Relic Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and CEO: Takao Kitajima; Representative Director and CTO: Ryo Oniwa), a business co-creation company, will officially launch the 'Hokuriku Startup Runway'—a collaborative platform aimed at fostering the startup ecosystem in the Hokuriku region (Toyama, Ishikawa, and Fukui prefectures)—on June 29, 2026, with support from Samurai Incubate Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Kintaro Sakai). Ahead of the official launch, a kickoff event will be held on June 30 at 'Sketch Lab' in Toyama Prefecture. ■ Background Within Japan’s national startup ecosystem strategy, efforts are underway to achieve polycentric growth by leveraging regional strengths. The Hokuriku region (Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui) has been designated as one of the 'NEXT Global Hub Cities.' This area hosts a concentration of global niche-top companies and research institutions with dominant market shares in specific industries. Additionally, initiatives to launch university-originated startups through the wide-area collaboration consortium 'Tech Startup HOKURIKU (TeSH)' are gaining momentum, indicating significant potential. Relic is Japan’s No.1 business co-creation company (※1), having supported over 5,000 corporations—including leading large enterprises—in new venture development and open innovation. With one of Japan’s largest BTC (Business, Technology, Creative) organizations, Relic has the unique capability to execute end-to-end processes—from business ideation and implementation to growth and various exit strategies. In the field of open innovation, Relic has established and operated JV/co-creation initiatives and the 'DUALii' co-creation scheme, directly invested in over 40 domestic and international startups, launched and managed VC funds, and provided support for corporate venture capital (CVC) establishment and operations. Furthermore, with bases across 18 prefectures nationwide, Relic actively contributes