Investing in Japan
Regional Information
Osaka city
Osaka, a city where people, goods and information come together to create new industries and culture
- Your Regional Guide: Ryuichi Kobayashi
Inquiry form
International Economic Affairs Dept .Economic Affairs Bureau
1-3-20 Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka-city, Osaka Prefecture 530-8201
TEL: +81-6-6208-8978 FAX: +81-6-6202-6965
- Basic Information
- Regional Profile
- Services for investment in Japan
- Available incentives
- Living environment for foreigners
- Links to Related Websites
Basic Information
| Population | 263 million (2005) |
|---|---|
| Labor force | 135 million (2000) |
| Area | 222km² (2005) |
| GDP | 21,863 billion yen (2005) |
| Major industries | Chemical engineering, publishing/printing, general machinery and tools (manufacturing) |
| Developing industries | IT-related, health/preventive medicine, robot technology |
| Offices overseas | Chicago/Singapore /Paris/Shanghai |
| Offices in Japan | Tokyo |
| JETRO office | JETRO Osaka |
Regional Profile
Strength of the region's industries and economy
The Kansai Region currently has a population of about 21 million and a gross regional product of US$747 billion. The largest city in the Kansai Region, Osaka City constitutes an enormous consumer zone (population of about 2.63 million, daytime population about 3.58 million).
Osaka City is working to realize a city full of the vitality needed to create new industries and culture and, endeavoring to promote business, tourism, and conventions, in recent years it has been endeavoring to foster and attract new industries, especially health/preventive medicine and robot technology (RT). Osaka has engaged in a variety of efforts to create and expand various business opportunities: in the field of robotics it has hosted RoboCup 2005 Osaka and IRT JAPAN 2006, the latter an international next-generation robot fair, and invited Carnegie Mellon University to set up a facility in Osaka (January 2008) and, in the field of health/preventive medicine, it has held a business plan competition for biotechnology-related companies seeking to expand into Osaka and invited outstanding companies to exhibit at “Bio Japan 2006” in the Osaka International Convention
Center in September.
Strength of the region's education/research institutes
Osaka has numerous vocational schools that provide training for specialist working-level personnel in industry, commerce, medicine and various other fields, as well as Osaka City University and many other graduate schools for working adults. Universities: 7; junior colleges: 11; special training schools: 162)
Industry-government-academia collaboration
<Robotics> The Osaka Station North District is an important development site adjacent to the largest transportation terminal in western Japan, and work is underway on the first phase development zone of 7 hectares (of a total of 24 hectares) with a target completion date of 2011. With regard to the knowledge capital that will constitute the core of this area, the plan is to attract facilities from a diversity of fields, in particular RT, IT, and ubiquitous technology, to the RoboCity Core, a robotics R&D/information dissemination point, the Cyber Art Center, a location for merging cutting-edge technology with art, and other concentration sites. Development is proceeding on the RoboCity Core as a location that will make Osaka the driving force behind the world’s robotics industry; the site will contain open laboratories where robotics-related researchers, engineers and consumers can interact as well as demonstration experiment spaces, and global academic events will be hosted at the site. One of the research organizations at Carnegie Mellon University, which ranks alongside MIT and Stanford University as one of the US’ three largest schools of engineering, set up a base in Osaka in 2008 that began full-scale
operations in January. Future plans for Osaka include joint projects with private companies and collaborative
projects with Osaka University.
<Health/preventive medicine> The Kansai Region surrounding Osaka is a focal point for Japan’s biotechnology research because of the presence of numerous distinctive R&D locations that utilize the region’s heavy concentration of industrial-academic-governmental collaboration. Since the formation of an international base for life sciences in the Osaka area was authorized by the national government in 2001 as an urban renaissance project, the national and local governments have worked in concert to implement comprehensive measures, with special attention given to drug discovery and regenerative medicine. In the field of health foods, Osaka City has been providing business support via industrial-academic-governmental collaboration that reflects the needs of companies and consumers; these efforts include R&D on food with health claims (FHC), technical guidance on commercialization, and assessments of the efficacy of pharmaceuticals and FHC. Future efforts pertaining to healthcare equipment and health services will include business matching, support for product/service development in collaboration with universities and research organizations, and promotion of health/preventive medicine-related
industries.
Strength of the region's infrastructure
Osaka City is a strategic point for ground, sea and air transport. Long a venue for international exchange, the city has from the early modern era played a major role in the development and flourishing of Japan’s industrial economy. It is situated at the heart of the Kansai Region, and Kansai International Airport, JR Shinkansen lines, and Osaka Port are among the more well-known features of its excellent transportation infrastructure. Its concentration of advanced industrial facilities and urban redevelopment offers an ideal environment for companies locating to the city.
<Air>
Osaka International Airport (Itami), Kansai International Airport, and Kobe Airport are all within a 50km radius of Osaka City. Since Kansai International Airport was opened in 1994, there has been a steady increase in the number of foreign visitors to Osaka, especially from Asia.
<Sea>
Osaka Port, located at the center of Osaka Bay, serves as a vital logistics hub for the Kansai Region.
