Investing in Japan

Regional Information

Kawasaki city

A focal point for cutting-edge industries leading the Japanese economy

Your Regional Guide: Seiichiro Naito

Kawasaki City Concierge

International Economic Affairs and Asian Venture Business Promotion Office Economic and Labor Affairs Bureau
1, Miyamoto-cho, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-city, Kanagawa Prefecture 210-8577
TEL: +81-44-200-2314 FAX: +81-44-200-3920

Basic Information
Regional Profile
Services for investment in Japan
Available incentives
Living environment for foreigners
Links to Related Websites

Basic Information

Population	1.38 million (Male: 0.71 million, Female: 0.67 million) (May 2008)
Labor force	0.68 million (2000)
Area	144.35km² (2005)
GDP	4,704 billion yen (2003)
Major industries	Manufacturing (electronics, communications, precision machinery, petroleum/chemicals), information, service
Developing industries	New manufacturing technology, information & communications, environment, welfare/life sciences, lifestyle
Offices in Japan	Tokyo
JETRO office	JETRO Yokohama Industry & Trade Center Bldg. 2F, 2 Yamashita-cho, Naka-ku, Yokohama-city, Kanagawa Prefecture 231-0023 TEL: +81-45-222-3901 FAX: +81-45-662-4980 E-mail: yok@jetro.go.jp

Regional Profile

Strength of the region's industries and economy

Kawasaki City supported Japan’s rapid economic growth as a manufacturing city, and has since undergone a drastic transformation into an international city for cutting-edge industries that is home to many world-class hi-tech companies and R&D organizations. Situated adjacent to both Tokyo and Yokohama, the city offers very convenient transportation, and its efforts to develop quality residential areas and attractive commercial locations has made it a comfortable place to live.
The agglomeration of industrial technology and R&D functions brings great potential to Kawasaki, and companies from various sectors – automobiles/machinery, chemicals, information & communications, and the environment – have moved into both the inland areas and the seaside districts of the city. Many large corporations with global-scale business operations have located here, including such world-renowned information & communications giants as NEC, Canon, Toshiba, and Fujitsu, as well as JFE Steel, which has developed advanced environmental conservation technology, Ajinomoto, a maker of foodstuffs and amino acid products, and L’Oreal Japan, a very popular international cosmetics manufacturer.

Strength of the region's education/research institutes

Alongside some of Japan’s best-known large corporations are many small and medium-sized companies with unique technological capabilities in a variety of areas, including machinery, electronics, and metals processing. Kawasaki has earned a reputation as an industrial city for its manufacturing prowess, but many of its companies, regardless of size, have developed R&D functions. The city now has 183 corporate research institutions and 21 university and other research institutions, for a total of 204 R&D organizations and companies (“1999 Kanagawa Prefecture Science and Technology Overview Survey”). An extremely high proportion of the city’s workforce is employed in specialist/technical positions, and this concentration in terms of personnel is transforming Kawasaki into an R&D city.

Industry-government-academia collaboration

The Kanagawa Science Park (KSP), which has the largest incubation facility in Japan, the Keio University Shin-Kawasaki Town Campus, the setting for many Keio University research projects, the Shin-Kawasaki Science Park, home to the Kawasaki Business Incubation Center (KBIC), and the Techno Hub Innovation Kawasaki (THINK), where private enterprises play a major role, are providing startup support for new business creation and expansion into new fields as well as carrying out state-of-the art science and technology R&D and product development through industrial-academic collaboration.

Strength of the region's infrastructure

Keihin Coastal Area Industrial complexes, research institute and commercial sites, and commercial buildings offer companies premises for setting up new operations. The social infrastructure, too, is highly advanced, and Kawasaki City offers reliable access to electric power and industrial water, serving as it does as an “energy supply depot” that supplies about three times its own total energy consumption to the Tokyo metropolitan area. Many financial institutions also have offices in Kawasaki, so financing can be obtained under more advantageous conditions.
The support and preferential treatment programs established by Kawasaki City can also be combined with programs offered by the national and prefectural governments. Kawasaki provides one-stop service and across-the-board support in both the “hardware” and “software” aspects of business activities.

<Land>

The city is easily accessible by road, including the Shuto Expressway, industrial roads, and National Highway Route 132. Kawasaki is adjacent to the enormous Tokyo metropolitan area market (including Tokyo and Yokohama), and the infrastructure in place enables rapid and efficient transport.

