Investing in Japan
Regional Information
Niigata city
A city of exchange on the Sea of Japan growing with the world
- Your Regional Guide: Katsufumi Ogure
Inquiry form
International Economic Affairs Office, Ｉndustrial Policy Division, Economic and International Department
1-602-1, Gakkochodori, Chuo-ku, Niigata-city, Niigata Prefecture 951-8550
TEL: +81-25-226-1621 FAX: +81-25-224-4347
- Basic Information
- Regional Profile
- Services for investment in Japan
- Available incentives
- Living environment for foreigners
- Links to Related Websites
Basic Information
| Population | 0.81 million (Male: 0.39 million, Female: 0.42 million) (2008) |
|---|---|
| Labor force | 0.42 million (Male: 0.24 million, Female: 0.18 million) (2005 Census) |
| Area | 726km² (2006) |
| GDP | 3,038 billion yen (2004) |
| Major industries | Service, wholesaling/retailing, real estate, manufacturing, transport/communications |
| Developing industries | Foodstuff manufacturing, chemicals, information & communications, medical care and welfare, education/learning assistance |
| Offices overseas | Beijing, China |
| Offices in Japan | Tokyo |
| JETRO office | JETRO Niigata |
Regional Profile
Strength of the region's industries and economy
Niigata City, located on the Sea of Japan side of Honshu, has extensive transportation infrastructure, including international sea and air routes from Niigata Port and Niigata Airport, and direct connections to the Tokyo metropolitan area via Shinkansen trains and expressways. In terms of industrial structure, it is a commercial city with a high proportion of companies in tertiary industries, while at the same time boasting high levels of agricultural production; in fact, Niigata City ranks number one nationwide in the volume of rice produced. Foodstuff manufacturing and chemicals are among the city’s more important manufacturing sectors. With more than 10 universities and junior colleges as well as many IT and other specialist schools, the city offers an abundance of skilled personnel.
<Niigata City Special International Business Creation Zone>
In March 2006 Niigata City was granted authorization for a Niigata City Special International Business Creation Zone, which offers preferential visa status. Foreign companies seeking to move into Niigata City and open up branch offices can become tenants in the facility designated by Niigata City (Niigata e-Startup Hall), thereby being regarded as having certainly secured a
city location as an office; persons involved in preparations for opening these offices will thus be eligible for “intracompany
transfer” visa status. This offers companies the benefit of “intracompany transfer” visa status for their employees even
during the preparatory stages.
Strength of the region's education/research institutes
The abundance of agricultural resources has attracted numerous food companies and food-related R&D is being enthusiastically pursued at Niigata University (a national university), the Niigata University of Pharmacy and Applied Life Sciences, and the Niigata University of Health and Welfare. Niigata University is pursuing R&D, research technician training, fundamental research and practical applications capable of contributing to the development of the food industry, and a Local Collaboration Food Science Center – with its core focuses being agricultural sciences, engineering, medicine, dentistry, and education – has been established as a research organization of more than 50 researchers transcending the boundaries of university departments to meet the diverse needs of companies in food chemistry and food processing.
Universities: 7 (including Niigata University, which has concluded a comprehensive collaboration agreement with Niigata City, and the Niigata University of Pharmacy and Applied Life Sciences, which constitutes the core of the Bio Research Park Plan being implemented by Niigata City)
Junior colleges: 5 (including Niigata Women’s College, which has concluded a comprehensive collaboration agreement with
Niigata City)
Vocational schools: 37 (business schools in IT and various other fields)
Industry-government-academia collaboration
Foodstuff manufacturing is an important manufacturing industry for Niigata City, with numerous major companies renowned nationwide producing rice confectionaries, packaged rice, paste products, etc. These companies have developed against a backdrop of the area’s plentiful agricultural and marine resources. The city has undertaken industrial-academic-governmental collaboration via the Niigata Bio Research Park Plan, built around the Niigata University of Pharmacy and Applied Life Sciences and aimed at forming a base for comprehensive biotechnology research and the development and effective use of new technologies useful to the biotechnology industry. Centered on the joint research facility Niigata City Bio Research Center, this approach seeks to encourage the development of local industry by promoting research and technology development in the areas of next-generation medical care, food products, and the environment. The Niigata Area Industrial-Academic-Governmental Collaboration Council, comprising commercial and industrial organizations in the city as well as university and prefectural support organizations, has been established to provide a one-stop comprehensive consultation
point for companies and offer information exchange for joint projects.
Strength of the region's infrastructure
Connected by Shinkansen with Tokyo in as little as 100 minutes, Niigata City has an extensive logistics network of numerous expressways, making it optimal as a production and logistics base. Combining this network with the city’s international airport and key international sea port makes access to Northeast Asia easy and enables new business expansion.
<Land>
Access to major cities throughout Japan from Niigata City is facilitated by a network of expressways – the Kan’etsu Expressway, the Hokuriku Expressway, the Nihonkai-Tohoku Expressway, etc. – that directly shortens access time and reduces logistics costs.
- From the Tokyo area by the Kan’etsu and Hokuriku Expressways: approx. 3 hours 40 minutes
- From the Nagoya area by the Meishin, Chuo, Nagano, Joshinetsu, and Hokuriku Expressways: approx. 6 hours
- From the Osaka area by the Meishin and Hokuriku Expressways: approx. 7 hours
<Air>
Scheduled flights serve international routes (eight routes to such destinations as the Russian Far East, Seoul, and Shanghai) and domestic routes (seven routes primarily to major cities), and consideration is underway on enhancing the airport’s functions as a regional hub airport on the Sea of Japan side. Its ready accessibility – about 20 minutes by car from the city center – is another major attraction.
