Hachijuni Investment

Hachijuni Investment is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Hachijuni Banking Group, established in October 2021 as the group's dedicated private equity investment management company. The firm shares its entire team with Hachijuni Capital, the group's venture capital arm. The parent bank's corporate lending relationships provide a proprietary deal-sourcing channel, particularly for succession buyouts where the bank identifies owner-operators with no clear heir.

The firm manages both. It operates venture capital funds targeting early-stage Japanese startups in sectors such as robotics, agritech, and digital health, and a succession buyout fund that acquires controlling stakes in regional small and medium enterprises whose owners lack a family successor. Portfolio companies span venture-stage firms like Riverfield and Legmin, alongside controlling positions in unlisted operating companies.

Hachijuni Investment is headquartered in Nagano, Japan, and concentrates on the Nagano Prefecture economy for its succession buyout strategy. Its venture portfolio is national in scope, with investments in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Aichi prefectures. The firm explicitly states its mission as contributing to the sustainable growth of regional economies, with Nagano as its core geographic anchor.

Shinichi Uchikune serves as Representative Director and President, leading a nine-member team that includes dedicated heads for business development and consulting. The investment team members are career Hachijuni Bank professionals who rotate between Hachijuni Investment and Hachijuni Capital, effectively operating as a single investment committee managing both venture and buyout allocations under the bank's strategic direction.

Deal flow originates from the Hachijuni Banking Group's regional corporate loan book and branch networks. Loan officers at Hachijuni Bank and its subsidiary Nagano Bank identify owner-operators approaching retirement without a succession plan. These warm referrals are handed to Hachijuni Investment's consulting team, which structures management buyouts or direct control acquisitions using the fund capital, often retaining existing management teams.