Three-Way Collaboration among Mitsui Fudosan, LINK-J, and STELLAR SCIENCE FOUNDATION New Industry Creation Hub to Launch in Kannai, Yokohama —An Ecosystem Connecting Researchers and Industry to Accelerate the Social Implementation of Scientific Discoveries—

Tokyo, Japan, April 17, 2026 - Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd., a leading global real estate company headquartered in Tokyo (hereafter, “Mitsui Fudosan”), together with LINK-J, a general incorporated association also based in Tokyo (hereafter, “LINK-J”), and Stellar Science Foundation, a general incorporated association based in Yokohama (hereafter, “SS-F”), announced today that they will open a new industry creation hub on the sixth floor of the Tower Building at BASEGATE Yokohama Kannai, which opened on March 19, 2026. This hub will house Mitsui Link Lab Yokohama Kannai, operated by Mitsui Fudosan, and SS-F Lighthouse Lab, an R&D facility operated by SS-F. Through features such as a networking lounge and community-building activities led by LINK-J, the hub will support life science stakeholders in building new networks and generating new ideas.

As an industry developer, Mitsui Fudosan is dedicated to fostering new industries, with a particular focus on developing physical spaces in the life sciences field through its Mitsui Lab & Office business. In partnership with LINK-J, which builds life science communities through a variety of events, programs, and other services, Mitsui Fudosan has been advancing an ecosystem that supports the creation and growth of innovation-driven industries. SS-F, meanwhile, is working to create a sustainable research ecosystem based on its distinctive People-Centricconcept—born from people, connected throughpeople, and expanded by people. This approach starts with each researcher’s intellectual curiosity and creativity and goes on to connect early-stage scientific discoveries (inventions) with real-world implementation (innovations).

By combining the strengths of these three organizations, the partners enable scientific discoveries to be brought into real-world implementation. To this end, SS-F serves as the starting point for accelerating the nurturing of inventions and connecting them to the research spaces developed by Mitsui Fudosan and the communities of researchers and companies built by LINK-J. At the same time, the hub will encourage innovations originating in Japan by further expanding the diversity of stakeholders within this ecosystem, from researchers in Japan and abroad to major corporations, and by creating opportunities for new forms of collaboration.

The hub, which will serve as the base for these initiatives, is located on the sixth floor of the Tower Building at BASEGATE Yokohama Kannai, an integrated office, retail, and hotel complex just in front of Kannai Station and directly connected to Yokohama Stadium. It features cutting-edge rental wet lab and office facilities, a networking lounge, and event spaces.

Exterior of BASEGATE Yokohama Kannai	Lighthouse Lounge

■ Key Features of Mitsui Link Lab Yokohama Kannai

Mitsui Link Lab Yokohama Kannai is the first Yokohama location in the Mitsui Link Lab series^※1, which includes Mitsui Fudosan’s rental lab and office facilities developed in central urban areas in close proximity to emerging research. Offering cutting-edge rental wet lab and office facilities, Mitsui Link Lab Yokohama Kannai is equipped with robust infrastructure specifications, including water supply and drainage, air supply and exhaust, load-bearing capacity, and electrical capacity, thereby enabling R&D activities up to BSL2^※2.
In terms of services and support, the facility offers an Open Innovation Support Program to address the diverse challenges faced by tenants, providing comprehensive support across two key areas: (1) research and business and (2) communication and networking.
※1    The Mitsui Link Lab series has so far developed six facilities: Mitsui Link Lab Kasai, Mitsui Link Lab Shinkiba 1, Mitsui Link Lab Shinkiba 2, Mitsui Link Lab Shinkiba 3, Mitsui Link Lab Kashiwa-no-ha 1, and Mitsui Link Lab Nakanoshima. Mitsui Link Lab Yokohama Kannai will be the seventh. In addition, Mitsui Link Lab Toyocho 1, Mitsui Link Lab Kashiwa-no-ha 2, and Mitsui Link Lab Nihonbashi 1 are scheduled for completion in fiscal 2026.
※2   Biosafety level (BSL) is a classification system for laboratories and facilities that handle microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens. BSL2 refers to pathogens that can cause disease but generally do not pose a serious risk of harm.

Mitsui Link Lab Yokohama Kannai: Exclusive lab area (Provided by: Okamura Corporation)

■ Key Features of SS-F Lighthouse Lab

SS-F Lighthouse Lab, a research base operated by SS-F, is the first physical embodiment of an ecosystem that starts with each researcher’s intellectual curiosity and creativity and then translates those outcomes into social and industrial value. Drawing on SS-F’s network of researchers in Japan and abroad and its track record of collaborating with companies and local governments, the facility establishes a framework to support early-stage exploratory research outside universities and large-scale research institutions. As a new research infrastructure that complements existing academia, it creates an environment conducive to curiosity-driven, exploratory research and helps advance Japan’s science and technology ecosystem.

SS-F Lighthouse Lab: Exclusive area

■ Collaboration Between LINK-J’s Community Building and SS-F’s Research Support

To promote open innovation in the life sciences, LINK-J has been fostering a community that brings together stakeholders from industry, academia, and government. At the new hub, LINK-J will combine the community-building programs it has developed over the years to connect companies, research institutions, and startups in Japan and abroad with SS-F’s domestic and international researcher network. Together, these efforts will facilitate the creation of new research exchanges and joint research projects initiated by researchers.

This approach will help open up more opportunities for matchmaking and co-creation across disciplines and organizations. In addition, through jointly organized events and programs, the two organizations will create opportunities for researchers to interact with each other, collaborate with companies, and drive commercialization.

