Okinawa's forc closes Tsuryo Fund to back local seed startups
What's the deal? forc inc. has completed the final close of its Tsuryo Fund (Shinryo No. 1 Investment Limited Partnership), a venture capital vehicle backing seed-stage startups in Okinawa. The firm, based in Okinawa City and led by chief executive officer Kenichiro Toyozato, did not disclose the fund's total size. It added 16 new corporate and individual investors since the first close in March 2025.
Who's backing it? First-close investors include Koza Shinkin BankDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Yakushodo (Sukoyaka Group), and individuals Kunihiro Tanaka and Yoichi Aso. The later close drew regional lenders, including Okinawa Kaiho Bank and Ryukyu Bank via its BOR Venture Fund No. 3, plus Tokyo-based TAKAGI GROUP as an out-of-prefecture partner.
Why now? Okinawa's startup funding has risen sharply, reaching the national top 10 by deal value in 2024. But more than half of that capital comes from outside the prefecture, which forc sees as a gap in local seed-stage support.
What's the endgame? The fund targets next-generation sectors — tourism, transport, energy, the circular economy, GX, and healthcare — and backs startups aiming for markets beyond Okinawa's roughly 1.5 million population. Its name references "Bankoku Shinryo," the Ryukyu Kingdom's role as a bridge for East Asian trade.
Track record: Portfolio companies include EF Polymer, which makes an organic super-absorbent polymer from fruit peel; AtierraDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which supplies sustainable aviation fuel feedstock from microalgae; and CBcloud, operator of the PickGo delivery-matching platform. Several, including EF Polymer and Atierra, spun out of OIST.
What could go wrong? With no fund size disclosed, the scale remains hard to assess. The real test, forc acknowledges, is whether the capital translates into investments and local partnerships that return value to the region.
The signal: "This is just the start," Toyozato said. The fund reflects a push to build regional capital for a startup hub that has leaned heavily on outside money — aiming to make Okinawa a new industrial pillar beyond tourism and a link between Japan and Asia.
Read more: prtimes.jp
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