TOKYO—Ten years on from Stripe's first launch in Japan, the programmable financial services company is reporting a strong rise in Japanese entrepreneurship. More than 150,000 businesses and solopreneurs in Japan now build on Stripe, including many of Japan’s most famous brands, like Toyota, Mercari, and DeNA, alongside fast-growing startups like Sakana AI. More than 45,000 new businesses started on Stripe in the last year alone. Stripe today shared new tools to accelerate the growth of these businesses, from the expansion of Stripe Capital, the company’s working capital finance product, to the launch of Stripe Managed Payments, enabling businesses to sell into dozens of countries without a local entity.

John Collison, cofounder and president of Stripe, said: “The boom in entrepreneurship is an immense opportunity for the Japanese economy. The challenge now is how to help the best of these businesses to scale faster than ever, as the global economy replatforms around AI. Japan’s high standards for quality, reliability, and trust give its companies a distinct advantage in this transition, and it’s a privilege to support so many of them in making the most of this moment.”

A new way for internet businesses to access capital
The OECD has argued that the structure of Japan’s lending market acts as a drag on business dynamism, with capital allocated disproportionately to small businesses that are not growing, and insufficient capital available for those with the potential for more growth. But coming in 2027, fast growing businesses that use Stripe for payments will be able to borrow against their future growth with Stripe Capital.

With insight into the real-time revenue data of these businesses, Stripe can offer growth financing without requiring businesses to complete burdensome paperwork or wait through lengthy review processes. Repayments are made as a fixed percentage of ongoing sales, so businesses can manage financing in line with their performance.

The service is already live in the US, Australia, and Europe, and has been proven to accelerate the growth of borrowers. In a randomized study, Stripe found businesses that accepted Capital offers grew 27 percentage points faster over the following year than comparable businesses that didn't.

Accelerating the global expansion of digital businesses
One of the most reliable ways for a startup to grow faster is to sell into new markets around the world. Japanese businesses building on Stripe have been growing their overseas sales by an average of 63% each year for the last five years.

To help more Japanese companies sell into more markets, Stripe announced Stripe Managed Payments, which enables businesses to sell digital products to customers in 195 countries while Stripe handles indirect tax, disputes, fraud protection, customer support, and more. Businesses can also benefit from higher payment success rates as Stripe routes transactions for processing through its local entities in certain markets.

Increasing domestic checkout conversion with more payment methods
QR code-based payments have become the default for Japanese consumers, and Stripe today announced support for five new QR code-based payment methods: Rakuten Pay, d-Barai, au PAY, Merpay, and Aeon Pay. Businesses in Japan and around the world can easily enable these new payment methods with Stripe Checkout Studio, a new home for businesses to configure and optimize all their checkouts.

Stripe also announced Tap to Pay on Android is now available for Japanese businesses, as well as a new Stripe Terminal device, the T600, with a customer-facing display that enables businesses to present information and custom applications alongside the in-store payment experience.

The announcements came at Stripe Tour Tokyo, where over a thousand of the region’s most ambitious business leaders gathered to discuss opportunities for accelerated growth.