Japan's Silicon Valley? Osaka hopes hi-tech startups will reverse economic woes

A startup incubator in an Osaka shopping mall lets customers test experimental prototypes such as drones and holograms. Its aim is to stop the city's brain drain

At first glance, Grand Front Osaka in the heart of Japan's second city looks like any high-end international mall. Fashionistas parade their latest purchases from upscale boutiques, while expensively dishevelled youths cruise endless escalators, coffees in hand.

But amid global retailers such as Muji, Panasonic and Zara nestle dozens of shops with less familiar names: Enellege, Au, and Kinki University Fisheries Restaurant. These are not traditional stores but one-off outlets offering exclusive new products and services still under development.