List of Public Support Organizations

*Please note that the majority of references are in Japanese. This is due to accuracy and a significant lack of official documents available in English.
*Communication with regulatory authorities and other organizations is mostly in Japanese. Also, given the subtle nuances and business customs that are hard for non-Japanese to grasp, I recommend you to secure a local Japanese resident (even on a part-time or contract basis).

The number of public support organizations and programs for startups and academia is rapidly increasing. This has made it possible to receive advice from public institutions free of charge. This list provides a simple overview of policies and the support offered by these organizations for your reference. 


Public Institutions (Public Interest Groups)
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) - Healthcare Startup Social Implementation Promotion Hub

• Support Areas: Social implementation support, startup support, open innovation
• Details: A hub led by METI to solve challenges faced by healthcare startups and accelerate their social implementation. It provides advice, hands-on support, corporate collaboration, and opportunities for demonstration experiments.
• Official Website: https://www.meti.go.jp/policy/mono_info_service/healthcare/startupseisaku/startupseisaku.html

Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED)

• Support Areas: Funding, R&D support
• Details: A core institution that centrally manages and executes the R&D budget in the medical field. It operates various funding programs for medical device development (e.g., the Medical-Engineering Collaboration Innovation Promotion Project). Its related network, MEDIC, provides hands-on support for medical device development.
• Official Website: https://www.amed.go.jp/

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) - Medical and Assistive Device Industries Office

• Support Areas: Industrial policy, international expansion support, startup support, funding
• Details: The command center for industrial policies promoting the competitiveness of the medical device industry, startup support, and international expansion. It formulates the "Medical Device Industry Vision" and leads large-scale support initiatives such as DTSU.
• Official Website: https://www.meti.go.jp/shingikai/mono_info_service/medical_device/index.html

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)

• Support Areas: Technical support, provision of evaluation infrastructure
• Details: One of Japan's largest public research institutions. As a specialized support organization within the medical device development support network, it assists development with its wide range of technology seeds and evaluation infrastructure.
• Official Website: https://www.aist.go.jp/

Small and Medium Enterprise Agency

• Support Areas: SME support, R&D support, funding
• Details: Oversees support measures for small and medium-sized enterprises in general. Supports R&D, including in the medical device field, through programs like the "Go-Tech Project (Supporting R&D for Growth-oriented SMEs)."
• Official Website: https://www.kanto.meti.go.jp/seisaku/sapoin/index.html

New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO)

• Support Areas: Technology development support, funding, startup support
• Details: Under the jurisdiction of METI. Provides large-scale support from the practical development to the mass production verification of innovative technologies, including medical devices, through programs such as the Deep Tech Startups Support Program (DTSU).
• Official Website: https://www.nedo.go.jp/

Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)

• Support Areas: Nurturing technology seeds, industry-academia collaboration
• Details: Provides support to commercialize the results of basic research from universities and other institutions. Nurtures technology seeds in the medical field through programs like the "Start-ups Promotion from University Program (START)."
• Official Website: https://www.jst.go.jp/

Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)

• Support Areas: International expansion support, overseas regulatory affairs support, business matching
• Details: Offers expert consultation services specializing in the medical device field. Supports companies' overseas expansion, including overseas pharmaceutical regulations, market entry strategies, and business matching.
• Official Website: https://www.jetro.go.jp/

National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition (NIBIOHN)

• Support Areas: Support for orphan medical devices, funding
• Details: Provides grants, guidance, and advice to companies developing orphan medical devices and other related products.
• Official Website: https://www.nibiohn.go.jp/

Japan Association for the Advancement of Medical Equipment (JAAME)

• Support Areas: General consultation, commercialization support, research grants
• Details: Aims to promote the medical device industry. In addition to serving as the administrative support for MEDIC, it also offers its own research grants, commercialization support consulting, and seminars.
• Official Website: https://www.jaame.or.jp/

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) - MEDISO (Medical-venture Total Support Office)

• Support Areas: General consultation, mentoring
• Details: Provides information and advice mainly to startups and academia developing products under the PMD Act. This is not a regulatory body, and it offers only spot consultations and does not perform matching services.
• Official Website: https://mediso.mhlw.go.jp/

