Investing in Japan
Regional Information
Kagawa
Brilliant Kagawa
- Your Regional Guide
Inquiry form
Industry Promotion Office, Commerce, Industry and Labor Department
4-1-10 Bancho, Takamatsu-city, Kagawa Prefecture 760-8570
TEL: +81-87-832-3354 FAX: +81-87-806-0210
Basic Information
| Population | 1.01 million (Male: 0.48 million, Female: 0.52 million) (2008) |
|---|---|
| Labor force | 0.51 million (2007) |
| Area | 1,876.47km² (2006) |
| GDP | 3,880 billion yen (2005) |
| Major industries | Food, petroleum/coal, metal, general machinery and electric machinery |
| Developing industries | Nonferrous metal, petroleum/coal, beverage/feed, printing and chemical |
| Offices in Japan | Tokyo/Osaka |
| JETRO office | JETRO Kagawa |
Regional Profile
Strength of the region's industries and economy
Located in the center of Shikoku Island and across the Inland Sea from the Kinki district on the main island of Japan, Kagawa Prefecture enjoys a mild, warm, and dry climate throughout the year and has been developed historically as a center of economy, culture, and industry in Shikoku as the gateway to the main island. In the 21st century, the prefecture drafted and will implement a new policy on the economy, industries, life, and environment and covers not only its residents but also exchanges in a variety of fields with people in other parts of Japan and even foreign countries. In the economy and industry field, above all, the prefecture focuses on improving the infrastructures to ease access to the Kinki economic bloc, which is one of the largest in Japan, and to the Chubu and Tokyo economic blocs to contribute to the development of industries in the prefecture.
Strength of the region's education/research institutes
The prefecture is host to Kagawa University (national university), Shikoku Gakuin University, the Kagawa Campus of Tokushima Bunri University, Takamatsu University (private universities), two technical junior colleges, and other vocational schools, producing promising human resources. Such research institutes as Kagawa Prefectural Industrial Technology Center and AIST (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology) Shikoku conduct cutting-edge research.
Industry-government-academia collaboration
Many public core facilities have been established or moved to Kagawa Intelligent Park (KIP), including Kagawa Scientific and Industrial Research Center (FROM Kagawa), Support Center for New Industry Creation (NEXT Kagawa), Research Institute for Solvothermal Technology (RIST), Kagawa Industry Intellectualization Center Building, Faculty of Engineering of Kagawa University, and the Shikoku Center of National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). Around KIP, many private laboratories conduct research and development in leading-edge technologies, and thus R&D institutes and industry support organizations form a new town. Making the best use of the concentration of government, industry, and academia, KIP supports R&D in the promising fields of biotechnology and nanotechnology and endeavors to create a foundation for R&D and new business creation through the collaboration of government, industry, and academia. Among all the promising fields, biotechnology is still in the study phase but there are high expectations for its potential capability. The research is supported by the Knowledge Cluster Initiative of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and the Shikoku Technobridge Plan of the Shikoku Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry; Kagawa Prefecture launched its own Carbohydrate Bio-cluster Creation Project. Thus, it is a project promoted through government-industry-academia collaboration. The goal of the project is to make Kagawa a global center of rare sugar studies, creating new products and businesses using rare sugar in the medical/pharmaceutical, food and agricultural chemical fields and revitalizing the local economy.
Strength of the region's infrastructure
Sunport Takamatsu – a new-style waterfront facility satisfying the needs of the 21st century Part of the facilities in Sunport Takamatsu opened in May 2001, including Takamatsu Port Passenger Terminal Building, JR Takamatsu Station, and a city hotel. Utilizing its nationally unprecedented location where the town meets the sea, Kagawa Prefecture and Takamatsu City work together to create a new town; building a new city core that can catch up with internationalization and computerization, improving the capability of the sea/surface transportation terminal as the gateway to Shikoku Island and enhancing the function of the waterfront area to take advantage of the beautiful landscape of the Inland Sea and Tamamo Castle (Tamamo Park).
<Land>
The whole Trans Shikoku Expressway (Takamatsu Expressway) and Honshu-Shikoku Bridges including Seto Ohashi Bridge were opened to traffic, perfecting an express traffic network.
<Air>
Takamatsu Airport: regular flights to major domestic cities and Seoul
<Sea>
Takamatsu Port (designated port): regular international container lines to Shanghai, Tsingtao, and Pusan
<Railway>
One hour from Okayama Station (Sanyo Shinkansen Line) via a rapid or limited express train (Seto Ohashi Line)
Foreign company(s) operating in the industry
More than fifty foreign companies have facilities in the prefecture, including manufacturing facilities and branches. Major companies: IBM Japan, Air Liquide Japan Ltd., Asia Lithium Corporation, NMB Co., Ltd., Bayer AG, Philip Morris Japan, and many others.
Microsoft opened a Shikoku branch in July 2007.
Living environment for foreigners
| Health services catering to foreigners |
|---|
Links to Related Websites
- Kagawa Prefecture
- KAGAWA INDUSTRIAL LOCATION GUIDE
- Kagawa University
- Kagawa Prefecture tourist information
- Kagawa International Exchange Center
