On February 25, 2026, RIVERNESS CORPORATION (RIVERNESS) announced that it has received a grant from the Sendai Global Startup Hub (FY2025) to support startups in Sendai and the Tohoku region in accelerating their overseas business development.results briefingWe are pleased to inform you that we will be holding a "Seminar on the Future of the Japanese Economy" in Sendai City, Japan.

The debriefing session was held to discuss theHow to create new business concepts in Southeast AsiaA special session will be held titled "The first step of the project" to provide case studies and key points related to overseas expansion together with startups selected for the project.

results briefing

■ Date and Time: Wednesday, February 25, 2026, 13:30-18:00 (Doors open and registration begins at 13:00~)
Location: Urbannet Sendai Chuo Building "YUI NOS" 4F Conference Rooms A & B (4-4-19 Chuo, Aoba-ku, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture)
Participation fee: Free of charge
Organized by: Sendai City
Operated by: LIVERNESS Corporation, ICMG Co.

How to create new business concepts in Southeast Asia.

Overseas expansion of ventures that offer completely new concepts and services that have never existed in the world requires uncovering a culture and market that are compatible with the new concept, and involving players who agree with the concept. Southeast Asia, in particular, with its growing market of 700 million people and cultures of other ethnic groups, has great potential as a place for Japanese ventures to introduce new concepts to the world. In this session, we will discuss with two companies that have made a start in Singapore and Thailand to disseminate new business concepts, how they got started, and their future prospects.

Haruka Sakurai (Moderator)
Strategic Development Division, Liverness Inc.

Master of Chemistry from Imperial College London. Prior to joining Rivanes, he joined UntroD Capital Japan K.K. (formerly Real Tech Fund), a venture capital fund specializing in research-based venture investments, as a new graduate. He has been working in the Manufacturing Development Division since joining RIVERNESS, facilitating prototype development between Japanese factories and Southeast Asian and UK ventures, and is currently strengthening connections between Japan and overseas at Leave a Nest Singapore, having grown up in Singapore for the past 18 years.

Ms. Junko Iwai
Chief Executive Officer and CDO, Storyline Inc.

Engaged in business design consulting at an overseas strategic design firm. While living in the U.S., she discovered specialty coffee. At Storyline, she is in charge of service design and overall company management.

Mr. Masatsugu Fukuda
President and CEO, Metagen, Inc.

After completing his PhD in Agriculture at Meiji University in 2006, he worked as a RIKEN Research Fellow before becoming an Associate Professor at Keio University's Institute for Frontier Life Sciences in 2012. He is also a group leader at the Kanagawa Prefectural Institute of Industrial Technology, a specially appointed professor at Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, a representative director of the Society for Intestinal Design, a representative director of the Short Chain Fatty Acids Association, and a representative director of the Intestinal Environment Health Care Association. In 2024, he was selected for the Forbes Japan Entrepreneur Directory 400 and Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher 2024.