Investing in Japan

Mie

The information below is as of March 2011.

• 
• 
• 

• Basic Information
• Regional Profile
• Services for investment in Japan
• Available incentives
• Links to Related Websites

Basic Information

Population*1	1.85 million
Labor force*1	0.92 million
Area*2	5,762 km²
GDP*3	33,757,951 million yen
Major industries	Transportation equipment and machinery, electronic components, chemicals, general machinery and equipment, electrical machinery and equipment
Developing industries	Information and communications; medical, health and welfare; fuel cells; hydrogen energy; robotics
Offices in Japan	Tokyo / Osaka
JETRO office	JETRO Mie

*1 Population Census 2010, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications　*2 Area data 2010, Geospatial Information Authority of Japan *3 Prefectural Citizens' Economic Accounts 2008, Cabinet Office

*Ask the local government for the latest data.

Regional Profile

Strength of the region's industries and economy

Mie Prefecture contains one of Japan’s foremost petrochemical complexes and maintains a strong concentration of advanced materials manufacturing technology companies. In addition, the prefecture boasts well developed automotive, semiconductor, liquid crystal, medical, health and welfare, etc., industries. Thus, Mie Prefecture offers a concentration of industrial and research facilities in everything from materials and parts to manufacturing and assembly, meaning that it offers tremendous potential to foreign firms looking for expanding their business opportunities. In addition, Mie Prefecture is a part of the Greater Nagoya Initiative (GNI)* and promotes investment in Japan via a wide-ranging regional network. The Greater Nagoya Region has a GDP of 459bil US dollars (2004), and was ranked 17th worldwide in 2006 when compared with data from other countries.
*The Greater Nagoya Initiative (GNI) works to unify the prefectures, cities, industries, universities and research institutions within its target region (the area within a 100km radius of Nagoya) to promote international industrial exchange in order to bring top-level companies, technology, people and information to the region and thereby further open up its industrial economy to the world.

Strength of the region's education/research institutes

Mie Prefecture offers eight universities, including a comprehensive national university.

Strength of the region's industry-government-academia collaboration

Mie Prefecture is working to develop new, core industries within the regional economy through the strategic encouragement of leading-edge companies to establish facilities in the prefecture. Specifically, by encouraging collaboration between the internationally competitive liquid crystal, semiconductor, etc., manufacturing and assembly industries and the advanced materials and parts industries which support them, the transition can be made to a knowledge-intensive industry which produces products with greater added value.

<Crystal Valley Framework<
By creating a global consolidation of flat-panel display (liquid crystal, etc.) industries, a diverse, strong industry framework is being developed which in turn invigorates the region. Promotion of industry, academia and government collaboration, such as through display research groups, and infrastructure creation for the development of FPD-related industry is being carried out.

<Silicon Valley Framework<
By creating a global consolidation of IT (semiconductor, etc.) industries, a diverse, strong industry framework is being developed which in turn invigorates the region.

<Medical Valley Framework>
An organic network (industrial cluster) of the medical, health and welfare industries is being created, and, together with the development of new industrial concentrations, the region is being transformed into one which offers high quality products and services. In addition to building networks, hosting study groups, supporting research and development and cultivating sales channels, a network of clinical trials and healthcare as well as international business collaborations is being developed. Also, exchanges are being undertaken with Germany, Sweden, Denmark and China in order to create a truly international industrial cluster.

<Medical, Healthcare and Welfare Industry Potential surrounding Mie Prefecture>
Pharmaceutical Industry Concentration due to the Existence of Regional Merits: Thanks to the availability of cheap land on a suitable scale and easy access to the major consumer markets of Osaka and Nagoya, companies are steadily moving into Mie Prefecture; in particular the Iga region has seen an increase in the number of pharmaceutical and cosmetic manufacturers. Also, Yokkaichi City has seen new business expansion, such as active pharmaceutical ingredient makers, due to its central location with the local petroleum complex.

