JETRO Invest Japan Report 2022
Chapter2. Business Operations of Foreign-affiliated Companies in Japan Section4. Open Innovation (Collaboration and Cooperation)

1. Collaborative Partners of Foreign-affiliated Companies in Japan

Regarding the implementation status of collaboration/cooperation with partners such as Japanese companies, universities, research institutes, 41.2% of all respondents answered that they "have implemented," "had implemented in the past," or are "considering implementing" collaboration and cooperation. By industry in Japan, a high percentage in the manufacturing industry (29.4%) and services and others (25.9%) responded that they "have implemented." On the other hand, 18.0% of respondents in the retail trade industry answered that they "have not implemented, but considering now," indicating a strong willingness for implementation (Chart 2-17). New Analysis

Looking at collaborative partners (including those under consideration) by country and region of the parent company, SMEs (excluding distributors) were the most common in Asia (51.1%), while universities were the most prevalent in North America and Europe (52.1% and 46.4%, respectively) (Chart 2-18). New Analysis

Chart 2-17: Implementation Status of Collaboration/cooperation by Industry New Analysis

Chart 2-18: Collaborative Partners (Multiple answers given) New Analysis

2. Challenges in Conducting Collaboration/Cooperation

Regarding challenges in conducting collaboration/cooperation, “gathering information about potential partners” was the most common response among 44.0% of the respondents, followed by "difficulties in building adequate system within your company to collaborate and cooperate" at 36.5% (Chart 2-19).

There is a significant need to disseminate information and provide matching opportunities.

Chart 2-19: Challenges in Conducting Collaboration/cooperation (Multiple answers given)

[Column] JETRO’s Activities to Promote Collaboration and Cooperation

[Project]

Regional Business Conference (RBC)

RBC is a project to promote the attractiveness of Japan’s regional business environment to foreign companies and encourage collaboration and cooperation with local companies and universities. For regions of Japan, the project helps to attract technologies and services that can solve social issues. At the same time, it enables foreign companies to efficiently explore opportunities for collaborative partnerships with local companies, universities, research institutes, and other candidates. In fiscal 2022, JETRO will hold RBCs in the healthcare, travel tech, and food tech fields.
[Project]

Global Open Innovation

JETRO supports connecting the seeds of technologies and research results of universities and university ventures in Japan with foreign and foreign-affiliated companies and overseas universities looking to collaborate and cooperate with Japanese companies and universities. In fiscal 2022, JETRO targets the healthcare field and support open innovation initiatives by foreign and foreign-affiliated companies, such as joint R&D, in cooperation with JETRO's international business collaboration support platform "J-Bridge" and others.
[Support Cases]
Cooperation between the National Cancer Center (NCC) and foreign companies and institutions
- JETRO invited the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR) (Note) of the U.S. to Japan and arranged business meetings. As a result, FNLCR and the NCC Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center (NCC EPOC) concluded a collaboration agreement in September 2021, centered on AI diagnostics and drug discovery.
  (Note) A US national research institute that conducts research in the biomedical field, with a focus on cancer, under the umbrella of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the largest healthcare research institute in the United States.
- JETRO invited Arjuna Therapeutics, a Spanish company developing drugs for treating intractable cancer, and arranged business matchings for them. In September 2019, the company and the National Cancer Center concluded a joint research agreement on drug discovery for intractable cancers.

Go to chapter 3