<Air>

Narita Airport can be reached in 90 minutes and Haneda Airport in 13 minutes. Haneda Airport is scheduled to be internationalized and expanded in 2009 and, with the airport entrance/exit located on the Kawasaki side, these improvements will not only further shrink the distance to/from other countries in Asia but can also be expected to attract R&D functions and hotels and other commercial enterprises that will further improve convenience.

<Sea>

Kawasaki Port, an international trade port functioning as both an industrial port and a commercial port, is connected with other major ports worldwide. The port’s location in the center of Tokyo Bay and the area’s extensive expressway network make access to Kawasaki City quite convenient, even when using the nearby ports of Tokyo or Yokohama. The port is fully equipped to handle trade, and is very favorably positioned for logistics as well.

<Railway>

Tokyo Station can be reached in 18 minutes, and the Shinkansen makes it possible to travel quickly to major cities throughout Japan. JR and private railway lines also run through Kawasaki, giving it much easier access to major cities nationwide than is available to many other locales.

Foreign company(s) operating in the industry

More than 100 internationally recognized foreign companies have moved into Kawasaki, and companies such as Dell Japan, Tyco Electronics AMP, Toys ‘R’ Us Japan, and Minit Asia Pacific have their head office functions based in Kawasaki.

Company name	Dell Inc.
Industry sector	Information & communications
Date of entry	January 1997
Motivation for selecting region	At the time, Kawasaki City was actively engaged in PR activities aimed at attracting foreign companies, in particular information & communications and R&D companies. The city was also marshalling efforts to promote hi-tech industries in the hopes of building an image of Kawasaki as a hi-tech town. These conditions accorded with Dell’s own interests in many regards. The city’s location close to both Tokyo and Yokohama was beneficial to us in terms of employee commuting and visits to customers. The building into which we moved gave us not only a spacious office in a good spot near a train station, but also sufficient floor space for future needs. The building into which we moved was superior in many respects (the environment, facilities, etc.) to the several other properties that we considered. The property met our conditions, and enjoyed cost advantages over other properties.
Support provided by local government or JETRO	Active PR activities aimed at attracting foreign companies, especially information & communications and R&D companies. Efforts by Kawasaki City to promote hi-tech industries in the hopes of building an image of Kawasaki as a hi-tech town

Services for investment in Japan

Menu of services	Fees charged?	Content of services
Providing market information
Advice on market participation	No	JETRO Kawasaki International Business Information Center: advice by JETRO trade and investment consultants (consultations on trade and investment, provision of information and materials, advertising/exhibition projects, etc.)
Consulting by external experts and advisers	No	Asia Entrepreneur Village: free consultations on tax and legal affairs and on business startup by the Kawasaki City Small and Medium Enterprise Support Center JETRO Kawasaki International Business Information Center: consultations by JETRO trade and investment consultants
Support for establishing a base
Providing incubation facilities or other facilities	Free of charge (fees may be required in certain cases)	Asia Entrepreneur Village: provision of reduced rents for offices at the Techno Hub Innovation Kawasaki (THINK) location facility for fixed periods to foreign researchers and venture companies (screening by screening committee may be required) JETRO Kawasaki International Business Information Center: provision of information on incubation facilities in the city
Providing incubation facilities or other facilities	No	JETRO Kawasaki International Business Information Center: consultations by JETRO trade and investment consultants (collection/provision of information relevant to inducing investment in Japan, seminars on investing in Japan, networking activities to attract investment, dissemination/collection of information to/from foreign companies in Japan and foreign public institutions in Japan)
Providing information on procedures for investing in Japan	No	JETRO Kawasaki International Business Information Center: consultations by JETRO trade and investment consultants
Arranging the meetings needed to establish a base (real estate, manpower services)	No	Asia Entrepreneur Village: support for THINK tenants (or prospective tenants) in hiring employees and finding residences for employees
Introduction of available properties and advice on hiring personnel	No	Asia Entrepreneur Village: support for THINK tenants (or prospective tenants) in hiring employees and finding residences for employees　Introduction to incubation facilities in the city other than THINK JETRO Kawasaki International Business Information Center: provision of information on location properties and advice
Providing information on permits and licensing procedures	Yes/No	Asia Entrepreneur Village: introduction to appropriate organizations (charges may or may not apply) with regard to real estate and temporary staffing JETRO Kawasaki International Business Information Center: provision of information by JETRO trade and investment consultants
Providing information on subsidy programs	No	Asia Entrepreneur Village: provision of information on subsidy programs offered by Kawasaki City and Kanagawa Prefecture JETRO Kawasaki International Business Information Center: provision of information on subsidy programs offered by Kawasaki City and Kanagawa Prefecture

Support service

Free consultations
The Kawasaki City Small and Medium Enterprise Support Center has assigned managers (private-sector personnel) to offer advice on management improvements, technical issues, business startups, etc., and provides free consultations.

