Takanori Ashikawa

The Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), a unique public-private partnership aimed at promoting innovation and enhancing the value of businesses in Japan, was launched in July 2009. Leveraging the rich history of Japanese technological prowess, the INCJ aims to provide financial, technological and management support in order to promote the creation of next-generation businesses through 'open innovation,' or the flow of technology and expertise beyond the boundaries of existing organizational structures. The INCJ will draw on funding as well as management and technological expertise from the public and private sectors. The INCJ is actively reviewing various investment opportunities in areas of environment and energy, electronics and IT, bio-tech, and infrastructure such as water supply, railway service, and nuclear power supply. Each investment will be thoroughly vetted to ensure it meets the exacting standards of the INCJ's Innovation Network Committee, which will make the final investment decisions. The INCJ is capitalized at 92 billion yen, with the Japanese government injecting 82 billion yen and 19 private corporations (refer to details in Appendix below) providing a further 10 billion yen. The government will also provide guarantees up to a total of 800 billion yen for INCJ investments, giving it an investment capability of approximately 900 billion yen (US$10 billion). The INCJ will be established for a period of 15 years.

BofA Securities Japan Co., Ltd. (BofA Securities Japan) is the wholly-owned Japanese brokerage subsidiary of Merrill Lynch International, Inc., which is ultimately owned by Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC). Founded in 1998, the firm was formerly known as Merrill Lynch Japan Securities Co., Ltd. (MLJS) and changed their name to BofA Securities Co., Ltd. in line with grobal re-branding from BofA Merrill Lynch to BofA in 2020. They subsequently became BofA Securities Japan Co., Ltd. Headquartered in Tokyo, BofA Securities Japan provides stock and bond trading, capital markets, investment banking and other advisory services to corporate clients, financial institutions and government agencies.

Nippon Mirai Capital Co., Ltd. (NMC) is an independent private equity firm with headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. NMC was founded in 1994.

New Frontier Capital Management Co., Ltd. is an alternative investment manager. The private company is based in Tokyo, Japan. and has subsidiaries in Hong Kong. The Japanese company was founded by Mikihide Katsumata. Shigeki Usuki has been the CEO of the company since 2015.

INCJ Ltd. is a private company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, that provides investment services. It was founded in 2018. Toshiyuki Shiga is currently the CEO of the firm.

Fujitsu Ventures Ltd. (Fujitsu Ventures) is a Venture Capital firm, a subsidiary of Fujitsu Ltd. (TK:6702) founded in 2021. The firm is headquartered in Tokyo.