Leave a Nest and Mizuho Bank to hold Japan's first "National Knowledge Manufacturing Conference" on April 12, 2024 - Encouraging co-creation between medium-sized and small companies and venture companies, which account for 99.71 TP3T of domestic companies.

Lifeness Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo; Representative Director and Group CEO: Yukihiro Maru) has partnered with Mizuho Bank, Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo; President and CEO: Katsuhiko Kato), will host the inaugural “National Knowledge-Based Manufacturing Conference” on April 12, 2024. This event serves as a platform to promote co-creation among mid-sized and small businesses—which account for 99.71% of Japan’s manufacturing sector—and startups, with the goal of changing the world.

Since its founding in 2002, the event organizer, Lifeness, has been operating in the world’s first industry of its kind: the “knowledge manufacturing industry.” The knowledge manufacturing industry refers to a series of activities that combine the knowledge, discoveries, and inventions accumulated by humanity to create technologies, businesses, services, and products designed to solve unresolved challenges, and then implement them at the sites where those challenges exist.

On June 13, 2023, Lifeness systematically compiled the philosophy of “knowledge manufacturing” it has cultivated over more than 20 years and published the book “A New Era of Knowledge Manufacturing" (Author: Yukihiro Maru) has been published.

At this plenary session, mid-sized and small businesses, startups, and financial institutions from across the country will gather to share and discuss the concept, philosophy, and practical methods of “knowledge-based manufacturing.” The goal is to help Japan’s mid-sized and small businesses transition from traditional manufacturing to “knowledge-based manufacturing”—a model in which they generate new knowledge to solve unresolved challenges.

Aiming to revitalize Japan with community-based mid-sized companies at its core

In February 2024, the Cabinet approved a bill to partially amend the Act on Strengthening Industrial Competitiveness, which newly classifies companies with 2,000 or fewer employees—falling between the categories of “large enterprises” and “small and medium-sized enterprises” as defined by law—as “mid-sized enterprises.” Given that the proportion of companies in Japan that have grown from mid-sized enterprises to large enterprises is lower than in Europe and the United States, the government has proposed providing generous support—including tax incentives for capital investment and M&A (mergers and acquisitions), as well as tax measures to promote wage increases—to mid-sized enterprises in the process of growing from small and medium-sized enterprises to large enterprises. The aim is to bolster the domestic economy, promote investment, and and foster talent development.

*Note:*
Tax Incentives for “Mid-Sized Companies” to Boost Regional Economies Through Investment and M&A(The Nikkei)
What Are “Mid-Sized Companies”? The Purpose Behind the New Classification(The Nikkei)

Since 2014—the dawn of the deep tech era—the Lifeness Group has been promoting “TECH PLANTER,” an ecosystem designed to discover researchers and R&D-driven startups driven by a passion to change the world, and nurture them into businesses that contribute to solving global challenges. We have built Asia’s largest platform, bringing together approximately 3,000 startup teams across Japan and six countries in Southeast Asia. To date, three startups have gone public, and we have facilitated collaborations between more than 200 major corporations and startups. Furthermore, since 2016, we have been promoting “Regional Tech Planter"We are implementing this program in 12 regions. It has grown into a venture ecosystem with a total of over 100 regional development partner companies participating to date."

However, in order to revitalize Japan, we believe it is important to focus not only on large corporations and startups, but also on the regional mid-sized and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that account for 99.7% of all Japanese companies, and to support their growth from SMEs to mid-sized enterprises and ultimately to large corporations. The National Conference on Knowledge-Based Manufacturing aims to help revitalize Japan by focusing on mid-sized and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It seeks to help these companies build management foundations that adapt to changing times through new business ventures, in-house training and talent development, and overseas expansion, while also fostering new ways of thinking that are not constrained by existing industrial structures or customs.

It all began with encounters with two mid-sized and small businesses

Our collaboration with mid-sized and small businesses began with our encounter with Kobashi Kogyo Co., Ltd., an agricultural machinery manufacturer in Okayama Prefecture with a history spanning over 100 years. As we were working to accelerate collaboration between startups and large corporations through Tech Planter, they emphasized the importance of revitalizing mid-sized and small businesses—from redefining our philosophy to promoting partnerships with startups, and then in our local Okayama Prefecture—Okayama Tech PlanterThe event, which aims to energize next-generation education in the community, “Science Castle Chugoku-Shikoku Regional Competition"We have carried out numerous new initiatives in collaboration with Lifeness, such as [...]. In 2019, at the “2019 Winter Open Innovation Promoters’ Networking Event” hosted by the Kanto Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry, Hasegawa, an executive officer at Lifeness, and Shojiro Kobashi, President of Kobashi Industries, took the stage to present on the necessity and value of collaboration between mid-sized companies and startups. This led to which led to our application for the fiscal year 2020 project commissioned by the Kanto Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry: “Support for the Advancement of Strategic Core Technologies (Sapo-in Project) – Commercialization Support Project (Survey on Commercialization).”

Since fiscal year 2020, Ribane has served as the implementing organization for this commissioned project, providing business commercialization support to mid-sized companies and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Starting in fiscal year 2021, the initiative evolved into the “Value Creation Challenge Program through Collaboration between Mid-Sized and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Startups*,” which focuses primarily on mid-sized and small and medium-sized enterprises, and has since generated over 50 collaboration cases. Among the companies exhibiting this time, Tochigi Seiko Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of medical devices such as injection needles, and Intelligent Surface Co., Ltd., which possesses highly biocompatible coating technologies, have formed a capital and business alliance as a result of this collaboration. Aoki Shintech Co., Ltd., whose core business was manufacturing for the automotive sector, is building a new manufacturing business in the swine farming industry through a partnership with EcoPork, which promotes digital transformation (DX) in swine farming. In addition, several other companies have been selected for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s Research and Development Support Program for Growth-Oriented Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises.

