What Code for Japan does

Code for Japan (一般社団法人コード・フォー・ジャパン) is a Tokyo-based nonprofit general incorporated association founded on October 25, 2013, that operates as the Japanese chapter of the global civic tech movement. The organization enables citizens and technologists to co-create digital solutions for local and national government challenges, operating a portfolio of civic tech products and programs including the open-source Decidim participatory democracy platform (originally from Barcelona), the MoC Data Collaboration Infrastructure for smart cities, the GovTech Program for digital transformation (DX) with government partners, the ikunowa childcare information portal, the jibungoto Planet carbon footprint visualization app (co-developed with the National Institute for Environmental Studies), disinformation countermeasures using X data, and the Gussuri sleep health civic tech project. Its technical capabilities are increasingly augmented by AI, most notably through the December 2025-launched Public Knowledge Engineering Studio, which applies AI to convert tacit knowledge in local governments into organizational assets.

The organization coordinates a nationwide network of approximately 80 regional Brigade groups (Code for X) spanning from Hokkaido to Okinawa, hosts the annual Code for Japan Summit (the largest civic tech conference in Japan, most recently held at the United Nations University in November 2025), and maintains an open community accessible via Slack and Notion. Strategic partners include the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (co-organizing the Governor's Cup Open Data Hackathon), Hamamatsu City (DX human resource development), the University of Tokyo (Civic Tech Design course), and international civic tech networks in East Asia (Facing the Ocean with Korea and Taiwan).

Code for Japan's business model is nonprofit, funded through a mix of corporate sponsorship (法人協賛), individual and organizational donations, event and program fees (including the annual Summit and workshops), and project-based revenue from collaborative contracts with government agencies and municipalities. Publicly available order unit pricing lists signal government procurement relationships. Financial reports for fiscal years 2014 through 2025 are disclosed on the organization's website, indicating transparency uncommon for entities of this size. Founder Haruyuki Seki became the first Japanese recipient of the Charles T. Manatt Democracy Award 2025, reflecting the organization's recognized standing in democratic governance and civic innovation.

Name

Code for Japan

Legal name

Code for Japan

Website

https://code4japan.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Code for Japan is a Tokyo-based nonprofit civic tech organization that enables citizens and technologists to co-create digital solutions with local and national governments, operating the open-source Decidim platform, smart city data infrastructure, and a nationwide network of approximately 80 regional Brigade groups across Japan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic Technology and Government Digital Transformation Services

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Development & ICT4D / GovTech Technical Assistance (BPADAEAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Planning, Zoning, Permitting & Code Enforcement (BPAIACAE)

Keywords

• Civic technology services
• Government digital transformation
• Participatory democracy platforms
• Open source civic tools
• Smart city infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Corporate Sponsorship (法人協賛): Corporate partners sponsor Code for Japan activities in exchange for association with civic tech initiatives and social impact programs.
2. Donations (寄付): Individual and organizational donations supporting the organization's civic tech programs and community activities.
3. Event and Program Fees: Revenue from events such as the Code for Japan Summit and workshops, and possibly program participation fees.
4. Project Collaboration Revenue: Revenue from collaborative projects with government agencies and municipalities on DX and civic tech solutions, evidenced by publicly disclosed order unit pricing.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Code for Japan is a nonprofit civic tech organization that coordinates co-creation between citizens, technologists, and government, deploying open-source platforms such as the Decidim participatory democracy platform and the MoC Data Collaboration Infrastructure for smart cities. It also runs purpose-built web applications (ikunowa for childcare information, jibungoto planet for carbon footprint visualization, Gussuri for sleep health), AI-powered public knowledge engineering services for municipalities, disinformation analysis tools, and the annual Code for Japan Summit, supported by a nationwide network of approximately 80 Brigade groups.

Product overview

Code for Japan operates as a civic tech organization with a portfolio of interconnected products and programs. The core offerings include civic tech projects enabling citizen participation in solving regional issues, the open-source Decidim participatory democracy platform for civic engagement, and the MoC data collaboration infrastructure for smart city initiatives. Additional products include GovTech programs for digital transformation with government partners, ikunowa (one-stop parenting information web app), and the carbon footprint visualization app (じぶんごとプラネット). The organization also runs the Public Knowledge Engineering Studio to help local governments leverage AI for knowledge management, a disinformation countermeasure tool, and the nationwide Brigade network of approximately 80 local civic tech groups. The annual Code for Japan Summit serves as the largest civic tech conference in Japan.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TOMODACHI Boeing Entrepreneurship Seminar: A program aimed at developing next-generation leaders.
• Public Knowledge Engineering Studio (公共ナレッジエンジニアリング開発室)
• Disinformation Countermeasures
• Decidim Japan
• MoC Data Linkage Infrastructure (MoCデータ連携基盤)
• GovTech Program (GovTechプログラム)
• ikunowa
• Jibungoto Planet (じぶんごとプラネット)
• Gussuri
• Local Field Lab (地域フィールドラボ)
• Code for Japan Summit
• Brigade Network (ブリゲード)

