Fukuoka’s RAMEN TECH tests Japan’s startup pitch to Southeast Asia

Fukuoka, a mid-sized Asian city with a reformist mayor and decent airport, has been positioning itself as a startup hub since 2012. The city offers various policies, including a strategic special zone, startup visa, incubation hub, and business formation rate that tops Japanese government-designated cities for the past seven years.

The RAMEN TECH Global Summit 2026, the flagship event of a citywide innovation week, will be held on October 8 to test this infrastructure in front of a broader regional audience. The summit is organized by Cohh Inc. and backed by the City of Fukuoka. It is free to attend, which is essential for early-stage founders often asked to pay heavily for investor access.

However, Fukuoka's larger pitch is not just cost but geography. The city's argument starts with its proximity to major Asian growth markets. Tokyo is the center of Japanese capital markets, policymaking, and corporate headquarters, but it is not necessarily closer to Asia's growth markets than Fukuoka. Fukuoka has spent over a decade building the "software" of a startup city, while leaning on the "hardware" of an unusually convenient airport.

The summit will attract startups from Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea, New Zealand, and Japan. The event will feature sessions on deep tech emerging from Kyushu, regional impact investing, and listing on the Japanese market, which is of particular interest to Southeast Asian founders. The summit's financial institutions and investors, including Mizuho Bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, and Genesia Ventures, are significant for founders.