The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) is one of the National Research and Development Agencies, overseen by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation. The scope of the agency includes:

• The formulation of visionary R&D strategies for co-creation of the future with society.
• The creation of knowledge and tranforming it into economic and social value.
• The promotion of dialogue with society and cultivating human resources.

Aiming for the establishment of a Japanese-Style innovation ecosystem in which technologies generated in universities can be widely utilitzed in society, the START program was established.

The aim of the START program is to develop business/IP strategies and commercialize technology seeds in universities that are risky but have great potential, by combining public funding and private sector commercialization knowhow even before startups are established.