Shogo Kaito

Shogo Kaito is a global affiliate visiting scholar at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC) for 2024-25. Kaito joined the Japan Patent Office (JPO) in 2015, where he worked as a patent examiner, handling patent applications mainly in the field of optical devices, such as light emitting diodes and lasers. From August 2019, he was involved in promoting patent examinations, including leading prior art research projects and planning the patent examination work plan. In January 2022, he transferred to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) as an assistant director for two years, where he focused on Japan's startup support. He was responsible for managing the J-Startup program, hosting the Nippon Startup Award ceremony, establishing the public loan program for startups, and executing the debt guarantee program for private loans to startups. While at APARC, he will be researching patent application strategies startups should take to become an economic driver.