venture capital
Nagoya-headquartered cross-border e-commerce startup SAZO has raised ¥3.21 billion (approximately $20.8 million) in a Series A funding round. The financing structure combines a third-party allotment of J-KISS convertible equity rights alongside senior debt facilities from financial institutions. The equity portion was led by
payments
LY Corporation’s Fiscal Year 2025 performance was a masterclass in operational resilience. The company successfully navigated a significant internal crisis—the system outage at its subsidiary ASKUL—while maintaining both top-line and bottom-line expansion. This ability to absorb a temporary shock to its Commerce segment without derailing
payments
PayPal and Tokyo-based SP.LINKS have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a strategic collaboration aimed at enhancing digital commerce within the Japanese market. The partnership is designed to leverage PayPal’s global payment scale alongside SP.LINKS’ localized infrastructure, particularly within the high-growth gaming and
payments
DG Financial Technology (DGFT) has officially launched a strategic initiative to bolster South Korean cross-border e-commerce (EC) by providing critical payment infrastructure for merchants targeting the Japanese market. Through a partnership with Eximbay, a leading South Korean global payment service provider, DGFT will now offer PayPay’s online
payments
DG Financial Technology (DGFT) and its subsidiary SCORE have announced the upcoming launch of "Score Atokara Card" (Score Card-Later) to optimize the burgeoning subscription-based e-commerce market. Scheduled for a June 2026 rollout, the service aims to bridge the gap between high-conversion "Buy Now,
payments
Toys“R”Us Japan has successfully integrated AI-driven fraud prevention technology from New York-based Forter, a move that has effectively eradicated fraudulent transactions while recovering lost sales tied to checkout friction. Following a one-month operational period, the retailer reported zero instances of e-commerce fraud alongside a
stablecoin
Densan System has concluded a basic agreement with JPYC Corporation for a joint study toward the social implementation of payment, remittance, and settlement services utilizing the Japanese yen stablecoin "JPYC". Overview of This Agreement Both companies will iteratively develop use cases for B2C/B2B payments and inter-company
ecommerce
Digital Garage and DG Business Technology, a subsidiary of Digital Garage that provides comprehensive support for digital businesses, have announced the launch of the “DG AI Drive” hybrid AI package that enables businesses to select AI solutions according to the business challenges they are facing. “DG AI Drive” is a
ecommerce
Introduction Mercari is committed to achieving the mid-term policy announced in FY2024.6, which aims for double-digit CAGR growth in revenue and a CAGR of at least 25% in core operating profit in FY2027.6. These targets remain unchanged. Following Mercari's basic policy to essentially aim
payments
LY Corporation's revenue for the cumulative consolidated first quarter of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026 amounted to 489.6 billion yen (up 5.7% year on year), representing the highest cumulative consolidated first quarter revenue to date. This was due to an increased revenue in the
venture capital
Headline Asia has closed its fifth and largest fund to date, Headline Asia Fund V, at USD 145 million. The fund will support a new generation of founders building in high-growth sectors including e-commerce, logistics, FinTech, IP and artificial intelligence—domains where Asia is setting new global standards.
payments
Digital Garage's financial report for the fiscal year ending March 2025 presents a nuanced picture of growth and strategic realignment, characterized by significant progress in its core payment solutions segment alongside challenges and forward-looking initiatives in its long-term incubation and global investment sectors. The company'