Innovation is seen as the key to economic success in the country, given the scarcity of natural resources and its rapidly ageing population. A renewed focus on achieving this in both the private and public sectors makes Japan the ideal market for European companies to enter.
Main City: Nagoya
Population: 7,484,000 people, ranking 4/47 prefectures (2015) [1]
Area: 5,153 km2 [2]
Main City: Akita
Population: 945,000 people ranking 38/47 (2021)
Area: 11,638 km2
Main City: Aomori
Population: 1,221,000 people, ranking 31/47 prefectures (2021)
Area: 9,645 km2
Geographical / Landscape description
ainia centro tecnológico – from ESainia is a technology centre with the legal status of a...
Main City: Chiba
Population: 6,224,000 people, ranking 6/47 prefecture (2021)
Area: 5,156.15 km²
Geographical / Landscape description
Although the Chubu area only comprises about 10% of the national area in geographical terms, it accounts for 20% of the nationwide share in shipments of manufactured goods and is a catalyst driving Japanese economy with its manufacturing base.
The Chugoku Region is located in the western part of Japan. It borders the regions of Kyushu, Shikoku and Kansai, making it a transportation hub for all of western Japan.
From the early 2000s to 2020, the MEXT and the METI actively promoted the “Knowledge Cluster Initiative” and the “Industrial Cluster Project” as a means to reinforce international competitiveness and regional development and accelerate the formation of clusters.
Main City: Matsuyama
Population: 1,386,000 people, ranking 28/47 prefecture (2015) [1]
Area: 5,676 km2 [2]
Main City: Fukui
Population: 787,000 people ranking 43/47 prefecture (2015) [1]
Area: 4,188 km2 [2]
Main City: Fukuoka
Population: 5,103,000 people, ranking 9/47 prefecture (2015) [1]
Area: 4,846 km2 [2]
Main City: Fukushima
Population: 1,812,000 people, ranking 21/47 prefecture (2021)
Area: 13,784 km2
Main City: Gifu
Population: 2,033,000 people ranking 17/47 prefecture (2015) [1]
Area: 10,621 km2 [2]
in May 2015, METI published revised guidelines for the Special R&D costs Tax credit scheme, necessitated by the tax reforms of the Abe government in April 2015. The Special R&D costs Tax Reduction scheme is one of the R&D tax credit schemes where it is possible to cut part of the costs for experimental research.
In 2015, in order to promote open innovation in enterprises, the Abe Tax Reforms introduced a number of enlargements in this programme:
Main City: Maebashi
Population: 1,927,000 people ranking 18/47 prefecture (2021)
Area: 6,363 km2
Main City: Hiroshima
Population: 2,845,000 people, ranking 12/47 prefectures (2015) [1]
Area: 8,476 km2 [2]
Main City: Sapporo
Main City: Kobe
Population: 5,537,000 people, ranking 7/47 prefecture (2015) [1]
Area: 8,396 km2 [2]
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).
