Gunma Tech Planter 2025

Consortium Members

Consortium Cooperating Organizations

Regional Development Partners

Grand Prix Name

5th Gunma Tech Plan Grand Prix

Location

G-Messe Gunma (12-24 Iwaoshi-cho, Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture)

Date & Time

Saturday, July 26, 2025, 13:00-18:30

Application period

Tuesday, April 1, 2025 - Friday, May 23, 2025 18:00

Participation Target

Finalists, partners, researchers in academia, undergraduate and graduate students, middle and high school students, etc.
*Semi-closed (held with pre-registration)
*Finalists: 9 teams (selected from entries)

organizing

Gunma Next Generation Industry Creation and Development Consortium

Consortium member institutions】 【Consortium member institutions
Gunma Prefecture, The Gunma Bank, Ltd., Shinonome Shinkin Bank, Gunma University, Maebashi Institute of Technology, Gunma National College of Technology, Liberace Co.

Consortium partner institutions】 【Consortium partner institutions
Kyoai Gakuen Maebashi International University, Takasaki University of Health and Welfare

timeline

12:30-13:00

inauguration

13:00-13:15

Greetings from the Organizer and Introduction of Judges

13:15-13:30

Keynote speeches by senior venture capitalists

13:30-14:15

Finalists' Presentations (1) to (3) (7 minutes for presentation: 7 minutes for questions)/1 team

14:15-14:25

break

14:25-15:10

Finalists' Presentations 4-6 (7 minutes for presentation: 7 minutes for Q&A)/1 team

15:10-15:20

break

15:20-16:05

Finalists' Presentations ⑦ - ⑨ (7 minutes for presentation, 7 minutes for Q&A)/1 team

16:05-17:05

Lightning Talks, Alumni Pitches, Poster Exchange, (Judging Session)

17:05-17:45

Awards Ceremony and Closing Ceremony

17:45-18:30

information exchange meeting

• 

  head judge

  President and CCO, Liverness Corporation

  Inoue, Jyo

  D., Pharmacist, founded LIVERNESS in 2002 with only undergraduate and graduate students of science and engineering while in graduate school. After completing the doctoral process, he worked as an assistant professor and lecturer at the Faculty of Science, Kitasato University, an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, and a specially appointed associate professor at Keio University before assuming and concurrently serving as a professor of advanced pharmacy at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kumamoto University and a visiting professor at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Keio University in 2018. He is a researcher and manager involved in launching joint research projects with universities and research institutions and supporting the establishment of research institutes while conducting research and development.

• 

  General Manager, Corporate Consulting, Consulting Sales Division, The Gunma Bank, Ltd.

  Kenji Takahashi

  Joined Gunma Bank in 1994. After working at a sales branch, he was in charge of syndicated loan origination in the Corporate Department, participated in the establishment of a securities subsidiary in 2016 (Branch Manager of Gunma Securities Takasaki Branch), and became Branch Manager of Fukaya-Kamishiba Branch in June 2020. In April 2025, he was appointed as General Manager of Corporate Consulting Department, Consulting Sales Division, where he remains to this day. He is a certified Small and Medium Enterprise Management Consultant.

• 

  General Manager, Corporate Sales Department, Shinonome Shinkin Bank

  Hiroshi Usami

  Joined the bank in 1995; since 2016, he has served as Manager of the Koide Branch, Deputy General Manager of the Corporate Sales Department, Deputy General Manager of the Loan Department, and General Manager in charge of the Loan Department before being appointed General Manager of the Corporate Sales Department in March 2025, where he remains to this day.

• 

  Director, Startup Promotion Office, Future Investment and Digital Industry Division, Gunma Prefecture

  Kanako Horiguchi

  Joined the Gunma Prefectural Government in 1994. He has been engaged in a wide range of prefectural administrative work, including the Industry and Economy Department, the General Affairs Department, the Living and Children Department, the Prefectural Land Development Department, and the Board of Education Secretariat. After serving as Deputy Director of the Regional Enterprise Support Division of the Industry and Economy Department, he has been in his current position since 2025.

• 

  Executive Officer, General Manager, General Affairs Department, Kaneko Seed Corporation

  Yasuo Minagawa

  Graduated from the Department of Agricultural Chemistry, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Nihon University. Completed the Graduate School of Agriculture, Ibaraki University (Master of Agriculture). Joined Kaneko Seed Corporation in 1985. After working at a branch office as a sales representative, he was transferred to the head office in Maebashi. In 2019, he was transferred to the General Affairs Department. He struggles daily with the wide range of work in general affairs, which considers the company as a whole, while feeling that he lacks the ability to do so.

• 

  Deputy General Manager, Development Planning Department, Development Laboratory, Taiyo Yuden Co.

