Tokyo, August 9, 2017 -- Mori Building, a leading urban developer in Tokyo, today announced that it will open "Ignition Lab MIRAI," a business incubation center, on the 40th floor of Atago Green Hills Mori Tower on August 21. The Lab, by facilitating collaboration among next-generation entrepreneurs, is expected to help nurture new business and innovation in Tokyo. In addition, it will serve as a prototype for the Innovation Center, a large-scale business incubation center that will be housed in the Toranomon Hills Business Tower when the tower is completed in 2019.

Co-working space (image) , Furnished project rooms (image)

Ignition Lab MIRAI's 700 square meters will provide offices and furnished project rooms available for short-term rent, as well as co-working spaces and meeting rooms, targeted at agile start-ups seeking temporary offices or meeting hubs for collaboration. Events will be hosted periodically to facilitate dialogue, strengthen the Lab's community spirit and encourage collaboration among diverse tenants representing broadly varying fields. To date, a number of companies have already applied for spaces.

WiL, a venture business investor and business facilitator based in Silicon Valley, California, will co-manage Ignition Lab MIRAI. According to Mr. Gen Isayama, co-founder of WiL, "Innovation is a key driver for business growth around the world. Providing the infrastructure and atmosphere that start-ups need to collaborate and take risks with their ideas is crucial to the process. In collaboration with Mori Building, we want to create Japan's best innovation center to empower individuals and emerging enterprises to act on their dreams and create valuable alliances."

Ignition Lab MIRAI will serve as a prototype for the planned Innovation Center, a 3,000-square-meter large-scale business incubation center that will be housed at in Toranomon Hills Business Tower, which is expected to open in December 2019. The Innovation Center will offer office space, salons and seminar venues for tenants including venture capitalists and the business development divisions of large enterprises. The facility will be a key component of Mori's vision to transform the Toranomon area into a vibrant, globally accessible business hub that attracts gifted individuals and forward-looking enterprises from around the world.