This report aims to help foreign investors make informed investment decisions by highlighting the attractiveness of particular regions in terms of well-developed infrastructure, availability of skilled workers, access to potential subcontractors and customers but also in terms of industry specific regional cluster.
It shows that most companies in Japan are concentrated in three regions; Kanto, Kansai and Chubu and their respective prefectures; Tokyo, Osaka and Aichi. Of these, Tokyo and Osaka are the most economically advanced areas in Japan. However, by analysing the regional distribution of firms by types of industry, this report reveals that there are some exceptions.
In Tokyo for example, regarded as the economic centre of Japan, the market concentration in the consulting and advertising industry is very high (90%) while that of the automobile industry is quite low (25%). Therefore, if you were to open a business in the service sector, Tokyo would be the most appropriate place for you while for a business in the manufacturing sector, you might want to consider another region.
By understanding these subtle differences, foreign investors should be better prepared when deciding where to set up their new business in Japan.
Picture: Topography of Japan
Picture copyright: Wikipedia under the GNU Free Documentation License
This website and related activities are managed by the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation, a joint venture between the European Commission's Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) and the Japanese Government's Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry (METI).
This support is available for EU companies only. Please note that the validation process may take up to a couple of days and will be confirmed to you by email.
Hundreds of web pages with up-to-date information on Japan, more than 400 market reports and recorded webinars available as well as a lot of detailed information on Japanese business culture.