Central Japan Startup Ecosystem Consortium Receives Rising AI Ecosystem Star in East Asia for 2025 Award
To support the sustainable growth of Central Japan, members including the Central Japan Economic Federation, Nagoya University, Aichi Prefecture, the City of Nagoya, Hamamatsu City, Gifu Prefecture, Mie Prefecture, and Shizuoka Prefecture formed the Central Japan Startup Ecosystem Consortium, which was chosen in the second round of selections for Global Hub Cities by the Cabinet Office in 2025.
At the StartupBlink Startup Ecosystem Awards held by StartupBlink*1, a global startup research platform, the Nagoya area was selected as the Rising AI Ecosystem Star in East Asia for 2025, and the Central Japan Startup Ecosystem Consortium*2, which supports the ecosystem in the area, received the award.
This award is given to the non-Chinese city in East Asia with the highest debut in the region in the field of AI. On the selection of Nagoya for the award, StartupBlink commented, “This distinction underscores Nagoya’s growing leadership in artificial intelligence innovation and its expanding role within Japan’s broader technology ecosystem.” This award recognized the Central Japan Startup Ecosystem Consortium’s leadership and continuing initiatives in supporting the rapidly developing AI startup ecosystem and promoting regional innovation.
Mr. Ichiro Hirosawa, Mayor of Nagoya, participated in the online awards ceremony and gave an acceptance speech about the area’s initiatives and future plans.
This award demonstrates that the efforts of local governments, universities, economic organizations and businesses in Central Japan working together to create and develop a startup ecosystem have been recognized internationally. Through further cooperation with investors and businesses in Japan and abroad, support for AI startups and test fields will be expanded to aim for even greater growth of the Nagoya area.
*1: StartupBlink is a global market research platform which collects and analyzes data about startup ecosystems in countries around the world. Based on information on over 100,000 startups and related organizations, they release rankings and reports every year of ecosystems in over 100 countries and over 1000 cities.
StartupBlink: https://www.startupblink.com/
*2: Industry, academia, government, and finance collaborated to bring about a wave of innovation in Central Japan by developing a startup ecosystem. In June 2025, the consortium was chosen as a Global Hub City by the Cabinet Office in the second round of selections.
Representative: Central Japan Economic Federation Chari Satoru Katsuno
Members: 327 companies, organizations, and universities, including the Central Japan Economic Federation, Nagoya University, Aichi Prefecture, the City of Nagoya, Hamamatsu City, Gifu Prefecture, Mie Prefecture, and Shizuoka Prefecture.
Central Japan Startup Ecosystem: https://central-startup.jp/en/
[Contact Information]
Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Nagoya
Contacts: Mr. Kameta, Mr. Watanabe
Email: nag@jetro.go.jp
Tel.: 052-589-6210
