JAPAN BY CHOICE — Global Builders Hackathon in Beppu
You chose Japan. Now build something the world needs. One weekend. Up to 100 of the most driven young builders in Japan — from five very different communities, with one thing in common: they chose Japan.
All in Beppu — Japan's No.1 hot spring town, with more springs and more hot water than anywhere else in the country.
Dates: Sat Dec 19 – Sun Dec 20, 2026 (1 night, 2 days)
Venue: Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU), Beppu, Oita
Language: English · In person only
Who can join: Students from APU, OIST, Minerva University, Masason Foundation and KERNEL, plus a limited number of students from other schools (Others). Masason Foundation alumni are also welcome.
Fee: Free (APU Guest House stay ¥500 · travel self-funded)
Japan is home to talented young people who took very different paths to get here. Today, they rarely meet. JAPAN BY CHOICE brings five of these communities to Beppu for one weekend: meet, form a team, and build a working prototype that could matter beyond Japan.
👥 Who's in the room
APU — A campus where nearly half the students are international, from 120+ countries and regions
OIST — PhD students from around the world, doing research in Okinawa entirely in English
Minerva University — Students who live and learn across global cities, now in Tokyo
Masason Foundation — Young innovators backed by Masayoshi Son's foundation to pursue bold dreams
KERNEL by DEEPCORE — Student builders from Japan's 800+ member AI community
Others — A limited number of seats for students from other schools
💡 Themes
Japan is your testbed. The world is your market. Start from a problem you found in Japan, or a perspective you gained here, and build a solution that can work beyond Japan.
A. Build for a Borderless World
Solve problems faced by people who study, work, live or start companies across borders — for example working abroad, housing, payments, identity verification, education and credentials, multilingual teamwork, or building community.
B. Japan as a Testbed
Japan often meets social challenges before the rest of the world. Turn one of them into a solution other countries can use — for example aging, labor shortages, regional depopulation, tourism, disasters, mobility, education or manufacturing.
C. The Next Billion Global Citizens
Build everyday infrastructure for people whose nationality, home, work and education are not tied to one country — for example global identity, cross-border credentials, remote and global employment, or trust and reputation.
D. Build What Should Exist
Propose a product the world needs but does not have yet. Show a clear user problem and why now is the time to build it.
🧩 How teams are formed
When you register, choose every theme you would be happy to work on.
The organizers form mixed teams across communities based on your choices, role and skills. You can come solo.
No coding experience is required. Ideas, design, research and pitching matter just as much.
All teams are judged on the same criteria, whichever theme they choose.
Team assignments and the Discord invitation will be sent by Nov 27.
🗓️ Schedule
Day 1 — Sat Dec 19
13:30 Check-in
14:00 Opening and theme briefing
14:30 Icebreaker and team building
15:15 Hacking begins
19:45 Dinner and social (late-night hacking optional)
Day 2 — Sun Dec 20
09:30 Final submission
10:00 Pitches (format to be announced)
11:30 Judging, awards and closing
12:00 Lunch and networking
14:00 End
Participants from Tokyo and Okinawa can get home the same day. Times may change slightly.
🧑⚖️ Judges
Our judges bring perspectives from global tech, venture capital, and the APU community.
Takeaki Dohda, Ph.D. — Head of Venture Capital Business Development, Google
Takeaki leads Google's venture capital business and its alliances with AI startups. He has co-founded ventures in both Japan and the US, and previously drove AI business development at AWS and startup investment at Deloitte and UTEC.
Takahiro Shoji — Co-founder & General Partner, Hike Ventures
Takahiro co-founded Hike Ventures, an early-stage VC firm investing in AI startups. He previously served as Managing Director of Overseas Investments at DG Incubation, following roles at Baidu Japan and Digital Garage. He is an APU alumnus (Class of 2008).
More judges to be announced.
🧭 Mentors
Mentors will be on site to help your team sharpen ideas and move faster during the build.
Masaki Matsunaga, Ph.D. — Faculty, GLOBIS University Graduate School of Management
Masaki specializes in leadership and entrepreneurship, with experience spanning academia and business. As a project leader at Relic, Inc., he led a range of new business creation projects.
Ask him about: Ideation · User research · Turning tech seeds into business ideas
More mentors to be announced.
🏆 Awards
Winning teams get more than a prize — they get a path to keep building after the hackathon.
🍱 Lunch & Product Feedback Session at Google Japan
Winning team members will be invited to lunch at the Google Japan office in Tokyo. Over lunch, you'll get candid feedback from Google on the product or business idea you built at the hackathon — and talk through what to do next.
The date and details will be arranged with the winning team after the event.
☁️ Cloud & API Credits for Teams That Start a Company
If your team incorporates a company after the hackathon to keep developing your product, you'll receive cloud and API credits to power that development.
What they're for: building and running your product
Not for: company registration or incorporation fees
How to claim: apply after registering your company
The credit amount, validity period and application details will be shared with the winning teams.
📝 Registration
Choose the ticket for your community: APU, OIST, Minerva University, Masason Foundation, DEEPCORE / KERNEL, or Others.
Each community has about 10 seats. Others has a limited number of seats.
Registrations are reviewed by the organizers. Seats are allocated in order of registration, and you will receive an email once your registration is approved.
After approval, please complete the short Participant Info Form we send you by Nov 20.
Under 18? Parent/guardian consent is required.
Can't make it? Please tell us by Dec 5 so your seat can go to someone else.
Anonymized registration data (e.g. school, role, skills, themes) may be shared with event sponsors. Your name and contact details will never be shared.
🏨 Stay & Travel
APU Guest House: ¥500 per person for the night of Dec 19, in shared rooms for 4–6 people
Travel to and from Beppu is self-funded. Sponsor support may reduce some costs.
From Tokyo: Haneda to Oita Airport, about 1.5 hours
From Okinawa: Naha to Fukuoka, then to Beppu by limited express train
🏛️ Organizers & Supporters
Organized by: Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU)
Co-organized by: Google, OIST Innovation, DEEPCORE
Supported by: CIC Fukuoka
📩 Contact
APU — apumate@apu.ac.jp