Investing in Japan
Regional Information
Ehime
Ehime, Shikoku’s Largest Manufacturing Base -- Ehime, “Gateway to the Shikoku Region” --
- Your Regional Guide: Hiroaki Oda
Inquiry form
Industrial Policy Division, Economic and Labor Department
4-4-2 Ichibancho, Matsuyama-city, Ehime Prefecture 790-8570
TEL: +81-89-941-6077 FAX: +81-89-933-2554
- Basic Information
- Regional Profile
- Services for investment in Japan
- Available incentives
- Living environment for foreigners
- Links to Related Websites
Basic Information
| Population | 1.44 million (Male: 0.68 million, Female: 0.77 million) (2008) |
|---|---|
| Labor force | 0.73 million (Male: 0.41 million, Female: 0.31 million) |
| Area | 5,677km² （2006） |
| GDP | 4,760 billion yen |
| Major industries | Paper/pulp, nonferrous metal industry, chemical, shipbuilding industry, Electrical machinery, |
| Developing industries | Medical care/welfare, information & communications, environment, biotechnology, daily necessities |
| Offices in Japan | Tokyo/Osaka |
| JETRO office | JETRO Ehime |
Regional Profile
Strength of the region's industries and economy
Ehime Prefecture is the largest manufacturing prefecture in Shikoku, accounting for about 40% of Shikoku’s total shipment value for manufactured goods. Ehime is characterized by high percentages of companies in the paper/pulp, non-ferrous metal, chemical product, and shipbuilding industries.
Shikokuchuo City hosts a full and diverse range of small to large paper companies, constituting one of the world’s greatest concentrations of companies in the paper industry. The cities of Niihama and Saijo are home to major chemical and non-ferrous metal manufacturers, while the local shipbuilding companies of Imabari have experienced rapid growth driven by rising orders. Major producers of carbon fiber and aramid fiber have set up operations in Matsuyama City, the key consumption center in Ehime Prefecture. The production of agricultural and marine goods and the processing of foodstuffs help underpin the economy of the prefecture’s southern area.
Strength of the region's education/research institutes
From the end of the Edo Period and the Meiji Period marking the dawn of modern Japan through the subsequent boom stretching from the Taisho to the Showa Periods, Ehime Prefecture has produced large numbers of personnel for social, economic, educational and cultural endeavors.
Today, Ehime Prefecture has a great diversity of educational institutions, including universities, specialist colleges and junior colleges specializing in medicine and health care/welfare, industrial technical colleges, IT vocational schools, and junior high schools offering combined junior/senior high school curricula. Companies expanding into Ehime Prefecture have been generous in praising the prefecture’s serious and diligent employees and their high retention rate as well as in expressing their satisfaction with their choice of Ehime.
Industry-government-academia collaboration
Ehime Prefecture is seeking to create new businesses and new industries by forming industry-academia-government networks. The Ehime Industrial Promotion Foundation in Matsuyama City has undertaken a variety of joint R&D projects through industry-academia-government collaboration with private companies and the Ehime Institute of Industrial Technology, with technology seeds from Ehime University at their core, while the Toyo Industry Creation Center in Niihama City, together with Ehime University and local companies, is implementing core manufacturing personnel training projects featuring partnerships between small and medium-sized enterprises and academic institutions that create programs for training highly-skilled personnel in the maintenance of manufacturing plants. In addition to developing and commercializing new products, new technologies, and new engineering methods through inter-company collaboration between small and medium-sized companies in the prefecture and medium-sized corporations, universities, public laboratories, etc., and through industry-academia-government collaboration, the prefecture
is pushing ahead with strategic approaches, including support for new business development and sales channel development by companies in the prefecture through partnership/cooperation with trading companies and financial institutions.
Strength of the region's infrastructure
Ehime Prefecture, long a key location for maritime transport
Ehime Prefecture presently serves as a hub for transport networks in western Japan, and efforts are being made to improve its high-speed transport infrastructure to extend the radius of domestic day-trip transport and to make all key points in the prefecture accessible within an hour. The prefecture also offers international cargo liner service to and from cities throughout East Asia as well as scheduled international flights between Matsuyama and Shanghai and Matsuyama and Seoul, making it truly a gateway to Shikoku from overseas.
<Land>
Improvements to expressways have connected the four prefectural capitals in Shikoku, while the full-scale opening of the Shimanami Kaido has linked the prefecture with Honshu as well. Hiroshima can be reached by expressway in 3 hours and Kobe in 3 hours 40 minutes. Work is underway to extend expressways toward Uwajima in the expectations of providing even greater convenience.
<Air>
Matsuyama Airport is very conveniently located a mere 15 minutes by car from the center of the prefectural capital Matsuyama City. The airport serves domestic and international routes flying to and from eight cities domestically (including Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya) and two cities (Shanghai and Seoul) internationally. This network enables quick travel from Matsuyama to Tokyo (80 minutes), Osaka (50 minutes), Shanghai (100 minutes) and Seoul (95 minutes).
<Sea>
There are 54 ports and harbors in Ehime Prefecture, six of which have been classified as designated ports. The ports of Matsuyama, Imabari, and Mishima-Kawanoe provide cargo liner service to Shanghai, Pusan, Manila and other important Asian ports, with 20 scheduled departures along 13 routes. The container cargo volume for Ehime Prefecture as a whole exceeds 100,000 TEU annually, evidence of its place as a central hub for maritime logistics in Shikoku.