Products and services

• Decidim Open-source participatory democracy platform originally developed in Barcelona, deployed domestically by Code for Japan to support citizen participation in government decision-making.
• MoC Data Collaboration Infrastructure (MoCデータ連携基盤) Data collaboration infrastructure supporting partnerships between municipalities, companies, and citizens to realize smart city initiatives through data linkage.
• GovTech Program (GovTechプログラム) Collaborative program with local governments, ministries, and research institutions for digital transformation (DX) and new service development for the public sector.
• ikunowa - Childcare Information Portal Web application that enables municipalities to provide one-stop information services for residents raising children.
• Carbon Footprint Visualization App (jibungoto planet / じぶんごとプラネット) Personal carbon footprint visualization app co-developed with the National Institute for Environmental Studies, enabling individuals to understand their environmental impact.
• Disinformation Countermeasures (偽情報対策) Tools and analysis reports built using X (Twitter) data to analyze and address disinformation, combined with community management operations.
• Gussuri - Sleep Health Civic Tech Healthcare and citizen science project themed around sleep, combining civic tech with public health engagement applications.
• Public Knowledge Engineering Studio (公共ナレッジエンジニアリング開発室) Practice-oriented development studio for local governments focused on creating context from tacit knowledge and becoming organizations that effectively utilize AI, launched in December 2025.
• Local Field Lab (地域フィールドラボ) Active learning training program for co-creation human resource development, working with local government staff to tackle regional and administrative challenges.
• TOMODACHI Boeing Entrepreneurship Seminar Program under the TOMODACHI initiative aimed at developing next-generation leaders through entrepreneurship training in collaboration with Boeing.
• Code for Japan Summit Japan's largest annual civic tech conference held to share knowledge and promote civic tech across the country, with international participation and keynotes from government officials.
• Brigade Network (ブリゲード) Nationwide network of approximately 80 local civic tech groups (Code for X) operating as independent organizations under partnership agreements with Code for Japan to solve regional issues.

Quantifiable outcome

• Approximately 80 Brigades (Code for X regional groups) are active nationwide, making this one of the largest civic tech networks in Japan.

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered moderate and core.

• TOMODACHI Boeing Entrepreneurship SeminarmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerA program under the TOMODACHI initiative focused on developing the next generation of leaders, involving entrepreneurship training in collaboration with Boeing.
• National Institute for Environmental Studies (国立環境研究所)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint development of the 'jibungoto planet' (じぶんごとプランド) personal carbon footprint visualization app, co-developed with the national research institute for environmental studies.
• Tokyo University - Civic Tech Design Course (東京大学 シビックテックデザイン学)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership with the University of Tokyo's Digital Space Society Coordination Research Organization for the 'Civic Tech Design' recurrent education program, established as a technical research and creation department. The program attracts participants from high school students to working professionals.
• Facing the Ocean (FtO) - East Asia Civic Tech CollaborationmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint hackathon program with civic tech communities in East Asia (Korea, Taiwan, etc.) called 'Facing the Ocean (FtO)', fostering cross-border civic tech collaboration and project exchange.
• GovTech TokyomoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-creation MeetUp series with GovTech Tokyo, including retrospective events on COVID-19 response websites, fostering collaboration between civic tech and government digital initiatives.
• Brigade Network Partners (~80 Brigades)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with approximately 80 regional Brigade groups ('Code for X') across Japan from Hokkaido to Okinawa. Brigades operate as independent organizations under partnership agreements with Code for Japan, receiving support and network benefits.
• Tokyo Metropolitan GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the Governor's Cup Open Data Hackathon (都知事杯オープンデータ・ハッカソン), the annual open data hackathon organized by Tokyo Metropolitan Government with Code for Japan as secretariat.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Code for America: The US pioneer of the civic tech movement, founded in 2009. Code for America operates a similar model of civic technology projects, government partnerships, and community brigades — making it the most direct international analogue to Code for Japan.
• mySociety: A UK-based civic tech charity that builds digital tools (e.g., TheyWorkForYou, FixMyStreet) to help citizens engage with government. Directly comparable as a civic participation platform developer serving government and citizens.
• Code for Germany: The German chapter of the Code for All civic tech movement. Operates a similar Brigade-style community model for civic technology projects in collaboration with German municipalities — closely comparable in structure and mission.
• Code for All: The international network that federates national Code for X organizations, including Code for Japan itself. Highly comparable as the umbrella organization governing the global movement Code for Japan participates in.

Emerging players

• Open Knowledge Foundation: A global nonprofit promoting open data and civic technology. Comparable in mission around open government and citizen access to public data, though focuses more on data infrastructure than civic engagement platforms.

Others

• Decidim Free Software Association: The Barcelona-based organization that maintains the open-source Decidim participatory democracy platform deployed by Code for Japan in Japan. Ecosystem partner rather than direct competitor; comparable in civic tech tooling.
• Open Data Institute: UK-based nonprofit focused on building an open, trustworthy data ecosystem. Adjacent to Code for Japan's MoC data collaboration infrastructure work; comparable as a civic data infrastructure organization.

Regional players

• Code for Australia: Australian civic tech organization operating a Brigade-style community model for government and civic technology projects. Comparable in structure and mission to Code for Japan within the broader Code for All network.
• g0v (Taiwan Civic Tech Community): Taiwan's civic tech community that Code for Japan collaborates with through the Facing the Ocean (FtO) program. Operates in the same East Asian civic tech space with comparable open-source citizen engagement projects.

Broad incumbents

• GovTech Tokyo: Tokyo Metropolitan Government's GovTech initiative that Code for Japan co-hosts meetups with. A government-established entity operating in the same digital government space with broader institutional mandate and funding.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/codeforJP
• GitHubgithub.com/codeforjapan
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/codeforJP
• Facebookfacebook.com/codeforjapan
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/code4japan

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Code for Japan