Investing in Japan
Regional Information
Kyoto city
A free city of world culture
- Your Regional Guide: Yasushi Matsui
Inquiry form
Industry Promotion Section, Commerce and Industry Division, Industry and Tourism Bureau, Kyoto City
488 Kamihonnoji-mae-machi, Oikeagaru, Teramachi-dori, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto-city, Kyoto Prefecture 604-8571
TEL: +81-75-222-3324 FAX: +81-75-222-3331
- Basic Information
- Regional Profile
- Services for investment in Japan
- Available incentives
- Living environment for foreigners
- Links to Related Websites
Basic Information
| Population | 1.47 million (2005) |
|---|---|
| Labor force | 0.73 million (2000) |
| Area | 828km² (2005) |
| GDP | 6,009 billion yen (2004) |
| Major industries | Electric machinery, publishing/printing, foodstuffs, textiles, general machinery |
| Developing industries | Electronic devices, medical care, biotechnology, textiles, IT |
| Offices in Japan | Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo |
| JETRO office | JETRO Osaka |
Regional Profile
Strength of the region's industries and economy
The historical city of Kyoto offers a comfortable residential environment with a profundity of cultural assets and an accessible natural environment. At the same time, Kyoto features concentrations of universities with considerable intellectual resources, companies in traditional industries that have acquired strong technological capabilities over their many years in business, and manufacturers with unique technologies in specified areas. The city of Kyoto is also home to numerous public and private industrial support organizations that have helped form an environment supportive of high value-added manufacturing. To further the development of Kyoto as a manufacturing city, active assistance is being provided to companies that are considering moving into industrial promotion sites such as the Katsura Innovation Park and the High Concentration District.
* Katsura Innovation Park: a base for intellectual industry creation adjacent to the Katsura Campus of Kyoto University aimed at creating new industry through industrial-academic-public collaboration
* High Concentration District: an area centered along Aburanokoji Street south of Jujo Avenue in which efforts to
concentrate new urban functions are being pursued through cooperation among residents, companies, and the
government
Strength of the region's education/research institutes
Kyoto is one of Japan’s leading academic cities, with a total of 37 national, public and private universities and junior colleges, including Kyoto University, and approximately 140,000 students accounting for nearly 10% of the city’s population (both the number of universities and number of students are as of May 1, 2007). Many of these universities are producing leading-edge research results, actively collaborating with industry to create university-launched ventures utilizing these research results and setting up liaison offices for industrial-academic collaboration. The Kyoto Municipal Industrial Research Institute’s Industrial Technology Center and Textile Technology Center have been set up as public testing laboratories to improve the technological capabilities of local small and medium-sized companies, and they support the improvement of technology capabilities at local companies via material/fundamental/product technology R&D at the Industrial Technology Center and dye-related R&D at the Textile Technology Center through personnel training, consigned testing/analysis, and technology guidance/consultations.
Industry-government-academia collaboration
Famous for its natural beauty, Kyoto has a long tradition of more than 1200 years. Accordingly, Kyoto has accumulated skilled human resources, produced a chain of technological innovations spanning traditional to cutting-edge industries, and created robust multi-tiered clusters. One of these comprises traditional industries, Kyoto’s backbone industries. Through a succession of technologies and innovations, traditional industry has boosted Kyoto’s economic development, helped form a prosperous local community and disseminated Japanese culture from Kyoto.The “International City of Culture and Tourism” can be considered the city’s number two cluster. Kyoto is one of Japan’s most popular tourist cities, and efforts are underway to further develop its tourism culture. A potential third cluster is being formed by utilizing the local resources in Kyoto in content sectors such as movies and manga, and greater agglomeration and sophistication of these sectors can be expected in future.“Cutting-edge technology” developed through repeated innovations of traditional technology constitutes the final cluster being sought to create new businesses in the areas of the environment and biotechnology, with nanotechnology as a base technology. The city is working closely with industry support organizations, business groups, residents, NPOs and a wide range of other interested parties to form a multilayered cluster, beginning with a concentration in Kyoto of creative universities and corporate groups exhibiting the spirit of enterprise.
