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MEDISOA comprehensive portal site for Medical Innovation Support Office (MEDISO).Medical Innovation Support Office

厚生労働省

Knowledgeable experts support
the practical application of medicines,
medical devices,
and regenerative medicinal products.

What is MEDISO

MEDISO provides support for business ventures, academia,
and individuals intending to put into practical use medicines,
medical devices, and regenerative medicinal products.
Click here for further details.

About the Medical Innovation Support Office

The medical innovation support office matches medical venture companies and academic institutions facing challenges in the practical application of medical products and devices for specialists* who provide detailed consultation and support for solving problems at each stage from research and development to practical use, as well as insurance coverage at clinical sites, while looking ahead to the overall comprehensive advances and dissemination into the global market.
* Specialists in each field provide support for the response to laws and regulations, marketing, business planning, fund rasing, management strategy, intellectual property management, and international development, etc.

This website is operated by Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc., as a trustee under instructions from the Economic Affairs Division, Health Policy Bureau, and Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as a part of the total support for the medical ventures program sponsored by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

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Support targets

Ventures, academic institutions, and individuals aiming to put into practical use the medicines, medical devices, regenerative medicinal products, and novel drug-discovery technologies or medical materials subject to the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Law.

Details of support

MEDISO provides support for the practical application of medicines, medical devices, regenerative medicinal products, and other products subject to the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Law.
That support includes business planning, financing, advice on laws and regulations, and other assistance as required.

Click here for inquiries

In case the link does not work, please contact us at the email address below
mediso@ml.mri.co.jp

Specialists Introduction

We will introduce registered specialists
(updated as necessary).

Tomokazu Ichikawa

Director, TM Research and Investments Pte. Ltd.

Main specialty areas

  • medical devices

Specialized support fields

  • Regulatory compliance
  • Business planning
  • Funding

Leveraged cross-functional expertise in business strategy and legal to work on strategy development, M&A, and investments in the medical device sector. Practiced law at Nagashima, Ohno and Tsunematsu, handling M&A and other corporate matters. Worked for McKinsey & Company and Hoya Corporation. Completed several acquisitions and investments in the US and Europe in the medical device business. Experienced managing a healthcare service operator in India. Currently, helping AI Medical Service, an artificial intelligence software startup for endoscope and CUC, a healthcare service provision related company. Spent more than 10 years in Singapore and familiar with business in Southeast Asian countries. Graduated from Waseda University, London Business School's Masters in Finance, and Cambridge's MBA. Attorney at law admitted in Japan.

Masakazu Masujima

Partner, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto

Main specialty areas

  • medicines
  • medical devices
  • regenerative medicine products

Specialized support fields

  • Regulatory compliance
  • Funding
  • Business operation systems
  • Specialized support fields

Masa is a guru of startup legal advisory space in Japan. Based on the experiences at Palo Alto office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, his advice is West Coast style; progressive, risk-base and proactive. Through more than 2 dacades of dedication to the startup space, he has advised IPOs, M&As and major cross-border fundraising for may startups, including biotech and healthcare ones, and have also worked with entrepreneurs through a variety of touch situation, such as disputes between founders, problems with investors as well as intellectual property disputes. Masa has served as a council member of numerous Government committees, such as Regulatory Reform Promotion Council, the Regulatory Sandbox Committee, the Digital Market Competition Council and the Industrial Structure Council. He is admitted to NY bar and Japan bar, and a licensed patent attorny in Japan.

Takahiro Mizumoto

Ant innovations Co., Ltd

Main specialty areas

  • medicines
  • medical devices
  • regenerative medicine products

Specialized support fields

  • Marketing
  • Business planning
  • Funding
  • Business operation systems
  • Specialized support fields

Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Master’s Program in Intellectual Property Management.
After passing the Japanese Patent Attorney Examination, gained venture investment experience in high-tech sectors including IT and healthcare at NIFS SMBC Capital (later split into Daiwa Corporate Investment and SMBC Venture Capital).
Subsequently joined Showa Shell Sekiyu, where he led the planning and development of multiple new services spanning payment solutions, retail electricity, and mobile app businesses. With the launch of the University of Tokyo Innovation Platform (UTokyo IPC), he joined the firm and founded 1stRound, a cross-university incubation program. He later spearheaded the establishment of an approximately JPY 25 billion open-innovation promotion fund and served as its Chief Investment Officer.
In November 2025, he founded Ant Innovations, a newly established venture capital firm and subsidiary of the private equity firm Ant Capital Partners, and assumed the role of Representative Director and Partner.

Yumi Kawata ,MD, PhD

Hedgehog MedTech, Inc.

Main specialty areas

  • medical devices

Specialized support fields

  • Regulatory compliance
  • Marketing
  • Business planning
  • Funding
  • Business operation systems

She is Founder and CEO of Hedgehog MedTech, Inc, a start-up Digital Therapeutics (DTx) company. Previously, she was a manager with SoftBank Corp, where she evaluated new Healthcare & Life Science investment opportunities, managed relationships with strategic partners. Prior to SoftBank, she was a Government Relations specialist with Medley, Inc, where she built and maintained the relationships with Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and Academia. She launched researches and POCs, contributing to the spread of telemedicine in Japan. She also served as a technical officer for MHLW. she was involved in the management of researches on Rare and Intractable diseases and Infectious Diseases.

Kazufumi Nakamura

Mitsui & Co. Global Investment, Inc.　Investment Director

Main specialty areas

  • medicines
  • regenerative medicine products

Specialized support fields

  • Business planning
  • Funding
  • Business operation systems
  • Etc

Kazufumi Nakamura is an Investment Director focused on the investment in biotech in US and China. By leveraging his experiences and networks in Pharma, Biotech and Academia, he connects companies to those experts to expand business and gain scientific insight to help the companies succeed with their important missions.
Kazufumi has over 20 years of healthcare and life sciences experience, spanning business development, investment, entrepreneurship and R&D. Prior to joining MGI, he co-founded a biotech to accelerate innovations through academic institutions in Japan. Previously, he engaged in business development and conducted scientific evaluation, and license-in and license-out of pharmaceutical products at Santen Pharmaceuticals. In addition, he was responsible for creating relationships with the leading academic institutions and innovators, gaining Santen early access to innovation. Prior to Santen, he held a number of clinical development roles at Janssen Pharmaceuticals, including the development of Alzheimer’s disease and Rheumatoid arthritis programs.

About details of specialists

Introduction of measures implemented by public institutions

We will describe the measures from public institutions for pharmaceutical companies,
medical device companies, companies manufacturing regenerative medicinal products, and venture companies.

See more about measures implemented by public institutions