Stripe and Shibuya City Office Partner to Support Startups

Stripe, a financial infrastructure platform for businesses, today announced an inaugural partnership with Tokyo's Shibuya City Office that will help incubate and accelerate the startup ecosystem in the area.

The Japanese government views startups as key to the country’s economic growth. At the same time, the country still struggles to produce globally competitive unicorns. Japan's leading business federation, Keidanren, plans to help build 100,000 startups and 100 unicorns in Japan over the next five years—up from 10 unicorns today. Shibuya will play a central role in that transformation.

The neighborhood of Shibuya is a Tokyo landmark and also a center of startup activity, attracting entrepreneurs from around the world by providing assistance with visa applications and incorporation. Stripe will be part of Shibuya Startup Support, a concierge service for startups.

"Shibuya is not only a center of culture, it is also a center of technology. We look forward to learning from Stripe's strong heritage as a startup leader to build a bridge from Shibuya to Silicon Valley and beyond," said Ken Hasebe, Mayor of Shibuya Ward.

Stripe will provide mentoring, technical training, and consultation with engineers, plus special pricing on Stripe products. These include its core payments product and Stripe Connect, which makes managing payments easier for marketplaces and their users.

"Stripe is committed to working with the Shibuya City Office to revitalize the startup ecosystem in Japan. Together, we can support the Japanese government's plans to digitally transform the economy," said Daisuke Aranami, Country Lead for Stripe Japan.