<Railway>
JR Matsuyama Station has become a focal point for railway transport in Ehime Prefecture; special express trains (generally one per hour) can get to Osaka in as little as 3 hours 38 minutes, to Okayama in as little as 2 hours 38 minutes, and to Takamatsu in as little as 2 hours 20 minutes.
Foreign company(s) operating in the industry
Foreign companies have been moving into Ehime Prefecture drawn by its outstanding labor force, world-class R&D, close industry-academia-government collaboration, and the presence of world-famous manufacturers in the paper/pulp, non-ferrous metal, chemical, shipbuilding and high-function fiber industries: Sumitomo Dow Limited, Sumika Bayer Urethane Co., Ltd., Nippon Ketjen Co., Ltd., SEN Corporation (an SHI and Axcelis Company), Ferraz Shawmut Japan Inc., Fuji Fire and Marine Insurance Co., Ltd., A.G. International Chemical Co., Inc., etc.
Services for investment in Japan
| Menu of services | Fees charged? | Content of services |
|---|---|---|
| Providing market information | ||
| Advice on market participation | No | JETRO Ehime Industrial Internationalization Center (TEL: 089-952-6055) Advisors will provide information. |
| Consulting by external experts and advisers | Yes | JETRO Ehime Industrial Internationalization Center Advisors will introduce certified tax accountant offices knowledgeable in international operations. |
| Arranging appointments with potential customers and partners | Yes | JETRO Ehime Industrial Internationalization Center Advisors will introduce consultant companies affiliated with local financial institutions. |
| Support for establishing a base | ||
| Monitoring surveys (evaluation of products and services) | Yes | JETRO Ehime Industrial Internationalization Center Advisors will introduce consultant companies affiliated with local financial institutions. |
| Listing of potential customers and partners | No | JETRO Ehime Industrial Internationalization Center Advisors will provide lists. |
| Listing of potential customers and partners | No | JETRO Ehime Industrial Internationalization Center Advisors will obtain appointments. |
| Support for establishing a base | ||
| Providing incubation facilities or other facilities | Yes | Tenant facilities available in Item Ehime, where the JETRO Ehime Industrial Internationalization Center is located. |
| Providing incubation facilities or other facilities | Yes | JETRO Ehime Industrial Internationalization Center Advisors will introduce consultant companies affiliated with local financial institutions. |
| Providing information on procedures for investing in Japan | No | JETRO Ehime Industrial Internationalization Center Advisors will provide information. |
| Arranging the meetings needed to establish a base (real estate, manpower services) | No | JETRO Ehime Industrial Internationalization Center Advisors will made interview arrangements. |
| Introduction of available properties and advice on hiring personnel | No | JETRO Ehime Industrial Internationalization Center Advisors will provide advice. |
| Providing information on permits and licensing procedures | No | JETRO Ehime Industrial Internationalization Center Advisors will provide information. |
| Providing information on subsidy programs | No | Concierges will provide information. |
Support service
The JETRO Ehime Industrial Internationalization Center, set up by JETRO Ehime and operated jointly by Ehime Prefecture and local trade and investment organizations, provides help to all foreign and foreign-affiliated companies considering investments in Ehime Prefecture. The Center, in conjunction with JETRO Ehime, Ehime Prefecture, local trade and investment organizations, and commercial and industrial groups, provides information on various procedures and the selection of partner candidates.
Database of candidate partners
（1.23MB）Available incentives
The JETRO Ehime Industrial Internationalization Center, set up by JETRO Ehime and run in cooperation with Ehime Prefecture, Ehime Prefecture Industry and Trade Promotion Association, and Ehime FA Zett, provides companies with one-stop service in finding suitable investments in Japan, providing market and customer information, and supporting start-ups of business locations. Ehime Prefecture subsidizes set percentages of fixed assets invested in plant construction by manufacturing and distribution (truck cargo transport, warehousing, wholesaling, packaging) companies, and offers subsidies corresponding to the numbers of full-time laborers newly employed. Programs that provide preferential subsidies are also available to companies expanding into the industrial park established by the prefecture (Toyo Industrial Park), venture companies, call centers and other information & communication companies.
Living environment for foreigners
| Living environment | Ehime Prefecture has a warm climate and pleasant natural surroundings, with coastlines to the north and west and mountains in the south, and residents can enjoy lifestyles that offer significant comfort for value. The low cost of living and high rate of home ownership in comparison with nationwide averages as well as ample medical care facilities make for an environment friendly to foreign residents. Ehime Prefecture has 172 international exchange organizations, including the Ehime Prefectural International Center, that provide consultations on daily life to foreign residents, arrange volunteer interpreters and supply useful information on day-to-day matters. |
|---|---|
| Health services catering to foreigners | Ehime Prefecture has 554 hospitals and clinics capable of dealing with patients in English and 9 able to handle Chinese-speaking patients, and specific programs have been established to provide medical services to foreign residents. |
Links to Related Websites
- Ehime Prefectural Government
- INVEST EHIME
- Industry of Ehime
- EPIC（Ehime Prefectural International Association)
- Ehime Tourism Information
- Immigration Office Matsuyama Branch
