Nobuyuki Higashi

The Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), a unique public-private partnership aimed at promoting innovation and enhancing the value of businesses in Japan, was launched in July 2009. Leveraging the rich history of Japanese technological prowess, the INCJ aims to provide financial, technological and management support in order to promote the creation of next-generation businesses through 'open innovation,' or the flow of technology and expertise beyond the boundaries of existing organizational structures. The INCJ will draw on funding as well as management and technological expertise from the public and private sectors. The INCJ is actively reviewing various investment opportunities in areas of environment and energy, electronics and IT, bio-tech, and infrastructure such as water supply, railway service, and nuclear power supply. Each investment will be thoroughly vetted to ensure it meets the exacting standards of the INCJ's Innovation Network Committee, which will make the final investment decisions. The INCJ is capitalized at 92 billion yen, with the Japanese government injecting 82 billion yen and 19 private corporations (refer to details in Appendix below) providing a further 10 billion yen. The government will also provide guarantees up to a total of 800 billion yen for INCJ investments, giving it an investment capability of approximately 900 billion yen (US$10 billion). The INCJ will be established for a period of 15 years.

BofA Securities Japan Co., Ltd. (BofA Securities Japan) is the wholly-owned Japanese brokerage subsidiary of Merrill Lynch International, Inc., which is ultimately owned by Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC). Founded in 1998, the firm was formerly known as Merrill Lynch Japan Securities Co., Ltd. (MLJS) and changed their name to BofA Securities Co., Ltd. in line with grobal re-branding from BofA Merrill Lynch to BofA in 2020. They subsequently became BofA Securities Japan Co., Ltd. Headquartered in Tokyo, BofA Securities Japan provides stock and bond trading, capital markets, investment banking and other advisory services to corporate clients, financial institutions and government agencies.

Nippon Mirai Capital Co., Ltd. (NMC) is an independent private equity firm with headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. NMC was founded in 1994.

New Frontier Capital Management Co., Ltd. is an alternative investment manager. The private company is based in Tokyo, Japan. and has subsidiaries in Hong Kong. The Japanese company was founded by Mikihide Katsumata. Shigeki Usuki has been the CEO of the company since 2015.

INCJ Ltd. is a private company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, that provides investment services. It was founded in 2018. Toshiyuki Shiga is currently the CEO of the firm.

JDI Display America, Inc. offers computer software developing services. The company is headquartered in San Jose, CA.

CerebrEX, Inc. designs and manufactures semiconductors. It develops display technologies for the flat panel display market. The firm's products encompass display controller, PM LSI, backlight LED drivers and controllers relating to display, and IP and macrocells. The company was founded on June 27, 2012 and is headquartered in Osaka, Japan.

Kyulux, Inc. develops organic light-emitting diode. It provides research and development of OLED materials, licensing and manufacturing and sales of OLED materials. The company was founded on March 9, 2015 by Akira Minakuchi and Chihaya Adachi and is headquartered in Fukuoka, Japan.

Stem Cell & Device Laboratory, Inc. engages in the research and development, manufacturing, and sale of cells, devices, and cell-material integrated products for drug discovery applications. It also engages in the development of new functional and cell compatibility scaffold materials for applications in pluripotent stem cell derived cell studies based on micro-engineering and nanofabrication technologies. The company was founded by Norio Nakatsuji in May 29, 2014 and is headquartered in Kyoto, Japan.

E Ink Corp. develops electronic paper display technologies. It offers electronic ink, films, flexible display, and color variety. The company was founded by Joseph M. Jacobson, Russell J. Wilcox, J. D. Albert, Barrett Comiskey and Jerome S. Rubin in 1997 and is headquartered in Billerica, MA.

Innova Dynamics, Inc. invents disruptive advanced materials technologies. It supplies Innlay silver nanowire inks to manufacturers of transparent conductive electrode films and touch sensors. The firm also develops pastes and IonArmour antimicrobial technology platform. The company was founded by Arjun Daniel Srinivas, Michael Young, Alex Mittal and Alexander C. Mittal in 2007 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.

Orbotech Japan Co. Ltd. develops and manufactures automated optical inspection systems. The company's solutions include printed circuit boards, assembled PCNs, and Medical imaging. The firm is located in Tokyo, Japan

Ichigo Asset Management Ltd. (Ichigo) is an independent investment manager headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Ichigo was founded in 2006 and manages assets of individual and institutional clients.

Ichigo, Inc. (Private Equity) (Ichigo-PE) is the private equity subsidiary of Ichigo, Inc (NJ: 2337) founded in 2000. The firm is headquartered in Tokyo.

Mobile Internet Capital, Inc. (MCI) is an Independent Venture Capital firm founded in 1999. Mobile Internet Capital, Inc. is headquartered in Tokyo.

Eastspring Investments Ltd. is the Japan-based asset management subsidiary of Eastspring Investments Group Pte Ltd., ultimately held by Prudential Plc (LSE: PRU) in Great Britain. The firm was founded in 1999 as PPM Investment Trust Investment Advisory Co., Ltd. and became PCA Asset Management Ltd. (Japan) in 2002. They changed their name to Eastspring Investments Ltd. in 2012. Headquartered in Tokyo, Eastspring Investments offers innovative investment solutions to institutional clients. They also sub-advise Japanese funds for external investment managers.

Ichigo Investment Advisors Co., Ltd. engages in the real estate investment trust and YieldCo asset management. The company was founded on December 15, 2004 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

Caastle, Inc. engages in the business of women’s clothing. It offers shirts & blouses, denim & pants, sweaters, jackets, skirts, casual, night out, fit & flare and floral dresses. The company was founded by Christine Hunsicker and Jaswinder Pal Singh in 2011 and is headquartered in Long Island, NY.

AvanStrate, Inc. engages in the manufacture and sale of glass substrates for Thin-Film-Transistor (TFT) color liquid crystal displays (LCDs). It offers LCD glass substrates which are used in LCD televisions, LCD monitors for personal computers, mobile phones, touch panels, and three-dimensional televisions. The company was founded on May 21, 1991 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.