
Tuesday, 2025 · 6:00 PM JST · Tokyo Innovation Base
CVC in Japan: Connecting Startups with Corporate Innovation & Trends



Haru Noda, Yasumasa Saito, Manji Suzuki, Erdinc Ekinci
Manji Suzuki is a venture investor and startup ecosystem contributor serving as Founder at SUZUKI MANJI OFFICE. During decades at DENSO, he worked across engineering, CAE, model-based development, vehicle diagnostics, and global innovation, including leadership assignments in Silicon Valley and China. Since establishing his own office, he has focused on connecting technology, startups, and large organizations. Manji brings a rare corporate-innovation perspective on translating advanced engineering into new business and building bridges between established industry and emerging ventures. In practice, that perspective connects founder quality, market evidence, investment fit, and the long-term work required to build a company that investors can continue supporting. Manji is particularly relevant to conversations around fundraising readiness, investor decision-making, venture-scale growth, and the signals that help founders build conviction with capital partners.