From Pitch to Partnership: Mitigant’s Breakthrough in Japan

In April 2025, the Germany-based cybersecurity company Mitigant joined the EU Business Hub @ Japan IT Week Spring 2025 mission in Tokyo. Backed by thorough preparation and tailored support from the programme, the company reached a key milestone: signing a strategic Memorandum of Understanding with Kyoto-based cloud service provider Future Spirits.

For Mitigant, the business mission opened doors to Japan’s cloud tech leaders – and accelerated real business outcomes. The insights gained during the mission have shaped Mitigant’s go-to-market approach to Japan and accelerated its roadmap for its Asia-Pacific expansion.

Perfect fit for a high-demand market

Mitigant helps businesses secure their cloud systems and stay compliant in the age of AI threats. By simulating real attack scenarios directly in live cloud environments, the platform enables teams to identify and fix vulnerabilities before actual breaches occur – a proactive approach that is particularly valuable for highly regulated, cloud-reliant industries such as finance.

In technologically advanced markets like Japan, where financial institutions must perform annual threat assessments, Mitigant’s approach is a strong fit. As Dr. Muhammad Sukmana, the company’s Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, explains: “With Mitigant, these assessments can be conducted in a seamless, automated way – aligned with both regulatory and operational expectations.”

A strategic partnership, backed by targeted support 

Through the EU Business Hub mission, Mitigant formalised a collaboration with Future Spirits, a leading cloud services provider based in Kyoto – opening the door to the Japanese market and paving the way for expansion into Southeast Asia markets including Malaysia and Thailand. 

The mission played a vital role in moving from initial discussions to a signed deal. Mitigant received tailored support throughout – from cultural briefings and coaching on Japanese business etiquette to interpreters, local-language materials, booth logistics, and curated one-to-one meetings. “The business mission provided the structure and momentum we needed to move from discussions to a signed partnership,” said Dr. Muhammad Sukmana. “Being able to meet in person, with clear coordination and translation, helped us build trust quickly and align on shared goals.” 

Beyond the MoU, the experience gave Mitigant valuable insights into Japan’s business culture – from the pace of decision-making and relationship-building to the specific needs of cloud-reliant enterprises. “The support let us focus fully on the business content,” Dr. Sukmana noted. “The quality of preparation – from brochure translation to meeting scheduling – would have been difficult to replicate on our own.” 

“This experience validated our technology but also sharpened our approach,” he added. “We now approach the Japanese market with more clarity – and with the right local partner already in place.”

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EU Business Hub – Japan and the Republic of Korea is an EU-funded programme launched in 2024 to support EU SMEs and start-ups in the Green and Low-Carbon, Digital, Healthcare and Medical Equipment sectors in expanding into the Japanese and Korean markets. Between 2024 and 2027, the programme is organising 20 sector-focused business missions – 10 in each market – with services including strategic coaching, matchmaking, local interpretation, and full logistical support. The EU Business Hub is the successor programme of the EU Business Avenues / EU Gateway to Japan. 

Discover the business mission catalogue: https://eubusinesshub.eu/missions-catalogue

Learn more about the programme: https://eubusinesshub.eu/about-programme