International routes: Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Irkutsk, Seoul, Shanghai, Harbin, Guam, Honolulu (flights to Honolulu have been suspended as of May 2008)
Domestic routes: Sapporo, Osaka (Itami), Nagoya (Chubu, Komaki), Fukuoka, Okinawa, Sado
<Sea>
Niigata Port was designated as one of the five ports to be opened – along with Hakodate, Yokohama, Kobe, and Nagasaki – by the 1858 treaties of amity and commerce concluded with the US, the UK, Russia, the Netherlands and France, and it has enjoyed a long history as an international trade port since being opened in 1868. It has developed into a leading port on the Sea of Japan coast, in 1967 becoming the first specially-designated port along the Sea of Japan coast and in 1995 being designated the sole “core international port” on the Sea of Japan coast. Pusan Transship, which operates seven sailings per week, connect Niigata Port to the rest of the world.
<Railway>
The rail network provides an extremely favorable environment, with Niigata City only about 1 hour 40 minutes from Tokyo by the Joetsu Shinkansen.
- From the Tokyo area by Joetsu Shinkansen / Tokyo - Niigata: approx. 1 hour 40 minutes
- From the Nagoya area by Tokaido and Joetsu Shinkansen / Nagoya – Tokyo - Niigata: approx. 3 hours 40 minutes
- From the Osaka area by Tokaido and Joetsu Shinkansen / Shin-Osaka – Tokyo - Niigata: approx. 5 hours
Services for investment in Japan
| Menu of services | Fees charged? | Content of services |
|---|---|---|
| Providing market information | ||
| Advice on market participation | No | The Industrial Policy Department’s International Economic Office provides information relevant to market entry in cooperation with JETRO Niigata and other relevant organizations. |
| Consulting by external experts and advisers | Yes | Utilizing Niigata City’s advisor system to introduce outside experts and advisors |
| Arranging appointments with potential customers and partners | Yes | Utilizing Niigata City’s advisor system to introduce outside experts and advisors |
| Support for establishing a base | ||
| Listing of potential customers and partners | No | The Industrial Policy Department’s International Economic Office compiles lists of candidate customers/partners among companies in Niigata City. |
| Listing of potential customers and partners | No | The Industrial Policy Department’s International Economic Office makes appointments with, and provides introductions to, companies on the lists. |
| Support for establishing a base | ||
| Providing incubation facilities or other facilities | Yes | Niigata e-Startup Hall: an incubation facility aimed at encouraging the creation of businesses at small, medium-sized and venture companies and the startup of companies by utilizing information & communications technology |
| Providing incubation facilities or other facilities | Yes/No | Cost estimates for basic models are available at no charge from the Industrial Policy Department’s International Economic Office; arrangements for expert consultations can be made for other cases. |
| Providing information on procedures for investing in Japan | No | Providing information on file at the Industrial Policy Department’s International Economy Office and, in collaboration with JETRO Niigata, information on procedures for investing in Japan |
| Arranging the meetings needed to establish a base (real estate, manpower services) | No | Utilizing Niigata City’s advisor system to arrange interviews with specialists necessary for the establishment of offices, shops, factories and other facilities |
| Introduction of available properties and advice on hiring personnel | No | Utilizing networks with local realtors to introduce properties suiting companies’ needs |
| Providing information on permits and licensing procedures | No | Introducing appropriate organizations and specialists |
| Providing information on subsidy programs | No | Offering support by providing information on company inducement subsidies offered by Niigata City and accepting applications through the Industrial Policy Department’s International Economic Office |
Support service
- Niigata Industrial Promotion Center (IPC)
The IPC engages in projects concerning introductions to products, support for sales channel expansion, management guidance, and technology diffusion for industries run by small and medium-sized companies. The Niigata International Business Messe, an industry trade show held annually, helps invigorate local industry. Chinese, Russian and Korean companies participated with exhibits in 2007, giving the trade show a very international flavor.
- Niigata City Beijing Office
In April 2007 Niigata City opened its first overseas office in the Chinese capital of Beijing, which is seeing remarkable economic growth. Responsible for disseminating information on Niigata City in China, this Office actively supports companies wishing to expand into Niigata.
Address: Room 704 Henderson Center, No. 18 Jianguomen Nei Da Jie, Dongcheng District, Beijing, PRC
Organization: 4 staff members TEL:+86-10-6517-2460 FAX:+86-10-6517-8687
Database of candidate partners
This portal site, containing basic information on small and medium-sized manufacturing companies (approx. 470 companies at present) in the Niigata area and on their distinctive technologies/products and facilities compiled into databases for nationwide distribution, was created to encourage the expansion of sales channels, business dealings, and joint order receipt.
Available incentives
- Foreign companies wishing to expand into Japan are briefed on conditions in Japan, office/shop properties, and other necessary information tailored to their needs. Visits for expansion purposes are arranged and introductions provided to companies in the city.
- Companies establishing offices, etc., as business locations within Japan are introduced to specialist advisors in legal, tax and other affairs, provided support in the establishment process, and given access to subsidy programs to help cover costs related to establishment and rent.
<Foreign company expansion promotion subsidies>
Eligibility: Foreign companies (foreign capital of more than one-third) newly registering an office in Niigata City’s corporate register and making their first forays into Japan.
Content:
(1) Subsidies for organizing registration costs: up to 150,000 yen
(2) Subsidies for office rental fees
- Subsidy rate: 1/2 of rent
- Subsidy amount: up to 50,000 yen/month per company (management fees, public utility charges, and maintenance fees not included)
- Period: 2 years
- Foreign companies moving into Niigata City have the same access to preferential treatment systems as domestic companies.
Living environment for foreigners
| Living environment |
<Content> Classes start twice per year in April and October (elementary and intermediate classes; classes last six months)
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Links to Related Websites
