Ever thought Japan was 'behind' in health adoption? Let's ask experts!!
"Global health tech models simply don't work here."
If you’ve worked in the Japanese health space, you’ve likely encountered this skepticism. But is this market actually "behind," or is there a deeper, more nuanced "push-pull" between global innovation and local infrastructure that can actually work?
This session moves past superficial chatter to explore the real-world experiences of leaders actively addressing the modern hurdles of Japan’s healthcare landscape. We will dive into the practical realities of the Go-To-Market (GTM) journey—hearing from those navigating the balance between global concepts and the specific demands of local products, clinicians, and patients.
＜Event Overview＞
🗓️ Date&time:Monday, January 26th 18:30〜21:00
📍 Place: Google for Startups Campus Tokyo 5F
🗣️ Language: English
⏰️Event Schedule
18:00: Doors open
18:30: Panel Discussion
19:30: Q&A
20:00: Networking & Light Refreshments
21:00: Event end
📢Speaker
● Taylor McCarthy
He is a GTM leader with over 12 years of experience building and scaling businesses across Japan and the APAC region. He has been involved and led go-to-market for high-growth companies including Uber, Delivery Hero, Lovevery, and Eucalyptus, delivering outcomes ranging from 0→1 launches to growth and scaling sustainable enterprises. His background spans investment banking and corporate law.
● Kei Yamawaki ( Unicharm )
Kei is an organic chemist turned venture builder who enjoys turning complex health challenges into real, usable businesses.She is currently building femtech solutions at Unicharm, including micro-insurance for fertility and menstrual products that can detect iron deficiency.Previously, she spent eight years at IDEO, where she built and grew the Health & Wellness portfolio, and earlier worked at Bain & Company.She also joined Spotify Japan as its fourth employee, helping launch the service locally.She holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in organic chemistry from Brown University.Kei is most energized by building things from scratch and translating real human needs into scalable ventures.
● Daniel Ruzicka ( cardiologist & ex-medical affairs director )
He is a healthcare executive with over 20 years of international experience across European and Asian markets. A cardiac surgeon by training (MD, PhD from LMU Munich; MSc Medical Engineering from TU Munich), he began his corporate career at Siemens Healthineers in Germany before relocating to Tokyo. Over the past decade, he has held senior pharmaceutical leadership roles, including Medical Head of Asia Pacific & Japan at Organon. Now based in Tokyo, Daniel founded Briefio to address information overload in the scientific community through AI-driven solutions. He brings a unique perspective bridging MedTech and Pharma, corporate and startup environments, and Western and Japanese business cultures.
● Tomoko Minagawa
( big pharma commercial director & apan Women’s Health Innovation Association founder )
・Currently responsible for Organon’s business development and expansion specifically in Women’s Health treatment domain.
・Founded Japan Women’s Health Innovation Association, an industry association to accelerate Women’s Health and Femtech industry through the network with 500+ players in Japan and global.
・Prior to Organon, engaged in the startup investment in Global Brain, focusing on the domains of Femtech (Women‘s health), Insurtech and a broad range of Deeptech.
・Specialised in management consulting for enterprise companies in cross border business development, open-innovation strategy and strategic alliance implementation, with the experience in IBM, a global consulting firm, and startup CxO.
・Masters in Engineering at University of Tokyo, Masters in Business Administration at University of Cambridge.
● Bilal Kharouni ( Ekei Labs CEO)
He is the CEO of ekei labs, an OIST Innovation-based startup scaling high-resolution epigenetics to accelerate clinical R&D. With over seven years of experience in the longevity industry, Bilal specialises in translating biological insights into commercial execution. He is a frequent speaker on the future of longevity and a board member of La French Tech Tokyo.
● Risa Kazui ( Eucalyptus, Moderator )
Healthtech community builder
About Google for Startups Campus
Google for Startups Campus (map) is one of six global hubs designed to support startups. The Google for Startups Japan team established a campus in Shibuya in 2019, beginning its mission to support startups across Japan.
Selected startups receive technical training and mentoring, along with business support from Google. They also benefit from a diverse community of entrepreneurs and startups. Campus Tokyo, located in the central Shibuya district, serves as a hub for innovation throughout Japan.
Campus Tokyo also hosts public events with various startup ecosystem builders. For the latest updates on these events, upcoming Google programs, and startup news, we encourage you to subscribe to our newsletter.