Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

Backs Japanese startups through selection programs and feasibility grants across multiple sectors.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is Japan's Cabinet-level ministry for economic, industrial, trade, and energy policy. Its startup work sits in the Innovation and Environment Policy Bureau through the Startup and New Business Promotion division, and the ministry traces its institutional line back to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry established in 1949 before the current METI structure was created in 2001.

METI backs startups through J-Startup, the public-private selection program launched in 2018, and J-Startup Impact, its impact-startup track launched in 2023. It also implements the Japanese SBIR R&D scheme through NEDO, where Phase 1 feasibility grants can reach 20 million yen and Phase 2 grants can reach 100 million yen; the linked version uses 15 million yen for Phase 1 and 50 million yen for Phase 2. The record places METI across sectors such as aerospace, agritech, biotech, climate, energy, foodtech, hardware, manufacturing, materials, medtech, robotics, space, and fusion.

METI works as the policy lead rather than a direct operator of most delivery routes. It co-runs the J-Startup secretariat with JETRO and NEDO, and the ministry's startup support is strongest when public programs can be tied to industrial upgrading, social-issue R&D, or commercialization pathways that fit Japan's industrial policy rather than isolated research projects.