Strength of the region's infrastructure
Kyoto Station is one of Japan’s premier transportation hubs, featuring a convergence of JR lines (including Shinkansen lines, which form the backbone of long-distance transportation in Japan), private train lines, and subway lines. Tokyo is only 2 hours 15 minutes away by Shinkansen. Kansai International Airport, a key air gateway, can be reached in about 75 minutes (using the “Haruka” special express). The Meishin Expressway and the Second Meishin Expressway directly connect Kyoto with logistics points throughout Japan, and work is underway to build a more expansive network of trunk line roads in the city such as the Kyoto Expressway (Hanshin Expressway No. 8 Kyoto Line).
<Land>
The Meishin Expressway directly connects Kyoto with logistics points throughout Japan, and work is underway to build a more expansive network of trunk line roads in the city such as the Kyoto Expressway (Hanshin Expressway Route 8 Kyoto Line).
<Air>
From Kansai International Airport by JR “Haruka” special express: approx. 75 minutes
From Osaka International Airport by limousine bus: approx. 55 minutes
From Chubu International Airport by Tokaido Shinkansen/Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line: approx. 90 minutes
<Sea>
Directly linked with key ports via the Meishin Expressway
<Railway>
The Tokaido Shinkansen and JR lines (JR Kyoto Line, JR Kosei Line, etc.), Kyoto municipal subway lines, and private train lines (Keihan Main Line, Hankyu Kyoto Line, Kintetsu Kyoto Line, etc.) all serve the Kyoto area.
To/from Tokyo on the Tokaido Shinkansen (“Nozomi” express): approx. 140 minutes
To/from Osaka on the JR Tokaido Main Line (Special Rapid Service): approx. 30 minutes
Services for investment in Japan
| Menu of services | Fees charged? | Content of services |
|---|---|---|
| Support for establishing a base | ||
| Listing of potential customers and partners | No | Cooperating with the city’s business and industry groups in providing information and arranging appointments with customer/partner candidates |
| Support for establishing a base | ||
| Providing incubation facilities or other facilities | No | Providing information on incubation facilities in the city and arranging meetings with the organizations operating these facilities |
| Providing information on procedures for investing in Japan | No | Providing information on required procedures in cooperation with JETRO and national/prefectural government organizations |
| Arranging the meetings needed to establish a base (real estate, manpower services) | No | Cooperating with the city’s business and industry groups in arranging meetings |
| Introduction of available properties and advice on hiring personnel | No | Providing information available to the city on local sites available for factories and research institutes |
| Providing information on permits and licensing procedures | No | Providing information on regulations pertaining to the setup of factories and research institutes in the city |
| Providing information on subsidy programs | No | Providing information on subsidy programs offered by Kyoto Prefecture and Kyoto City |
Available incentives
Companies (primarily those in the manufacturing and information processing service industries) building new plants/research institutes or expanding existing facilities and startup small and medium-sized companies setting up new offices are eligible to participate in subsidy and financing programs. The city is also committed to supporting and fostering venture companies by creating inter-company matching programs to assist small and medium-sized companies in the city to expand their range of business and technological collaboration partners, promoting industrial-academic-public collaboration, establishing industrial support organizations, and setting up incubation facilities.
Living environment for foreigners
| Living environment | About 43,000 residents of foreign nationality already live in Kyoto City, accounting for 4% of its population. Consultation and support systems, including consultations on day-to-day living by the Kyoto City International Foundation, have been put in place for these residents. |
|---|---|
| International schools | Kyoto City is home to the Kyoto International School |
| Health services catering to foreigners | The Kyoto City Hospital, Takeda General Hospital, and Takeda Hospital are capable of communicating with patients in foreign languages and have available medical interpreters (English, Chinese). Physicians and dentists proficient in one or more foreign languages can be found in clinics throughout the city, which also has companies that dispatch medical interpreters. Please see the websites of the Kyoto City International Foundation and the AMDA International Medical Information Center for further details. |
Links to Related Websites
- Kyoto city web
- Kyoto City Tourism and Culture Information System
- Kyoto City International Foundation
- Industrial Technology Institute of Kyoto City Industrial Technology Center
- Kyoto Research Park