<Railway>
JR Shinkansen trains run about 300 times daily between Osaka and Tokyo, covering the distance in about two and a half hours at a speed of 270km/hr. Intra-city transportation includes a highly-developed subway network and several private railway lines, and the Umeda terminus at the heart of Osaka’s transportation network serves approximately 2.5 million passengers per day.
Foreign company(s) operating in the industry
Osaka is actively engaged in activities to attract companies. Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, and the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry jointly operate the Osaka Business and Investment Center (O-BIC) and provide various types of information, and the IBPC Osaka Investment Promotion Center has been set up as a base for efforts to entice companies to Osaka City and to provide support by assigning staff with foreign-language skills to companies on a 1-to-1 basis. OBIC attracted 76 foreign companies in the three-year period 2005-2007.
| Company name | Schaeffler Japan Co., Ltd |
|---|---|
| Industry sector | Robotics-related fields (bearings) |
| Motivation for selecting region |
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| Support provided by local government or JETRO |
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Services for investment in Japan
| Menu of services | Fees charged? | Content of services |
|---|---|---|
| Providing market information | ||
| Advice on market participation | No | Providing information on markets and merchandise trade through trade advisors familiar with Japanese markets |
| Consulting by external experts and advisers | No | Introducing appropriate specialists |
| Support for establishing a base | ||
| Listing of potential customers and partners | No | Cooperating with the IBPC Osaka Network Center, which offers international business support to companies in Osaka, in utilizing a database of companies in Osaka and the Kansai Region to provide introductions to customer and business partner companies |
| Listing of potential customers and partners | No | Utilizing the aforementioned database to make arrangements for business meetings |
| Support for establishing a base | ||
| Providing incubation facilities or other facilities | No | Providing temporary offices (3 rooms) for use up to six months for expansion preparations |
| Providing incubation facilities or other facilities | No | Providing consulting services via experts under the aforementioned “Company Invitation Program” and conducting custom-made meetings on expansion with company inducement planners |
| Providing information on procedures for investing in Japan | No | Providing consultations of all types relating to investment |
| Arranging the meetings needed to establish a base (real estate, manpower services) | No | Providing introductions to suitable real estate companies, etc. |
| Introduction of available properties and advice on hiring personnel | No | Offering advice on offices and residential properties |
| Providing information on permits and licensing procedures | No | Offering advice on matters pertaining to applications for authority to do business, and providing introductions to specialists such as administrative scriveners (gyosei-shoshi lawyers) and certified tax accountants |
| Providing information on subsidy programs | No | Serving as a contact point for Osaka City’s subsidy programs to promote urban-oriented priority industries and introducing other subsidy programs connected with Osaka City |
Support service
IBPC Osaka Investment Promotion Center
Operating entity: Osaka International Business Promotion Center
Database of candidate partners
A next-generation robot development networking organization, within which multiple registered companies and researchers cooperate in efforts to improve the efficiency of robot development and to comprehensively address processes from planning and design to production of next-generation robots. Information is also available on participating companies, including corporate groups having outstanding elemental technology as well as IT companies seeking to network robots and creator companies designing human-robot interfaces.
Available incentives
Introducing companies for business negotiations, providing short-term leased spaces to serve as preparatory locations for expansion, and providing subsidy programs and other services that meet the needs of companies
- Osaka City urban-oriented priority industry subsidy program
Subsidies for building rental fees of up to 3 million yen per company (or, exceptionally, 10 million yen to large-scale companies) to companies expanding into the city
- Osaka City urban renaissance priority industry location subsidy program
Subsidies for costs connected with construction and capital investments, up to a maximum of 300 million yen per company (or, exceptionally, 3 billion yen for large-scale companies), for companies expanding into the city. There are also a special university program for universities locating to districts specified by the city that subsidizes building rental fees and fixed capital investments, and a special head office program for the head offices of leading-edge companies expanding into the city that subsidizes building rental fees (up to 60 million yen).
- Tax incentives (corporate business tax breaks)
Reductions in corporate business tax for those business years ending within the first five years after establishment,
available to corporations (capital or contribution to capital of 10 million yen or less) with manufacturing operations
that have established their headquarters in Osaka Prefecture
Living environment for foreigners
| Living environment | Foreign residents account for 4.7% of Osaka City’s total population, and this foreign resident-to-population ratio is the highest of any major city in Japan, even Tokyo. With a history stretching back 1400 years, Osaka also offers a large number of cultural heritage sites, historical sites, traditional performances and events. |
|---|---|
| International schools | Seven international schools operate in the Kansai Region, including the Osaka YMCA in Osaka City. |
| Health services catering to foreigners | Osaka City has many private and public medical institutions, such as the Osaka City General Hospital and the Osaka City University Hospital, which can communicate with patients in foreign languages. |
| Other | The International House Osaka provides various consultations to long-term foreign residents and provides practical information necessary for living in Osaka, including information on housing, medical care, and education. |
Links to Related Websites
- Osaka City
- Office of Urban Revitalization and Promotion, City of Osaka
- Osaka Business and Investment Center
- IBPC Osaka Investment Promotion Center
- International House,Osaka
- Osaka Convention Information
