J-StarX SpaceTech Acceleration Program: Two Weeks Connecting Japanese Space Startups to Europe
The J-StarX SpaceTech Acceleration Program is an initiative born from a partnership between JETRO, JAXA, and Starburst, designed to empower the most promising Japanese space startups in their European expansion. Built as a custom journey, the program helps founders access expert guidance, strategic introductions, and the market intelligence needed to win early customers, build credibility, and scale, starting with two of Europe’s most dynamic space ecosystems: the UK and France.
This cohort brought together seven high-potential Japanese companies (Vision IV, Thermalytica, Letara, Elevation Space, BULL, JAOPS and Tenchjin) for an intensive two-week sprint blending ecosystem immersion, targeted business development, and high-value networking.
Week 1 – United Kingdom: Visiting major clusters and engaging with UK Space Institutions
The UK week was designed to quickly build clarity on how the British space sector works, where the demand is, and how international companies can plug into the ecosystem with credible partnerships.
A first layer of the week focused on institutional and industry mapping, understanding national priorities, collaboration pathways, and the role of industry bodies in connecting innovation to procurement and projects. From there, the program shifted into cluster immersion, with deep exposure to local infrastructure, installation options, and the kind of test and development environments that can accelerate a startup’s roadmap and credibility.
The delegation visited major UK space hubs and innovation campuses: Harwell Space Campus (largest space cluster with UK headquarter), Space Park Leicester (one of the main space innovation hub in the UK), combining site tours with practical conversations on what it takes to operate locally, from facilities and support mechanisms to the broader “how-to” of entering the market. The week also created multiple points of contact with UK insitutions (UKSA, ADS), turning ecosystem discovery into concrete relationship-building.
To convert learning into traction, a Demo Day was organized in London to bring together the cohort and a curated audience of corporates, investors, and institutional partners. With structured pitching and networking, the focus was clear: help startups sharpen their positioning and open doors to follow-up discussions and commercial pathways.
Week 2 – France: Discovering the Paris/Toulouse Space Duopole
France week built on the UK momentum with a different angle: industrial depth, regional anchoring, and strategic access in one of Europe’s most established aerospace nations.
The program began in Paris with a focus on connecting with leading space startups and primes on the whole value chain. The cohort had the chance to meet Latitude and Telespazio on the first day. From Paris, the delegation then moved to Toulouse, where France’s space and aerospace ecosystem is one the most dense within the country.
In Toulouse, the cohort engaged with the local cluster ecosystem, Aerospace Valley, and met a broad mix of corporates, investors and startups, alongside ecosystem partners that structure collaboration opportunities and accelerate industrial matchmaking. The week also included a visit of a satellit manufacturer facilities (The U-Zine from the french startup U-Space).
Like in the UK, France week combined ecosystem immersion with a structured commercial engine: targeted 1:1 meetings and a Paris demo day event to keep discussions moving from introductions to next steps. The program closed with exposure to corporate venture capital with the Safran Corporate Venture team, reinforcing a key message for startups entering Europe: growth is fueled by a combination of customers, partnerships, and the right capital relationships.
What the two weeks achieved
Across the UK and France, the J-StarX SpaceTech Programme delivered a high-intensity pathway that helped the seven startups move faster on three fronts:
- Market clarity: a practical understanding of priorities, buyers, and routes to collaboration in each ecosystem
- Credibility building: visibility through major hubs, clusters, and curated demo moments
- Pipeline creation: introductions and 1:1 conversations designed to become follow-ups, pilots, and partnerships
More than an industry tour, these two weeks functioned as a market-landing accelerator, connecting Vision IV, Thermalytica, Letara, Elevation Space, BULL, JAOPS and Tenchjin to the people, places, and signals that matter when expanding into Europe.
