Report: Direct Investment to Japan (Overview of Industry Clusters)

This report aims to help foreign investors make informed investment decisions by highlighting the attractiveness of particular regions in terms of well-developed infrastructure, availability of skilled workers, access to potential subcontractors and customers but also in terms of industry specific regional cluster.

It shows that most companies in Japan are concentrated in three regions; Kanto, Kansai and Chubu and their respective prefectures; Tokyo, Osaka and Aichi. Of these, Tokyo and Osaka are the most economically advanced areas in Japan. However, by analysing the regional distribution of firms by types of industry, this report reveals that there are some exceptions.

In Tokyo for example, regarded as the economic centre of Japan, the market concentration in the consulting and advertising industry is very high (90%) while that of the automobile industry is quite low (25%). Therefore, if you were to open a business in the service sector, Tokyo would be the most appropriate place for you while for a business in the manufacturing sector, you might want to consider another region.

By understanding these subtle differences, foreign investors should be better prepared when deciding where to set up their new business in Japan.

Picture: Topography of Japan
Picture copyright: Wikipedia under the GNU Free Documentation License