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) - Healthcare Innovation Hub (InnoHub)

• Support Areas: Business matching, commercialization support, open innovation
• Details: Provides a wide range of support, including advice, matching, and pitch contests, for startups in the life sciences and healthcare fields.
• Official Website: https://healthcare-innohub.go.jp/

Local Government-Affiliated Organizations
Tokyo Metropolitan Small and Medium Enterprise Support Center

• Support Areas: Funding, commercialization support, business matching
• Details: Supports Tokyo-based manufacturing SMEs in entering the medical device industry. Provides large-scale grants (for commercialization and development initiation) and matching support.
• Official Website: https://www.tokyo-kosha.or.jp/support/shien/medical/index.html

Tokyo Medical-Engineering Collaboration HUB Organization

• Support Areas: Clinical needs collaboration, business matching, prototype development support
• Details: Specializes in gathering needs from clinical settings and matching them with manufacturing companies. Also holds seminars and provides prototype development support.
• Official Website: https://ikou-hub.tokyo/

Kansai Medical device industry Support Network (KMSN)

• Support Areas: Regional collaboration, general consultation
• Details: A wide-area collaboration network led by the Kinki Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry, consisting of 17 support organizations in the Kansai region. It offers hands-on support that transcends regional borders.
• Official Website: https://www.kansai.meti.go.jp/2-4bio/Market_In/gaiyou.html

Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry - Medical Device Forum (MDF)

• Support Areas: General consultation, business matching, commercialization support
• Details: A platform operated by the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry that supports inter-company collaboration and commercialization in the medical and healthcare fields. It aims to promote the medical-related industries in the Kansai region through expert consultations, business matching, and seminars.
• Official Website: https://www.osaka.cci.or.jp/mdf/consultation/

Fukushima Medical Device Development Support Centre

• Support Areas: Safety evaluation testing, technical support, animal testing
• Details: One of Japan's leading public testing and research institutions specializing in the safety evaluation of medical devices. It provides a one-stop shop for various tests, including biological safety tests (GLP-compliant) and EMC tests.
• Official Website: https://fmddsc.jp/

Kobe Medical Device Development Center (MEDDEC)

• Support Areas: Incubation, animal testing, technical support
• Details: Operated by the Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation, JAPAN (SMRJ). An incubation facility capable of conducting animal experiments using pigs and other animals, as well as surgical procedure training.
• Official Website: https://www.meddec.jp/index.html

Academia
Tohoku University, Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering / Clinical Research Promotion Center (CRIETO)

• Support Areas: Clinical needs collaboration, joint research, technology seeds, human resource development
• Details: Home to Japan's first graduate school specializing in biomedical engineering, it has an integrated R&D system from basic research to clinical application. The hospital-affiliated Clinical Research Promotion Center (CRIETO) serves as a powerful hub.
• Official Website: https://www.bme.tohoku.ac.jp/

The University of Tokyo, Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI)

• Support Areas: Clinical needs collaboration, incubation, technology seeds, policy recommendations
• Details: Aims for the social implementation of medical technology and promotes collaboration both inside and outside the university. It has particular strengths in fostering medical innovation talent and research on regulatory science and policy.
• Official Website: https://ifi.u-tokyo.ac.jp/

Osaka University, Center for International Medical-Engineering Information

• Support Areas: Clinical needs collaboration, joint research, human resource development, international expansion support
• Details: The medical and engineering graduate schools work in close collaboration to promote the development of medical devices based on the needs of clinical settings. It is also proactive in international collaborations, primarily with Asia.
• Official Website: https://www.med-bio.info.osaka-u.ac.jp/

Kyushu University, Center for Advanced Medical Open Innovation

• Support Areas: Clinical needs collaboration, prototype development support, technology seeds, commercialization support
• Details: Leveraging its location as a gateway to Asia, it promotes joint R&D with domestic and international companies. It also has an ARO (Academic Research Organization) function to support clinical research and trials.

Official Website: https://www.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp/crc/organization/center/oic.html

​@K.Kamtiani