Find a counterparty
You state a requirement. We search both ecosystems against it, come back with named organisations and the reason for each, and brief both sides in writing before anyone meets.
TSUKUBA, JAPAN · SOFIA, BULGARIABetween Japan and Europe, through Bulgaria.
Between Japan and Europe, through Bulgaria.
We assemble the right people around what you need.
KyoLink is a Japanese general incorporated association in Tsukuba, connecting Japanese and Bulgarian companies, research institutions, investors and government. We take a stated requirement, find the counterparty, introduce them by name, put in writing what each side agreed to do, and report in ninety days whether it happened.
Tsukuba, Japan
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the corridor
Sofia, Bulgaria
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We carry a requirement all the way to a decision, in five steps.
- 01Requirementstated by you, in one paragraph
- 02Counterpartya shortlist of two or three, with reasons
- 03Briefingboth sides prepared in writing, before meeting
- 04Introductionby name, and only with consent on both sides
- 05Ninety daysthe outcome, classified and reported
Have a requirement?
Send it in one paragraph. We reply within five working days with whether we can take it and who we would approach.
Want a standing way of working between Japan and Europe?
Partnership reserves delivery capacity: one priority requirement a year managed by KyoLink, a named owner, a quarterly decision review and the intelligence that goes with it.
Which direction are you going?Japan to Europe →Bulgaria to Japan →
Not sure which of those you are?
Seven other kinds of organisation have a place in this process: research institutions, public bodies, associations, investors, startups and scaleups, journalists and specialists. Find the one that is yours, or tell us what you need to achieve.
ABOUT
Events are where the work starts
The event is how we produce qualified introductions. The introduction is where the work starts rather than where it ends, and what we are accountable for is the decision it leads to.
So we measure what follows. A session counts when it leads to qualified meetings with written next steps, and every introduction we make is followed to its outcome at ninety days.
KyoLink is a general incorporated association registered in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, corporate number 6050005013747. Its founding team combines Japanese academia, European research and cross-border commercial development. External institutional affiliations are disclosed in full on the About page and do not imply institutional endorsement of KyoLink's activities.
What we do
Enter the other market
We map the market-entry process in either direction and coordinate the specialists it needs: the Tsukuba entry process for a European company entering Japan, and the appropriate Sofia and EU establishment process for a Japanese company entering Europe, coordinated with the relevant legal, tax, immigration and public-support specialists.
Reach research funding neither side can reach alone
Japan is associated to Pillar II of Horizon Europe, so a Bulgarian and a Japanese partner can sit in the same funded consortium. We map the instruments, check entity and call-specific eligibility before proposing one, and help write the application.
Convene around your requirement
Members place a requirement on our annual calendar and we build the session around it: we source the counterparties, brief both sides and issue the notes. It is what the membership buys.
What KyoLink has done so far
Co-organiser in Tokyo
Bulgaria × Japan Business and Innovation Nexus, 22 October 2026, co-organised with the Japan Institute for Overseas Investment and the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Tokyo, Japan, with the institutional support of the Ministry of Innovation and Digital Transformation and the Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency.
Speakers from both countries
EnduroSat, BULL, Murata Manufacturing, the University of Tsukuba and Endeavor Bulgaria on one programme, with Kambourov & Partners on entering Europe.
A Strategic Partner
Kambourov & Partners: tax, customs and legal advice for companies entering, acquiring or investing in Europe.
Rooted in Tsukuba
Invited to the Chikusei Kinu Rotary Club, and host of KyoLink Connect 2026, our first-anniversary forum at Tsukuba Center Inc. on 17 December 2026.
Why Bulgaria
Satellite platforms built at production cadence. Semiconductor wafer-handling systems. Precision optics. Enterprise knowledge graphs. Metal-hydride hydrogen storage. Euro-area membership from 1 January 2026 removes the BGN to EUR conversion layer from euro-denominated contracting and treasury, so the companies behind those capabilities invoice in the same currency as a German supplier. The yen to euro exposure is unchanged.
JAPAN · TSUKUBA
- Tsukuba Science City
- 304 University of Tsukuba ventures as of 1 September 2026, fifth in Japan by university spin-offs, and dozens of national research institutes in one city
- Registered here
- KyoLink's office sits inside a Tsukuba incubation facility, in the same block as the national space centre
- Pillar II association
- Japan can now sit in the same funded Horizon Europe consortium as an EU partner
BULGARIA · SOFIA
- Euro area
- Member since 1 January 2026, so no BGN conversion layer in euro-denominated contracting and treasury
- Corporate tax
- Standard corporate income tax rate ten per cent. Pillar Two top-up taxation applies to in-scope large groups.
- Capability, not cost
- Satellites at production cadence, semiconductor wafer handling, precision optics, knowledge graphs, hydrogen storage
Next event
11
Nov 2026
Open
The EU's New Growth Hub: Bulgaria's Economy and the Frontline of Business in Eastern Europe
A seminar in Saitama for Japanese companies interested in Bulgaria and the wider region.
Read more →
17
Dec 2026
Open
KyoLink Connect 2026
KyoLink's first anniversary, in Tsukuba: a forum in the afternoon, then networking and a celebration.
Read more →
Latest
31
Oct 2026
KyoLink co-organises a seminar in Saitama on Bulgaria's economy and business in Central and Eastern Europe
On 11 November 2026, JETRO, Saitama Prefecture, the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Tokyo, Japan, and KyoLink will hold a seminar at Shibusawa MIX in Saitama City for Japanese companies interested in Bulgaria and the wider region.
Read more →
22
Oct 2026
Minister Ivan Vasilev addresses the Bulgaria × Japan Business and Innovation Nexus
In a video address from Sofia to the 22 October session in Tokyo, Bulgaria's Minister of Innovation and Digital Transformation named three priority areas: investment, research and advanced technologies, and startups.
Read more →
STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
A standing way of working between Japan and Europe
A Strategic Partnership reserves delivery capacity for your company: one priority requirement a year managed by KyoLink, a named KyoLink owner, a quarterly decision review and opportunity intelligence filtered for you.
Strategic Partner enquiries are open. The remaining terms are being settled, and we would rather talk them through with you than publish a figure we are not ready to be held to.
Our Strategic Partners
- Kambourov & PartnersTax, customs and legal advice for companies entering, acquiring and investing in Europe
The founders
Dr Eng. Lidia Vitanova
Representative Director and Co-Founder
Expert in climate resilience, numerical modelling, urban digital twins, and smart cities at the GATE Institute in Bulgaria and the University of Tsukuba in Japan.
Assoc. Prof. Doan Quang Van
Director and Co-Founder
Computational science and regional climate modelling. At the Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba.
Iskren Krusteff
Director and Co-Founder
Startup and scaleup growth, corporate innovation and cross-border partnerships.
START HERE
What are you looking for?
One paragraph is enough. Tell us the requirement, the constraint and the deadline, and we will tell you within five working days whether we can help and who we would approach. If we cannot, we will say so, which is faster for both of us.