Database of candidate partners

This is a search site featuring a database of information on small and medium-sized companies in the city to promote utilization of manufacturing technologies, such as the basic technologies that constitute some of Kawasaki City’s industrial resources. The information network accessible via this site enables companies to pursue new business dealings and sales channel expansion, including PR on proprietary technology and technology development capabilities. Information is also available via a personnel database on advisors able to provide assessments and advice on company management, personnel training, and engineers.

Available incentives

<Asia Entrepreneur Village>
To expand investment in Japan, invigorate local economies, and promote job creation, this organization is offering rent reductions for Techno Hub Innovation Kawasaki (THINK), a location facility, and incubation support through such companies as KSP Inc. to companies expanding into Kawasaki from Asia.
Tenant companies will have their rents reduced to 50% in the first year and 70% in the second year.

<JETRO Kawasaki International Business Information Center>
Through collaboration between Kawasaki City and JETRO, this Center serves as a general one-stop location for providing international business support to companies in the city, promoting domestic investment, and boosting the local economy via international industrial exchange.

<Kawasaki Startup Rooms>
Separate offices (two rooms) are provided free of charge for 50 business days to foreign companies considering moving into Kawasaki and expanding their businesses. The offices’ location next to the JETRO Kawasaki International Business Information Center enables these companies to gather information and request consultations with ease, and various facilities are made
available to these companies.

Living environment for foreigners

Living environment	An appealing living environment has drawn 26,508 foreign residents to Kawasaki City (as of March 31, 2006). In 1996, the Kawasaki City Representative Assembly for Foreign Residents, the first of its kind in Japan, was established by ordinance to reflect the views of foreign residents in city administration. In March 2005 the city drafted Kawasaki Multicultural Symbiotic Society Promotion Plan, one of many steps it has taken to create a multicultural society of self-reliant residents living together harmoniously.The Kawasaki International Association offers consultations to foreign residents in seven foreign languages and has endeavored to create an environment in which foreign residents can enjoy civic life with ease, one example of this being the publication in March 2006 of “Emergency Evacuation Maps”.
Health services catering to foreigners	The “Kawasaki Doctors” section of the Kawasaki City website permits searches for hospitals capable of communicating with patients in foreign languages. The website of the Kawasaki International Association also lists medical institutions capable of communicating with patients in foreign languages. Although inquiries should be made in advance because of the possibility that foreign-language service can no longer be provided at a given hospital due to physician turnover, foreign residents have given Kawasaki high marks for the great convenience offered at its medical institutions. Doctors in Kawasaki
Other	Kawasaki City has been designated as a model locale for the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Returning and Foreign Children Student Educational Support Program and two elementary schools and one junior high school have become center schools for this program; in addition, one city high school has established an international department. The Kawasaki City Comprehensive Education Center offers comprehensive consultations on such educational matters as mid-year enrollment of foreign students and students returning from overseas, Japanese language instruction, and adaptation to school life.

Living environment

An appealing living environment has drawn 26,508 foreign residents to Kawasaki City (as of March 31, 2006). In 1996, the Kawasaki City Representative Assembly for Foreign Residents, the first of its kind in Japan, was established by ordinance to reflect the views of foreign residents in city administration. In March 2005 the city drafted Kawasaki Multicultural Symbiotic Society Promotion Plan, one of many steps it has taken to create a multicultural society of self-reliant residents living together harmoniously.The Kawasaki International Association offers consultations to foreign residents in seven foreign languages and has endeavored to create an environment in which foreign residents can enjoy civic life with ease, one example of this being the publication in March 2006 of “Emergency Evacuation Maps”.

Health services catering to foreigners

The “Kawasaki Doctors” section of the Kawasaki City website permits searches for hospitals capable of communicating with patients in foreign languages.
The website of the Kawasaki International Association also lists medical institutions capable of communicating with patients in foreign languages.
Although inquiries should be made in advance because of the possibility that foreign-language service can no longer be provided at a given hospital due to physician turnover, foreign residents have given Kawasaki high marks for the great convenience offered at its medical institutions.

Doctors in Kawasaki

Other

Kawasaki City has been designated as a model locale for the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Returning and Foreign Children Student Educational Support Program and two elementary schools and one junior high school have become center schools for this program; in addition, one city high school has established an international department. The Kawasaki City Comprehensive Education Center offers comprehensive consultations on such educational matters as mid-year enrollment of foreign students and students returning from overseas, Japanese language instruction, and adaptation to school life.