September 3, 2020
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) will hold a series of Regional Business Conferences (RBC) projects in which municipalities and other entities will invite senior management and other representatives from overseas companies to Japan, explain their attractiveness to such companies as sales representatives, and hold a business matching event between the companies and regional companies. METI hereby announces that METI and JETRO adopted new RBC projects involving such business matching event as follows.
Outline of the RBC
In the coming few years, Japan will host several large international events, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, and these events are expected to attract international attention to Japan. Taking this opportunity, METI will encourage municipalities to convey information on attractive business environments in their regions to the rest of the world.
As one of the efforts to this end, METI and JETRO will hold a series of RBC projects. In these projects, they, in collaboration with municipalities that are active in attracting overseas companies to their regions, will invite overseas companies to Japan that are highly interested in investment in specific regions or fields. The heads of municipalities will then explain their attractiveness to such companies as sales representatives, and a business matching event between overseas companies and regional companies will be held.
Adopted RBC projects (FY2020 projects)
METI and JETRO adopted two successful projects as below on September 3, 2020, as the FY2020 RBC projects.
(1) Project for Encouraging Overseas Companies to Directly Invest in the Tohoku Region Taking Advantage of Open Innovation toward Recovery from Damage Caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Creation of New Industries Involving Disaster Prevention
Host municipalities: Sendai City and Fukushima Prefecture
Subject: Attracting overseas companies in the fields related to disaster prevention and damage reduction
Schedule: February 2021
(2) Collaborative Project for Establishing a Startup Ecosystem in the Keihanshin Area
Host municipalities: Kyoto Prefecture, Osaka Prefecture, Hyogo Prefecture, Kyoto City, Osaka City and Kobe City
Subject: Attracting overseas companies in the fields of smart city, mobility and healthcare
Schedule: From November 2020 to February 2021
