Investing in Japan

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Investing in Japan’s local regions

In order to contribute to revitalization of local regions, JETRO provides foreign companies or foreign-affiliated companies considering investing in Japan’s local regions with information and support under the cooperation of local governments and related entities.

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Begin your future with Japan's local regions: There are abundant business opportunities in Japan's local regions. Take advantage of the strengths of these areas and explore new possibilities for your business.

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Featured regions

Fukushima: Innovation hub for high-quality medical devices: Fukushima is one of Japan's top-ranking prefectures in the production of medical devices. The presence of leading global medical device manufacturers and many local companies with distinguished craftsmanship results in world-class medical device development and production.

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Fukuoka: Where open innovation begins: Fukuoka Prefecture, the heart of the Kyushu economy, has become a center for global companies and research institutes that employ advanced technologies. The area of IoT in particular has rapidly grown in the region as a result of open innovation.

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Source: Videos created by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

Why invest in Japan's local regions?

Find information on attractive investment environments throughout Japan's local regions, including incentives, and examples of foreign-affiliated companies conducting business there. Also, learn about a variety of JETRO's support activities for foreign companies and foreign-affiliated companies considering investing or expanding business in Japan's local regions.

Why Invest in Japan's Local Region? - Unlimited Business Opportunities Await -

This content informs you the advantages of the investment environment Japan's local regions offer. We have three sections of reasons "Why1 : -Business Opportunity Beyond Tokyo-", "Why2 : -Leverage the Power of Innovation-", "Why3 : -Safe & Secure Business Environment-".

Why invest in Japan's local regions? (3.3MB)

Foreign-Affiliated Companies Contributing to Local Economies

This content introduces foreign-affiliated companies contributing to local economies in Japan through "Export promotion of local products", "Job creation", "Attracting foreign tourists", and "Research and development".

Foreign-Affiliated Companies Contributing to Local Economies (2.0MB)

Prefectural and municipal incentives

Incentives offered by local governments for foreign-affiliated companies

Prefectural and municipal incentives

Cost estimation of setting up business in Japan's local regions

Clear comparisons with visual aids of start-up costs for subsidiaries in major Japanese cities (with Tokyo assigned the value of 100) as well as business costs that are cheaper than those of other major cities in the world.

Initial costs in areas beside Tokyo

Success Stories

Articles based on interviews with foreign-affiliated companies that have successfully entered the Japanese market, introducing their reasons for investment, ideas and future plans.

Success Stories

Support for foreign-affiliated companies

Services provided by JETRO to support foreign-affiliated companies in Japan in expanding their business throughout the country's local regions.

Support for foreign-affiliated companies

Reference

Media coverage :
The article was originally published in the November 2018 issue of the ACCJ Journal.

Inside know-how : Local initiatives ease barriers for setting up shop in Japan(1.6MB)

Where to invest in Japan's local regions

Find information by prefecture or city, collected in cooperation with local governments and organizations that can help you choose a destination for investment. Become familiar with major industries (scale, characteristics and R&D facilities), business climates (infrastructure, incentives and government support) and more. Comparisons of information and data by prefecture are also available.

Navigation system for investing in Japan’s local regions

Basic Information of prefecture and major cities

Type	Hokkaido, Tohoku	Kanto	Chubu	Kansai	Chugoku, Shikoku	Kyushu, Okinawa
Prefectures	Hokkaido Aomori Iwate Miyagi Akita Yamagata Fukushima	Ibaraki Tochigi Gunma Saitama Chiba Tokyo Kanagawa	Niigata Toyama Ishikawa Nagano Gifu Yamanashi Shizuoka Aichi Mie	Fukui Shiga Kyoto Hyogo Osaka Nara Wakayama	Tottori Shimane Okayama Hiroshima Yamaguchi Kagawa Tokushima Ehime Kochi	Fukuoka Saga Nagasaki Kumamoto Oita Miyazaki Kagoshima Okinawa
Major cities	Sapporo Sendai Fukushima Koriyama	Saitama Chiba Yokohama Kawasaki Sagamihara	Niigata Shizuoka Hamamatsu Toyota Toyohashi Tahara Seto Kitanagoya Kiyosu Nagoya Tsushima	Nagahama Kyoto Kobe Osaka Higashiosaka Sakai	Okayama Hiroshima Matsuyama Saijo	Fukuoka Kitakyushu Kumamoto

Logistics and Infrastructure maps

Japan boasts a highly effective transportation system, which provides reliable and punctual access to all corners of the country. The high-speed Shinkansen bullet trains connect cities throughout Japan to its capital, Tokyo, as does the extensive highway network. There are also numerous ports in constant use for domestic and international transport.