Leave a Nest and JT’s corporate R&D organization D-LAB Launch the Second Cohort of “D-0.”, an Incubation Platform Co-Creating Future Well-being
Leave a Nest Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Group CEO: Yukihiro Maru) and D-LAB, the corporate R&D organization of Japan Tobacco Inc. (JT) (TSE: 2914) have launched the second cohort of “D-0.”, a jointly operated incubation platform dedicated to co-creating fulfilling future society, on May 22, 2026.
Official website: https://d-0.world/
Key Highlights of the Second Cohort of “D-0.”
“D-0.” is an incubation platform launched jointly by Leave a Nest and JT in 2025 with the aim of creating new ideas and businesses that contribute to the JT Group Purpose, “fulfilling life, enriching moments” The program is characterized by its cross-border structure, recruiting participants from both Japan and Singapore, as well as its hands-on support for participants from the very early stages of ideas that may not yet be fully articulated.
Building on the insights gained from the first cohort launched last year, the second cohort establishes new collaboration frameworks with multiple external partners to further strengthen the support for participants’ business creation journeys through identifying concepts.
As in the first cohort, “D-0.” connects Japan and Singapore as two key hubs. From the second cohort onward, participants gain access to Japan’s strengths in manufacturing and creativity as well as Singapore’s advanced proof-of-concept environment, multicultural talent network, and direct market connectivity.
Through this cross-border structure, participants can accelerate the journey from concept development and validation to commercialization.
In Japan, Hamano Products Co., Ltd.（https://hamano-products.co.jp/) and Musashino Art University (https://www.musabi.ac.jp/) have newly joined the program as partners.
Hamano Products, a metal processing manufacturer with extensive experience in prototype development, will provide an environment where participants can develop prototypes and conduct technical validation based on their concepts. By turning early-stage ideas into tangible forms, participants can concretely examine functionality, usability, and challenges related to manufacturing and implementation.
Musashino Art University will provide opportunities for participants to refine how their technologies and ideas are communicated as experiences and expressions that resonate with society and everyday life. Beyond simply explaining business ideas, participants will deepen their ability to articulate who the value is for and how it should be delivered, thereby strengthening the communicability and empathy of their concepts.
In Singapore, D-0. has established collaboration frameworks with Vidacity (https://vidacity.com.sg/), and Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE.SG, https://www.ace.sg/).
Through collaboration with Vidacity, an innovation hub that brings together entrepreneurs, companies, and communities in the sustainability space, participants gain access to real world environments for regional testing and business validation. By validating concepts developed in Japan within Singapore’s real-world testing environments and communities, participants will further refine hypotheses for overseas expansion.
Furthermore, with support from Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE.SG), a private-sector-led organization connecting entrepreneurs, government agencies, corporations, and investors across Singapore, the program incorporates perspectives that connect participants to Singapore's vibrant entrepreneurial community, multinational talent, and regional market opportunities.
By bridging concept development, prototyping, and expression refinement in Japan with proof-of-concept opportunities, market access, and dialogue with multicultural talent in Singapore, D-0. aims to help participants further sharpen their ideas while increasing both the speed and likelihood of successful commercialization and cross-border business creation.
Partner Comment / Mr Patrick Lim, Chief Executive Officer of ACE.SG
“We believe D-0. is a good initiative to connect knowledge and practice between the Japan and Singapore startup ecosystems. The collective entrepreneurial network and diverse regional expertise can facilitate opportunities for startups from Japan and Singapore to transit from early-stage concepts to successful market implementation in the region.”
Outcomes and Insights from the First Cohort
In the first cohort of “D-0.”, “D-0. Kick off 2025” was held simultaneously in Japan and Singapore on June 7, 2025. Following a selection and mentorship process involving more than 50 applicants, “D-0. Demo Day 2025” was held on November 14, 2025, where 12 participants presented the questions and concepts they had refined over approximately six months.
Through dialogues held during the Demo Day, seven selected participants have continued advancing toward commercialization and startup formation with ongoing support from the “D-0.” team.
One symbolic example is the concept developed by Yukino Ota, winner of the Grand Prize in the first cohort. “Feeling,” a hands-free mobility concept enabling freer movement through core-body control and refined through participation in “D-0.”, received the Mobility Category Award at the “CEATEC AWARD 2025,” which recognizes technologies, products, and services contributing to the creation of new value and markets.
In January 2026, the project was also selected for the “MITOU Advanced Program” organized by the Information-technology Promotion Agency (IPA), a program supporting individuals who take on business and social challenges through IT. The concept is currently undergoing validation in caregiving settings, demonstrating progress both in technological development and social implementation.
One of the key learnings from the first cohort was that, in addition to educational opportunities that nurture questions and passion, it is equally important to establish a foundation that enables prototyping, validation, and connections to markets and co-creation partners. The expanded partnership framework in the second cohort reflects these learnings.
Participant Comment from the First Cohort / Yukino Ota
“Through D-0., I was able to articulate the question I had within myself into a form that could be communicated to others as a business concept. The passionate support and mentorship I received continually encouraged me to keep moving forward. Experiences such as presenting in Singapore, visiting companies, and engaging in dialogue with experienced entrepreneurs significantly broadened my perspective. The concepts developed through these experiences have directly led to the challenges I am pursuing today. I look forward to seeing participants in the second cohort take their ideas one step further through this platform.”
Program Structure for the Second Cohort
The second cohort of “D-0.” begins with a kickoff event on May 22, 2026, followed by lecture sessions on June 20, July 11, and August 1, leading up to Demo Day on November 20.
Throughout the program, participants will deepen their individual questions and refine their concepts into business hypotheses through dialogue not only with JT and Leave a Nest members, but also with entrepreneurs, researchers, creators, and external partners involved in manufacturing and proof-of-concept activities.
At Demo Day, participants will present the concepts they have developed to a diverse audience including corporations, universities, and support organizations, creating opportunities to connect with future co-creation partners and proof-of-concept opportunities.
Selected concepts will receive further support aimed at commercialization, including mentorship, connections with external partners, and consideration for investment and incubation support through Glocalink Inc.* The second cohort will further strengthen the continuity from education to commercialization based on insights gained through the first cohort.
*Glocalink Inc. is a joint venture established in 2015 through JT’s investment in Leave a Nest Group’s Glocalink Inc. Its main business activities include investment and incubation support for venture companies.
Leave a Nest will continue working together with JT Group and co-creation partners in Japan and overseas to nurture the questions, knowledge, talent, and seeds of business generated through “D-0.”, while contributing to the realization of the Leave a Nest Vision “Advancing Science and Technology for Global Happiness”
About D-LAB
D-LAB is JT Group’s corporate R&D organization established in 2020. The name stands for “Delightful Moment – Laboratory.” Guided by the JT Group Purpose, “Fulfilling Moments, Enriching Life,” D-LAB explores, researches, and creates future forms of well-being from a long-term perspective. With “well-being of the mind” as the starting point of its value creation, D-LAB continuously advances more than 100 projects through repeated trial and error.
D-LAB website: https://www.jti.co.jp/dlab/index.html
About Leave a Nest Co., Ltd.
Leave a Nest is a collective of researchers guided by the vision of “Advancing Science and Technology for Global Happiness.” The company promotes project creation with partners around the world through initiatives such as TECH PLANTER, one of Asia’s largest deep-tech startup discovery and development ecosystems, and Leave a Nest University, a program dedicated to nurturing leaders who contribute to the planet.
Official website: https://lne.st/