Startups

Unlikely Venture Star Bags 35% Returns Mining Science Papers

  • ‘We haven’t had enough successful startups’ in Japan, he says
  • UTEC looks for research breakthroughs in the physical sciences
Tomotaka GojiPhotographer: Kentaro Takahashi/Bloomberg
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Japan isn’t known for its startup culture. Tomotaka Goji, a bureaucrat-turned-technology guru, is working hard to change that.

The 50-year-old runs a low-profile venture fund in Tokyo that has quietly built a track record that would make Silicon Valley’s finest envious. He’s done it by blending his experiences at Stanford University with intellectual connections to the prestigious University of Tokyo.