Strength of the region's infrastructure

1. Easy access to all parts of Japan thanks to Mie’s location in the center of the Japanese island chain
2. Ideally situated within the two major economic zones of Chubu and Kansai
3. Easy access to both domestic and overseas destinations through the Central Japan International Airport

<Land>

Expressway network: Higashi-Meihan Expressway, Shin-Meishin Expressway, Ise Expressway, Isewangan Expressway, National Highway (Route 25 (aka: Meihan Highway) *has toll-free sections (Kameyama - Tenri)

<Air>

Central Japan International Airport operates 24 hours a day: Provides access to North America, Central and South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Oceania, the Pacific and elsewhere

<Sea>

Regular routes to Asia and America: The Port of Yokkaichi, together with the Port of Nagoya in neighboring Aichi Prefecture, are both designated as Super Central Ports.(Regular Route Network), 18 routes to America (Long Beach, Oakland), Korea, China (Shanghai, Dalian, etc.), Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and elsewhere.

<Railway>

The Kintetsu and JR lines offer access from Nagoya to Kyoto, Osaka and other major cities.

(Related information)

• Industrial cluster, project: Valley Projects (Crystal, Silicon, Medical)

Foreign company(s) operating in the industry

In addition to its close proximity to client semiconductor manufacturers and the ease of access that the transportation network provides, the prompt, ‘one-stop’ service offered by Mie Prefecture and others as well as the support offered by Tsu City are the reason that Mie is one of Nihon Cabot Microelectronics' four international bases of operation. A number of companies have set up shop in Mie.

Company name	Nihon Cabot Microelectronics KK
Industry sector	Manufacture, sales, research and development of abrading agents for use in semiconductor manufacturing
Date of entry	February 1998 (date of conclusion of establishment agreement)
Motivation for selecting region	Geographic conditions (located in the center of Japan; allows easy coverage of all of Japan; industrial park is close to an expressway allowing easy access) Cost of land, etc., is cheap Mie Prefecture’s responsiveness and ‘one-stop’ service
Support provided by local government or JETRO	Received ‘one-stop’ service with regard to all applications, such as building inspections, environmental, fire control, roads, and water applications
Comments	We narrowed down our site candidates to Japan because it is the development hub of Asia and has fully developed infrastructure. We looked a variety of locations within Japan and settled on Mie Prefecture, among other reasons, because of its ease of access and its proximity to ports allowing us to receive imports from our headquarters in the United States and export goods to China and Taiwan. The prefecture has continued to support us after out establishment, which is one of the reasons we have expanded our factory and established a new research and development wing.

Services for investment in Japan

Menu of services	Fees charged?	Content of services
Support for establishing a base
Providing information on procedures for investing in Japan	No	‘One-stop’ and speedy support
Arranging the meetings needed to establish a base (real estate, manpower services)	No	‘One-stop’ and speedy support
Introduction of available properties and advice on hiring personnel	No	‘One-stop’ and speedy support
Providing information on permits and licensing procedures	No	‘One-stop’ and speedy support
Providing information on subsidy programs	No	Valley Framework Leading-edge Industry Business Establishment Promotion Subsidy, Core Industry Business Establishment Promotion Subsidy, Research and Development Facility Establishment Promotion Subsidy, etc. Not only prefectural subsidies but also information on municipal subsidies will be made available.

Available incentives

• Industry Cluster Promotion Subsidy: offered to companies that will become an industrial cluster core company (information and technology-related) (15% of subsidy target investment amount; a maximum of 9 billion yen)

• Valley Framework Leading-edge Industry Business Establishment Promotion Subsidy: a preferential system aimed at Valley Framework-related industries and companies connected with fuel cells, robotics and home information appliances (10 or 15% of subsidy target investment amount; a maximum of 500 million yen)

• Core Industry Business Establishment Promotion Subsidy: a preferential system aimed at core industries in Mie, such as transportation equipment and machinery (fixed subsidy of 500 million yen + 80% of corporate enterprise tax and prefectural inhabitants tax paid following start-up (capped at 500 million yen); total maximum of 1 billion yen)

• Research and Development Facility Establishment Promotion Subsidy: a preferential system aimed at companies establishing or expanding their research and development facilities (max of 500 million yen). A majority of municipalities in Mie offer exemptions or reductions for fixed asset taxes.

• Industrial location guide: Industrial Investment Guide of Mie
• Incentive: Preferential Treatment System

Links to Related Websites

Local governments and related organizations

• Official website: Mie prefectural government
• Industrial location guide: Industrial Investment Guide of Mie

Incentives

• Incentive: Preferential Treatment System

Industry cluster plans

• Valley Projects (Crystal, Silicon, Medical)

Transportation / living

• Healthcare: Mie International Exchange Foundation
• International exchange: The Mie International Exchange Foundation
• Other living information : Tourism information about Mie prefecture