Seichoshikin-kyoukyu to Innovation no Seisakugaku (Policy Studies on Growth Capital Supply and Innovation)

This volume presents a comprehensive record of the lecture series “Capital Markets and Public Policy,” held at the University of Tokyo in the 2024 academic year. Offered every fall semester as a donation-funded course supported by Mizuho Securities Co., Ltd., the course is designed for graduate students at the Graduate School of Public Policy as well as the Graduate Schools for Law and Politics (the Division of Legal Policy and the School of Law). Its aim is to deepen students’ understanding of real-world policy challenges.
 
For the Fall 2024 semester, the lectures centered on the theme “Growth Capital Supply and Innovation.” Delivered in an omnibus format and featuring guest speakers, the course examined the latest policy initiatives relating to the provision of growth capital and the development of startups, along with the current realities of practical operations in these fields.
 
Growth capital serves as the foundation for risk-taking and innovation creation—both indispensable for the development of startups and other enterprises. In recent years, various policy measures have been implemented to promote the supply of growth capital. While these efforts have contributed to an upward trend in funding for startups in Japan, the levels remain modest compared to those in other major foreign countries.
 
Around the time the course was conducted, various policy initiatives concerning growth capital and start-up development were being planned or implemented. Officials from relevant government ministries—directly involved in designing these measures—were invited as guest lecturers to speak about their work. Their talks revealed that even when addressing the same policy challenge, each ministry approaches analysis differently and prioritizes distinct aspects of the issue—an insight that students could appreciate firsthand.
 
In addition, practitioners involved in various roles within the ecosystem—recipients, providers, intermediaries, and advisors of growth capital—joined as lecturers. They delivered talks grounded in their real-world experiences and offered insights into the latest trends in practical operations. These sessions provided students with a valuable glimpse into the thinking and decision-making of diverse actors engaged in real-world financing activities.
 
Every year, each lecture concluded with an active question-and-answer session, in which students posed incisive questions and speakers offered thought-provoking responses. Similar to previous years, the 2024 lectures featured lively and substantive exchanges.
 
Believing that it would be a loss to confine this wealth of insight to the classroom, we prepared this volume to share the content more broadly. In addition to the speakers’ main presentations, we have included—within the limits of space—selected portions of actual Q&A discussions between students and lecturers.
 
We hope this volume will serve as a useful resource for readers engaged in research, policy implementation, and practical work related to growth capital provision and startup development.
 

(Written by ARIYOSHI Naoya, Visiting Professor, Graduate School of Public Policy / 2026)