■ Key Features of the Lighthouse Lounge

The Lighthouse Lounge is a networking lounge available to tenants of Mitsui Link Lab Yokohama Kannai and SS-F Lighthouse Lab, as well as to LINK-J members. On a day-to-day basis, researchers and workers can use it as an open workspace, and it is also fully equipped to host a variety of events and pitch sessions. By enabling researchers to interact with stakeholders from diverse fields (including startups, medical institutions, and companies), the lounge fosters new networks and generates new ideas.

The lounge embodies the concept of a space that naturally inspires creativity. As a symbol of this vision, an art installation inspired by the motif of a “lighthouse” is featured in the lounge. Depicting diverse individuals gathered around a central light and interacting to form new collaborations, the installation serves as a visual symbol of the dynamism through which creativity arises at the intersection of different fields and perspectives, sparking a chain reaction of research and innovation.

	Takanori Takebe, Founder and Representative Director, Stellar Science Foundation “This hub is the first physical embodiment of the People-Centric conceptupheld by SS-F—born from people, connected through people, and expanded by people. Here, where the cutting-edge research environment provided by Mitsui Fudosan intersects with the industry-academia community cultivated over many years by LINK-J, new inventions that transcend fields and organizations will emerge. From Kannai, we will build and demonstrate an ecosystem that helps bring them into industry and society. I am truly looking forward to working together with our two partners to create a new model for the fusion of research and industry that the world has yet to see.”
	Takashi Shiotani, Executive Officer and General Manager, Life Science Innovation Department, Innovation Promoting Division, Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. “To nurture the small sparks of discovery that emerge from researchers’ creative thinking into value that benefits society, it takes more than just a research environment—it requires opportunities for people and organizations to engage with each other. I look forward to seeing how the researcher network expanded through our collaboration with SS-F, along with the communities cultivated by LINK-J, will generate new momentum at this hub. Building on this, we aim to create a pathway in which the seeds of scientific discovery lead to real-world implementation and, ultimately, to transformative change in society.”
	Ikuo Hayashi, President & COO, LINK-J “LINK-J has been promoting innovation by fostering communities that connect researchers’ expertise with industry needs. At this hub, we aim to generate a virtuous cycle that leads to the real-world implementation of research by bridging the seeds of invention nurtured by SS-F and the research spaces developed by Mitsui Fudosan to the industrial sector through LINK-J’s network and programs. Starting in Kannai, we will advance initiatives in which researchers and diverse stakeholders come together naturally and new collaborations emerge.”

■ Property Overview of BASEGATE Yokohama Kannai

BASEGATE Yokohama Kannai is a large-scale mixed-use project with a total floor area of approximately 1,383,161 ft2 (approx. 128,500 m2), situated in a prime location with excellent access to Kannai Station on the JR Negishi Line, Kannai Station on the Yokohama Municipal Subway Blue Line, and Nihon-ōdōri Station on the Minatomirai Line (Yokohama Minatomirai Railway). The project is led by Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. as the representative company, in collaboration with seven other companies: Kajima Corporation, Keikyu Corporation, Daiichi Life Insurance Co., Ltd., Takenaka Corporation, DeNA Co., Ltd., Tokyu Corporation, and Hoshino Resorts Inc.

■ Overview of LINK-J

LINK-J is a general incorporated association established in March 2016 by Mitsui Fudosan together with leaders from industry and academia, reaching the milestone of its 10th anniversary in March 2026. Based in the Nihonbashi district of Tokyo, where pharmaceutical companies are concentrated, LINK-J works to expand its partnerships across Japan and around the world, promoting open innovation in the life sciences through industry-government-academia collaboration and supporting the creation of new industries. With community building, innovation support, and enhanced dissemination of trends as its three pillars, LINK-J works to create highly specialized communities and promotes cross-disciplinary exchanges of human resources and technology, both domestic and international. These efforts focus on the life sciences—an interdisciplinary field spanning medicine, the natural sciences, engineering, and emerging technologies, such as ICT and artificial intelligence. https://www.link-j.org/en/

■ Overview of Stellar Science Foundation (SS-F)

The STELLAR SCIENCE FOUNDATION(SS-F) is a Japan-based organization aiming to build mechanisms that promote the sustainable creation of disruptive discoveries and inventions by focusing on the power of the people who drive forward scientific discovery. We aim to contribute to society by promoting scientific research in Japan by supporting free research activities of scientists and generating world-changing discoveries and inventions. Guided by its philosophy of being “People-Centric”—Start with people, connect people, empower people—SS-F works to build an ecosystem where individual researchers can collaborate and connect across companies, organizations, and scientific disciplines. Through these efforts, SS-F strives to generate continuous breakthroughs and drive innovation.

https://ss-f.org/en

■ Sustainability in the Mitsui Fudosan Group

Based on the meaning of its “& mark,” “to generate new value with society through cooperation, coexistence and co-creation, we forge ahead, innovating,” the Mitsui Fudosan Group views the “creation of social value” and the “creation of economic value” as two wheels of a cart. Accordingly, we believe that the creation of social value leads to the creation of economic value, and that this economic value then creates even greater social value.
Moreover, we identified six Group Materiality priority issues when formulating our new management philosophy in April 2024. These Group Materiality priority issues are (1) Contribute to industrial competitiveness, (2) Coexist with the environment, (3) Health and Vitality, (4) Safety and security, (5) Diversity and inclusion, and (6) Compliance and governance. The Mitsui Fudosan Group will work to address each of the materialities through its core business activities and contribute to the promotion of sustainability.
(References)
・ Group Management Philosophy and Long-Term Vision
https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/english/corporate/innovation2030/ 
・ Group Materiality
https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/english/esg_csr/approach/materiality/