Tim Clark, of the Japan Internet Report has a new mailing list/site on entrepreneurship in Japan (needed critically by Japanese & non-Japanese alike) at Japanentrepreneur.com
Debut report here
Good stuff like this:
The basic differences between Japanese and U.S. venture capital
firms can be summarized as follows:
- Portfolio range/depth
Japan: Broad portfolio of small investments
U.S.: Narrow portfolio of deep investments
- Risk management style
Japan: Hands off
U.S.: Hands on
- Preferred stage of investment
Japan: Middle/late
U.S.: Early
- Risk preference
Japan: Low/medium
U.S.: High
- Funding sources
Japan: Financial institutions, corporations
U.S.: Pension funds, foundations
- Basis for employee compensation
Japan: Salary based on length of service
U.S.: Performance-based salary