*Reference: Results of the Value Creation Challenge Project
Examples of Collaboration in Reiwa 4　／　Examples of Collaboration in Reiwa 3　／　Examples of Collaboration in Reiwa 2

In addition, since 2021, Gifu Prefecture has been implementing “Gifu Tech Planter“” (one of the regions participating in the Regional Tech Planter initiative), I met Mr. Koji Hase, Representative Director of Hase Tora Spinning Co., Ltd., a company that has been in the textile business for over 130 years and has served as a cornerstone of the local community. By combining its spinning technology with new raw materials and fabrics developed by venture companies and others, the company is advancing the independent development of eco-friendly functional fibers. In this way, it is beginning to shift from traditional manufacturing practices toward a new form of the spinning industry that contributes to the planet.

In 2023, together with Lifeness, a startup that emerged from the Gifu Tech Planter program,Investment in FiberCraze, Inc.We are also working to strengthen our collaboration with the company in areas such as product development and expansion into Southeast Asia.

*Note:*
Hase Tora Spinning: Rebuilding as a Knowledge-Based Manufacturing Company(Senken Shimbun)
Hase Tora Spinning: Creating Value Through “Knowledge-Based Manufacturing”(Textile News)

Our collaboration with these two companies led to the development of a new model designed to support not only startups but also the “second founding” and growth of mid-sized and small businesses rooted in local communities, ultimately contributing to Japan’s revitalization.

Mizuho Bank's Initiatives for Regional Revitalization

As a co-organizer, Mizuho Bank is the only megabank with branches in all 47 prefectures, giving it the advantage of having each branch deeply understand the challenges and needs of local customers. In March 2023, the bank established the “Regional Revitalization Desk” as a headquarters function to plan and promote initiatives aimed at solving regional challenges—such as revitalizing local industries, achieving carbon neutrality, and advancing digital transformation (DX)—and is providing support for regional revitalization by leveraging the strengths of the network, which spans the entire country.

In 2023, in addition to major corporations and regional financial institutions, we joined a fund specializing in deep-tech startups that had recently welcomed regional core companies as new partners. Under the theme “From Regional to Global,” we are promoting collaboration between these regional core companies and deep-tech startups.

To revitalize Japan’s mid-sized and small businesses, collaboration with deep-tech startups, mergers and acquisitions, and and establishing connections with overseas markets, particularly in Southeast Asia. Based on this belief, we have strengthened our partnership with Lifeness since fiscal year 2023 by participating as a partner in the Regional Tech Planter initiative and focusing on supporting the growth of both startups and local companies.

Background on the Establishment of the National Conference on Knowledge-Based Manufacturing

The National Knowledge-Based Manufacturing Conference is Japan’s first initiative aimed at shifting from “manufacturing” to “knowledge-based manufacturing.” It brings together mid-sized and small businesses with deep-tech startups, while also involving financial institutions and government agencies that support them.

Amid rapid societal changes—such as population decline, a low birthrate and aging population, and the decline of the manufacturing sector—support for and momentum toward new business ventures are gradually building, as evidenced by the Cabinet Office’s “Five-Year Plan for Startup Development.” To implement these startups’ technologies into society, rather than seeking direct collaboration with large corporations from the seed or early stages, progress is likely to be accelerated through partnerships with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies that understand the supply chains of existing industries—including the integration of technologies into existing products, logistics systems, and maintenance.

On the other hand, among the 99.7% mid-sized and small businesses that have long supported Japanese industry, there is a challenge: due to factors such as a lack of research and development and rigid supply chains, these companies often do not know what new business ventures to pursue or are unable to take action. If these mid-sized and small-to-medium-sized enterprises can break free from the constraints of the existing manufacturing industry structure, combine their own assets with knowledge from different fields, industries, and countries, and generate new knowledge as part of a team solving global challenges, they have the potential to radically transform the traditional concept of manufacturing and grow into companies that make significant strides on the global stage.

Consequently, by combining Mizuho Bank’s understanding of the needs and network of mid-sized and small businesses with LifeNeX’s strengths in deep tech, we have launched the “National Knowledge-Based Manufacturing Conference” to support the growth of mid-sized and small businesses as well as startups.

The day’s program, organized in collaboration with Ota Ward and other partners, will feature keynote addresses by key figures from the Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation (SME Support Japan) and the Kanto Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry; keynote speeches and panel discussions by mid-sized and small businesses with cutting-edge examples of collaboration with startups; and booth exhibitions by mid-sized businesses, small businesses, and startups—all designed to foster collaboration among attendees.

Going forward, Ribance and Mizuho Bank will continue to promote “knowledge-based manufacturing” among mid-sized and small businesses as well as deep-tech startups, and support initiatives that change the world.

National Conference on Knowledge-Based Manufacturing: Overview

What will it take for mid-sized and small businesses to develop new concepts by 2050? The key to breaking through lies in collaborating with startups that possess cutting-edge technologies. This involves incorporating new technologies while fully leveraging the strengths the company has cultivated over many years. Alternatively, they can work together to create new technologies that will change the world. And through this process, they can build new value chains. The National Conference on Knowledge-Based Manufacturing will create a forum—in the form of an exhibition—where mid-sized and small businesses from across the country can meet with startups possessing cutting-edge technologies, providing a catalyst for innovation.

We are currently accepting applications from the general public. If you would like to attend, please purchase a ticket using the link below.

If you are interested in exhibiting at the booth, please contact us at the address below.

＜本件に関する問合せ先＞
Lifeness Co., Ltd. Contact: Hasegawa and Okazaki
Tel：03-5227-4198　Mail：[email protected]