payments
Trading house ITOCHU has partnered with Mercuria Holdings and En Growth Fund to jointly invest in Capital Ship, the holding company of domestic duty-free system developer Smart Technologies & Resources Inc. The transaction comes ahead of a nationwide regulatory overhaul scheduled for November 2026, which will restructure Japan'
payments
Web3 infrastructure provider UPBOND and Japan Tax Free have launched a service enabling international visitors to receive consumption tax refunds in JPYC, a yen-denominated stablecoin. The initiative, which went live on November 1, 2026, operates on the Avalanche blockchain. The rollout commercializes a framework first announced by Japan Tax
venture capital
Ocean Inc., a Tokyo-based FinTech startup operating the refund-model duty-free platform "Ocean Tax Refund," has finalized its Series A funding round, raising approximately ¥500 million (US$3.3 million). The company reached a second close for the round following new investments from KURONEKO Innovation Fund
venture capital
Ocean Inc., the Tokyo-based startup operating the "Ocean Tax Refund" platform, announced it has completed the first close of its Series A funding round via third-party allotment. The funding round drew participation from three existing investors—Z Venture Capital, Delight Ventures, and Bluefin Partners—alongside two
venture capital
ITFOR (TSE: 4743), a leading provider of credit screening and debt management systems, has completed an investment in WAmazing, a Tokyo-based startup specializing in inbound tourism and "Tax-Free as a Service" (TFaaS). The investment, executed through a third-party allotment of new shares, signals ITFOR’s
tax refund
Tokyo-based fintech startup Ocean has officially launched the "Tax-Free LINE Mini App" in order to capitalize on Japan’s booming inbound tourism market and impending regulatory shifts. The service, which the company claims is a global first, integrates tax-free refund processing directly into the LINE