Winner of 10 Million Yen Prize Decided: 'Student Pitch Koshien 2026' Final Tournament Held

Credo Holdings Co., Ltd. held the final judging and awards ceremony for the business contest "Student Pitch Koshien 2026," targeting student entrepreneurs nationwide, at "SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026" on Wednesday, April 29, 2026.

Student Pitch Koshien: Participants who won regional preliminaries and advanced to the finals (front row) and judges (back row).

■ "Student Pitch Koshien 2026" × SusHi Tech Tokyo

On April 29, student entrepreneurs who won the preliminaries in six blocks nationwide gathered on the stage of SusHi Tech Tokyo to hold the final tournament (final judging and awards ceremony).

This competition, which brings together student entrepreneurs responsible for creating the next generation of startups, featured leading entrepreneurs and business executives as judges. The Grand Prix winner was awarded 10 million yen in business funds and startup support from the organizers and partner companies.

Hosts Koichi Maruo (left) and Noriko Fukuda (right).

Koichi Maruo, former Senior Managing Director of Daiwa Securities and Representative Director of Major7th Inc., and Noriko Fukuda, former TV Tokyo announcer, served as the two hosts for the final tournament.

Additionally, at the opening, Manabu Miyasaka, Vice Governor of Tokyo, took the stage and delivered an opening address filled with expectations for student entrepreneurs.

■ Kyohei Hasegawa Wins "Student Pitch Koshien 2026" and 10 Million Yen

National tournament winner Kyohei Hasegawa (left) and the main sponsor of this tournament, Koichi Shirai (right).

Mr. Hasegawa presented "TUGUMI," a service that solves the challenges of technology transfer in the manufacturing industry with the power of AI.
Judges expressed their expectations for him to utilize the prize money to expand the service to more manufacturers.

■ Held in a two-part format: international version "World Student Pitch (WSP)" and domestic competition

This tournament, held in a two-part format with the international version "World Student Pitch (WSP)" and the domestic competition, saw student entrepreneurs from multiple countries and regions participate, pitching on a global stage.

■ Hosts and Judges

【Student Pitch Koshien】

General Hosts: Noriko Fukuda, Koichi Maruo

Judges:

Taichi Murakami, Representative Director, Livesense Inc.

Taro Nakajima, Representative Director, ROXX Inc.

Yusuke Horie, Representative Director, dely Inc.

Rena Yamamoto, Representative Director, Hupro Inc.

atsuya Tsubuki, Professor, Faculty of Entrepreneurship, Musashino University

【World Student Pitch (WSP)】

General Hosts: Ryoki Tsuchida, Yuka

Judges:

Saihul Islam, President, Dhaka Stock Exchange Brokers Association.

Gaku Nakamura, Co-founder and CEO, RareJob Inc.

Natsuki Mizutani, Senior Manager, Corporate Planning, Plug and Play Japan.

■ What is "Student Pitch Koshien 2026"?

"Student Pitch Koshien" is one of Japan's largest pitch contests, targeting student entrepreneurs nationwide to determine the best student entrepreneur in Japan.

Preliminaries are held in six blocks nationwide, and selected finalists present their business at the final tournament. The Grand Prix winner is awarded 10 million yen in business funds.

The purpose of this tournament is to promote startup creation by students and to foster networking among student entrepreneurs.

Additionally, through the development of the international version "World Student Pitch (WSP)," we are also working to support student entrepreneurs on a global scale.

【Organizer/Planner】 "Student Pitch Koshien 2026" Executive Committee

【Main Sponsor】 Credo Holdings Co., Ltd.