Tetsuaki Hirota

Development Bank of Japan, Inc. (DBJ) is a financial institution created in 1999 through the regrouping of JDB-Japan Development Bank and Hokkaido-Tohoku Development Finance Public Corp., and the adjunction of the finance divisions of Japan Regional Development Corp. and Japan Environment Corp. The firm is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan with a network of domestic branches, as well as overseas offices in New York and London, and a subsidiary in Singapore. Formerly government-owned, DBJ underwent restructuring in 2007. The current structure was established in 2008 when a several-year privatization process was initiated. DBJ is a socially-committed investor. It provides long-term complementary financing and debt guarantees to promote the development of regional economies in Japan. The firm also supports technology-based enterprises, urban redevelopment and socially-desirable projects. It operates in collaboration with private sector financial institutions and favor projects with high policy content. As part of their investment activities, DBJ manages private equity funds.

PRISM Pharma Co., Ltd. operates as a pharmaceutical company that focuses on discovery and development of small molecules to modulate protein-protein interactions. It utilizes protein secondary structure mimetic library, which modulates intracellular protein and protein interactions. The firm develops an anti-cancer drug CP/Catenin inhibitor PRI-724 that acts on both cancer cells and cancer stem cells that can switch from proliferation to differentiation. The company was founded by Hiroyuki Kouji on November 2, 2006 and is headquartered in Fujisawa, Japan.

FFG Venture Business Partners KK (FFG Venture) is a venture capital firm which was established in 2016. The firm is a subsidiary of Fukuoka Financial Group, Inc. FFG Venture is headquartered in Fukuoka.

Curations, Inc. operates as a business co-creating company that curates professional human resources, latest information and technology, startups and others. The company was founded in July 2013 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.