $764k–$16M
- Lead/follow: 0% lead, 100% follow
Portfolio highlights
- Shiftus — Shiftus is a communication application that can be used in various part-time job sites such as cafes, izakayas, hotels, supermarkets
- Flagellin — Flagellin is a pharmaceutical and medical industry.Development and sales of SaaS that supports sales and marketing of database and analysis services in the pharmaceutical and medical industries
- Giver Take All — Gibber Take All is a Planning, development and management of business sharing platform
Sato Hirohisa
Show more...Investment focus
- Industry: Music, Internet, Animation
- Stage:Angel
- Geography: Japan
Investor stats
- Total investments: 2
- Lead/follow: 0% lead, 100% follow
Portfolio highlights
- TableCheck — TableCheck empowers restaurant operators worldwide to maximize guest engagement, reservations, and table utilization.We analyze and evaluate data from restaurants and use this information to create a more vibrant dining experience for their customers.Our team of creative minds is continuously seeking to drive innovative solutions to support ourrestaurant partners. TableCheck’s restaurant management tools give restaurants the power and flexibility to provide seamless customer experiences for every guest from the moment they make reservations. "
- Dream Link Entertainment — DLE is a Japanese animation studio based in Tokyo. The mission of DLE is to turn people's dreams and imaginations into an experience.
Access 48,091 investors
822 industries, 177 countries. Updated daily. Emails and phones included.
Browse database — It's Free!Hidekazu Watanabe
Show more...Investment focus
- Industry: Sales, Video, Travel
- Stage:Seed
- Geography: Japan
Investor stats
- Total investments: 3
- Round size: Seed $800k–$1.1M
- Lead/follow: 0% lead, 100% follow
Portfolio highlights
- EXest — EXest is aTokyo-based inbound travel promotion startup .The company provides the WOW U platform that connects inbound visitors to Japan with licensed interpreters and tour guides in addition to WOWU-media offering potential visitors to Japan with video clips introducing must-visit spots and popular local souvenirs on Facebook.
- LOOV — LOOV is a video platform that helps in creating professional and data-driven videos for salesmen and marketers to boost conversion metrics.
- Mantra — MANTRA is a developer of machine translation technology.
Takeshi Aoki Yamato is the Representative Director of Capital Medica Ventures.
Show more...Investment focus
- Industry: Apps, Fitness, Medical
- Stage:Seed, Series B
- Geography: Japan
Investor stats
- Total investments: 6
- Round size: Seed $403k–$1M
- Lead/follow: 0% lead, 100% follow
Portfolio highlights
- Chipee — Chipee is a social networking platform that enables its users to send digital gratitude in the form of chips.
- GEOFLA — Geofra develops Planning and creation of items that rejuvenate the movement of people in physical areas, regional revitalization initiatives
- Runtrip — This is one way to enjoy running without being bound by numbers.You can walk along the way. You can stop.It's all your freedom to run with whom.There are scenery in the world that can only be seen by running,There are friends who can only meet by running.The discovery or encounter may be in the immediate vicinityIt may beon the back of the earth.Occasionally, time, order, and distance are set aside.To a world where you can run more freely and enjoyably.
After working at KDD Corporation (Currently known as KDDI Corporation), Kiyoshi Nishikawa next went to work at Arthur D. Little Inc. in the United States, where he became inspired to start his own company. After returning to Japan, he established a Japanese corporation of the world’s largest Internet company, America On Line, LLC. Later andbased on this experience and the relationships he developed, he founded the first Internet business incubator, NETAGE, Inc. After serving as the President and CEO of NETAGE Group, he later became and still serves as the Chairman of ngi group, inc. Kiyoshi was one of the main entrepreneurs responsible for proposing and realization of “Shibuya Bit Valley Concept†and is well known for his various speeches and writings. He is a graduate of the Department of Education at Tokyo University.
Show more...Investment focus
- Industry: News, Social Media, Big Data
- Stage:Seed, Pre-Seed
- Geography: Japan, United States
Investor stats
- Total investments: 12
- Round size: Seed $680k–$2.8M
- Lead/follow: 8% lead, 92% follow
Portfolio highlights
- PoliPoli — PoliPoli is a next-generation politics co-creation platform where you can participate like a game. Politicians from all over Japan post their policies in an easy-to-understand manner, and those who sympathize can enjoy working on the "missions" necessary to realize the policies.
- Astroscale — Astroscale is one of the few companies in the world proposing to aid in the removal of orbital debris through the provision of End of Life (EOL) and Active Debris Removal (ADR) services. In addition to providing a technical solution, Astroscale is helping to define the business case for this service and are working with national space agencies,international institutions, non-profit organizations, insurance companies and satellite operators to develop norms, regulations and incentives that contribute to the responsible use of space.
- TECHFUND — TechFund is a venture capital firm specializing in incubation and seed stage investments. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.
Toyoshi Ryuichiro - CEO @ Misoca
Show more...Investment focus
- Industry: Apps, mHealth, Internet
- Stage:Pre-Seed
- Geography: Japan
Investor stats
- Total investments: 2
- Lead/follow: 0% lead, 100% follow
Portfolio highlights
- ReadHub — ReadHub is a Information technology , Planning, development and management of Internet media and applications company.
- Everyplus — Every Plus is a Nursing care facility recreation planning and dispatch service.
Seiichiro Wada started his career as employee No.5 at a technology startup. He then joined Dwango, the fast-growing startup that operates Japanese Youtube "Niko Niko Douga", incubating new businesses for the company and then helped the company go public. After that, he joined Monex Group, the leading online brokerage group in Japan, andled new businesses there as well. He also helped establish Monex Ventures as the CVC of Monex Group first and then raised funds from external LPs for an independent early-stage venture capital. He has invested in more than 100 early stage startups, including Money Forward (IPO), Uzabase (IPO), Mentalhealth Technologies (IPO), MFS (IPO), Folio, Emerada, Gracia, and orb.
Show more...Investment focus
- Industry: Legal, Content, Agriculture
- Stage:Seed, Series A, Series B
- Geography: Japan
Investor stats
- Total investments: 12
- Round size: Seed $1M–$43M; Series A $1.5M–$28M; Series B $69M–$85M
- Lead/follow: 8% lead, 92% follow
Portfolio highlights
- Chipee — Chipee is a social networking platform that enables its users to send digital gratitude in the form of chips.
- AGRI SMILE — AGRI SMILE employs technology to create sustainable agriculture, communities, and production areas. It promotes agricultural industry development by combining software as a tool for accumulating and inheriting technology with science, which creates new technology based on accumulated data. They seeks to establish a cultivation system that is inharmony with the environment and the region, allowing agricultural workers to live a rich life both financially and spiritually.
- CharacterBank — CharacterBank offers game development and production services using VR technology.
Digital Media Angel investor funding in Japan at a glance
Stats across 15 deals from 27 investors.
Access all 27 angel investors in Japan Digital Media startups.
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