Biotech companies may not have the luxury of choosing their IPO timing. Venture capital investors often push for a public listing as soon as possible to secure their own returns, creating systemic pressure that can overlook a company's long-term strategic needs and readiness for public markets.

Japanese companies struggle to expand globally not just due to language skills, but because of a cultural phenomenon called "English allergy." This is a deep-seated fear of failure and embarrassment when speaking English, which acts as a psychological barrier to pursuing international customers.

In a major cultural shift, over 40% of students at Japan's top University of Tokyo now want to work at or found a startup. This reverses a decades-long tradition of seeking security at established firms, signaling a massive talent pipeline shift towards the venture ecosystem.

The traditional purpose of an IPO—raising capital for company growth—is obsolete. Today, companies scale using private equity and only go public to allow early investors and insiders to cash out. This means the public market captures significantly less of a company's early, high-growth phase.

While Japan is producing more unicorns, it lacks a "Decacorn" ($10B+ startup). A company of this scale is crucial not just for its own success, but to act as a motivated, large-scale acquirer of promising young companies, providing vital exit opportunities and stimulating the entire ecosystem, much like Google does in Silicon Valley.

A traditional Japanese business philosophy judges employees on their mistakes, not their successes. This deeply ingrained risk aversion, the opposite of a "fail fast" mentality, is a significant cultural barrier for the Japanese startup ecosystem, which must be overcome for founders to succeed.

A decade ago, stock-based compensation was a foreign concept in Japan. Uber was a pioneering company that introduced and popularized it. Following its massive success, stock options have become an expected part of the compensation package for talent joining Japanese startups.

Unlike in the US, early-stage Japanese startups, including high-risk biotech ventures, can secure low-interest, long-term loans from regional banks. This provides a powerful source of non-dilutive capital, allowing founders to extend runway while preserving equity.

While a surge in IPOs is a strong indicator of an overvalued market, it's often an early warning. This signal can appear years before a market peak, as it did in Japan's 1990s bubble. Using it as a signal to exit the market immediately can be premature, as it marks the start of a potentially long period of froth.