Investing in Japan
Regional Information
Fukushima
～Advanced Stage Fukushima～
- Your Regional Guide
Inquiry form
Industry and Labor Department, Business Setup Group of Commercial
West Wing of prefecture office building 10F 2-16 Sugitsuma-cho, Fukushima-city, Fukushima Prefecture 960-8670
TEL: +81-24-521-7280 FAX: +81-24-521-7935
- Basic Information
- Regional Profile
- Services for investment in Japan
- Available incentives
- Living environment for foreigners
- Links to Related Websites
Basic Information
| Population | 209 million (Male: 102 million, Female: 107 million) (2005) |
|---|---|
| Labor force | 132 million (Male: 0.67 million, Female: 0.65 million) (2005) |
| Area | 13,783km² (2007) |
| GDP | 7.8301billion yen (2005) |
| Major industries | Information and telecommunications, electronic parts, electrical machinery, chemicals, beverages |
| Developing industries | Business related to transportation machinery, semiconductors, and medical and welfare equipment |
| Offices overseas | Shanghai, China |
| Offices in Japan | Tokyo/Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture /Sapporo City, Hokkaido Prefecture /Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture |
| JETRO office | JETRO Fukushima |
Regional Profile
Strength of the region's industries and economy
Fukushima Prefecture is located 200km from the Tokyo metropolitan area. Since rapid transportation systems are well developed, the formation of various industrial clusters has been advancing there. Judging from the number of people employed and the value of production output by industry, the percentage of secondary industries is higher than the national average, and the economy is manufacturing-based. Fukushima Prefecture is situated along the Pacific coast and is divided into three regions. The Hamadori region has Onahama Port and Soma Port, the Nakadori region has the Shinkansen passing through it, and the Aizu region borders on Niigata Prefecture. These are the home to clusters of enterprises suited to their respective regional characteristics.
Strength of the region's education/research institutes
Fukushima Prefecture has nine universities, five junior colleges, one technical college, and 114 high schools, as well as three prefectural advanced technical colleges. There are a total of six science and engineering universities and technical colleges. Among them is the prefectural University of Aizu, founded in 1993, which is the first university in Japan to specialize in computer science. The city of Koriyama is home to the Fukushima Technology Centre, which is an industrial testing and research organization operated by the prefecture. The Hi-Tech Plaza offers consultations for industry and operates Technology Support Centers in the three cities of Fukushima, Aizu-Wakamatsu, and Iwaki.
Industry-government-academia collaboration
In Fukushima Prefecture, clustering has advanced among enterprises related to transportation machinery, semiconductors, and medical and welfare equipment. The enterprises related to transportation machinery have organized the Fukushima Prefecture Council for the Transportation Machinery-Related Industries (328 members), those related to semiconductors have organized the Fukushima Prefecture Semiconductor Industry Association (118 members), and those related to medical and welfare equipment have organized the Fukushima Prefecture Medical and Welfare Equipment Study Group (104 institutional members and 114 individual members). They are seeking further clustering in their respective industries, and they are pursuing various measures to that end.
Strength of the region's infrastructure
The Tohoku Expressway runs north-south while the Ban-etsu Expressway runs east-west across the prefecture. The two intersect in the middle of the prefecture. Meanwhile, construction is proceeding steadily on the Joban Expressway, which will link Tokyo and Sendai along the Pacific coast, and all lanes are scheduled to be open in fiscal year 2014. In addition to the Tohoku Shinkansen, there is also Fukushima Airport, which has three scheduled domestic flights and two international, thus forming a complete system of high-speed land and air transportation. The prefecture also possesses two major ports in Onahama and Souma to enable solid support of sea transportation.
<Land>
The Tohoku Expressway runs north-south while the Ban-etsu Expressway runs east-west, and the two intersect in the middle of the prefecture. Travel to the Kansai region in western Japan is faster by the Ban-etsu Expressway and Hokuriku Expressway than by routing through Tokyo. Construction of the Joban Expressway is progressing in the Hamadori region along the Pacific coast. The section south of Soma is scheduled to open to traffic in fiscal year 2011, and all lanes between Tokyo and Sendai are scheduled to open by fiscal year 2014.
<Air>
Fukushima Airport has three scheduled domestic flights (to Sapporo, Osaka, and Okinawa) and two scheduled international flights (to Seoul and Shanghai). It is possible to ship freight directly to these destination points, of course, as well as to route cargo through Kansai International Airport to any point in the world.
<Sea>
The major port of Onahama has scheduled foreign trade routes to (a) Pusan, Ulsan, and Shanghai, and (b) to Pusan every week. There is also coastwise feeder service (two ships weekly to Tokyo, Yokohama, and Sendai) that can be used for trade to all locations worldwide. The prefecture has also developed another major port in Soma.
<Railway>
The Tohoku Shinkansen line traverses the prefecture across the middle, with three stations at Fukushima, Koriyama, and Shirakawa. Since the fastest train from Shirakawa to Tokyo takes about 75 minutes, there are quite a few people who commute to work in Tokyo. In the other direction, the trip from Fukushima to Sendai takes about 25 minutes. Other, conventional rail lines include the Tohoku Main Line, which parallels the Shinkansen; the Joban Line that runs through Hamadori; and the Ban-etsu-To and Ban-etsu-Sai Lines, which run from Iwaki through Koriyama and Aizu-Wakamatsu to Niigata.
Foreign company(s) operating in the industry
There are 14 foreign corporations (those with 25% or more foreign ownership), including Spansion Japan Limited, Solectron Global Service Company, ON Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd., Nippon Becton, Dickinson and Company, and Johnson and Johnson K.K.
Services for investment in Japan
| Menu of services | Fees charged? | Content of services |
|---|---|---|
| Providing market information | ||
| Advice on market participation | No | It provides all types of information concerning the prefecture, and staff members also provide consultation services. |
| Support for establishing a base | ||
| Listing of potential customers and partners | No | Subcontractor companies are introduced with the cooperation of the Prefectural Industry Promotion Center |
| Support for establishing a base | ||
| Providing incubation facilities or other facilities | Yes | Introductions are provided to the Fukushima Station West Exit Incubation Room and the Koriyama Regional Technopolis Manufacturing Incubation Center |
| Providing incubation facilities or other facilities | No | Consultations are offered by the staff |
| Providing information on procedures for investing in Japan | No | Consultations are offered by the staff |
| Arranging the meetings needed to establish a base (real estate, manpower services) | No | Consultations are offered by the staff |
| Introduction of available properties and advice on hiring personnel | No | Consultations are offered by the staff |
| Providing information on permits and licensing procedures | No | Consultations are offered by the staff |
| Providing information on subsidy programs | No | Consultations are offered by the staff |
Available incentives
The prefecture has its own system of corporate relocation subsidies under the Fukushima Prefecture Strategic Corporate Incentive Subsidy. The amount of a subsidy is calculated from the size of the company's investment and the number of employees. The upper limit is 3.5 billion yen. There is also a system of tax exemption for real estate acquisition at the time of relocation (subject to requirements for size of investment) that applies everywhere in the prefecture.
Living environment for foreigners
| Health services catering to foreigners | There are many medical institutions capable of dealing with patients in English, Chinese, Korean and other foreign languages. |
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Links to Related Websites
- Fukushima Prefecture
- Industrial Location Guide to Fukushima
- Fukushima Travel Guide
- Easy-Navi, Fukushima
- Fukushima International Association