  Masashi Hattori

  Graduated from Gunma University Graduate School, joined Taiyo Yuden in 2005 and engaged in recording media (CD-R, DVD-R, BD-R) development. 2017, in charge of new business creation at Development Laboratory. Currently promoting new business creation through open innovation from the perspective of product and service.

• 

  Director and General Manager of Product Development Department, Mannan Life Co.

  Tadahiro Kadokura

  In 1995, he joined Tsuruta Shokuhin Kogyo (now Mannan Life Co., Ltd.). (now Mannan Life Co., Ltd.) in 1995. After working in manufacturing, production control, and purchasing, he became deputy general manager of the production department in 2007. He was involved in the construction of the new Soki Plant and became plant manager in 2012, and was appointed director of the Product Development Department in 2017 and director in 2019. He is working on new konnyaku innovations following the konjac jelly at Mannan Life, which is well known for its konnyaku field.

• 

  Counselor, Corporate Innovation Support Department, Mizuho Bank, Ltd.

  Takao Ishikawa

  After graduating from university and working as a journalist for NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), he worked for 11 years at a major bank, providing loans to medium to large-sized domestic companies and startup finance (both investment and financing).
  Joined Mizuho Bank in October 2023, where he worked on growth support for startups and IPO support mainly in the middle and later stages in the IT and digital domains, robotics, and other fields.

• Shinonome Shinkin Award
  

  ReHaRT

  Takahiro Kuno / Gunma University

  

  Development of novel therapeutic devices for heart failure

  Develop a new catheter that reduces shortness of breath and rehospitalization for heart failure by suppressing excessive nerve activity from inside the blood vessels through the catheter.
• Grand Prize
  

  ICTECH

  Presenter] Takafumi Ishii / Gunma University

  

  Pioneering the future of materials development with "sensitivity two orders of magnitude higher

  The company aims to greatly advance the development and industrial application of carbon materials by developing and deploying the world's only technology capable of analyzing the molecular structure of carbon materials, which has been difficult to evaluate until now, and to take on the challenge of "creating new value" beyond the existing applications of carbon materials.
• Gunma Bank Award / Mannan Life Award
  

  NEXT NEW WORLD Co.

  Presenter] Kotaro Takashima

  

  Changing the world with silk protein research

  With its innovative silk protein technology at its core, the company is currently promoting medical and preventive infrastructure for chronic kidney disease as Kidney Tech 3.0. With its proprietary raw material "Karada Silk," the company will create a 700 billion yen untapped market for chronic kidney disease and bring innovation to global health and industry.
• Mizuho Bank Prize
  

  Birth Design

  Presenter】Kosuke Taniguchi / Gunma University

  

  Provide a safe and secure birthing environment with natural labor prediction

  Accurate prediction of the onset of spontaneous labor is difficult even for obstetricians. This makes labor highly uncertain and places a heavy burden on the pregnant woman, her family, and the delivery facility. We aim to provide a safe and secure delivery environment by developing technology to predict the onset of labor.
•  
  

  Masticatory effect mechanism

  Presenter】Toshimasa Nagai / Takasaki University of Health and Welfare

  

  Elucidating the mechanisms of the health benefits of mastication

  It is known that chewing well has various health benefits. However, since the mechanism is not well understood, we will clarify the mechanism and the switch that results in the health benefits. In the future, based on the research, we aim to develop foods that are soft but have the same effects as those that are chewed.
• Kaneko Seed Prize
  

  Aguri Terrace

  Presenter] Ryuya Motojima / Gunma National College of Technology

  

  Paddy field management IoT device that runs on solar power

  The IoT device will realize labor saving in paddy rice cultivation by controlling the water level, water temperature, and air temperature of paddy fields, which are labor-intensive in rice cultivation. By realizing an IoT device that operates on solar power generation, we aim to introduce the device at low cost.
•  
  

  ice stick

  Presenter] Masayuki Tazawa / Gunma University

  

  Ice Stick® to prevent aspiration

  Pneumonia and choking caused by aspiration are becoming more and more common in our aging society. We have developed the "Ice Stick®" for dysphagia training, making ice massage easily available at homes and nursing homes to prevent aspiration.
• Taiyo Yuden Award
  

  S-Stress Lab

  Katsuhiko Tsunekawa / Gunma University

  

  Realization of a society that visualizes stress through saliva

  We have measured the concentration of cortisol in saliva with automated blood testing equipment in hospital laboratories to enable detection of biological rhythms and stress reactions in athletes. Our goal is to visualize the stress of all people living in a stressful society and to realize a society in which this can be prevented.
•  
  

  AIMediTech

  Yusuke Sakakibara / Gunma University

  

  Five-sense remote medical care system creates a world without medical disparities

  The five-sense telemedicine system, which can acquire and reproduce data from the five senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste, and also has AI interview and differential diagnosis support functions, will eliminate medical disparities in underpopulated areas and developing countries and realize a world where all people have access to medical care.