Past events

Past Event -EU Investment Forum Held in Tokyo #03:
EU Investment Forum: Why Should I Invest in the European Union?

On 10 March 2026, the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation (EUJCIC), through its Invest in EU Hub, organised the EU Investment Forum in Tokyo in cooperation with EU Member States’ Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) and the Delegation of the European Union to Japan. The forum provided practical insights into EU industrial policy, investment frameworks, and business opportunities, supporting Japanese companies in assessing where and how to invest in Europe.

The event opened with remarks by Thomas Gnocchi, Deputy Head of Mission, Delegation of the European Union to Japan, followed by a keynote speech by Maive Rute, Deputy Director-General, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW), European Commission. Ramona Ocak, Policy Officer, InvestEU Governance Advisory Unit, DG GROW, European Commission, presented EU financial instruments, while Tatsuyuki Amano, Managing Executive Officer and Head of the Natural Resources Finance Group, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), shared insights on Japanese investment trends in Europe. Case studies were delivered by Kazuhiko Tanaka, General Manager, Corporate Strategy Office, Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, and Masato Tachibana, General Manager, Next-Generation Social Infrastructure Department, Marubeni Corporation. The session concluded with remarks by Susumu Kataoka, Executive Vice President, Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), highlighting the importance of EU–Japan economic cooperation.

A networking session with representatives from EU Member States’ IPAs enabled direct exchanges with Japanese companies and exploration of potential investment opportunities.

Available Forum material: 

The agenda for the forum is available in both Japanese and English.

The presentation slides can be accessed here: European Commission (EN) / European Commission (JP) / Japan Bank for International Cooperation (EN)

Past Event - Invest in EU Hub Webinar #02:
EU AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRIAL ACTION PLAN - OPPORTUNITIES FOR JAPANESE BUSINESS AND INVESTORS

Our second Invest in EU Hub webinar took place on 26 June 2025 and looked at the key provisions of the newly unveiled EU Industrial Action Plan for the European automotive sector, highlighting its impact on industries and businesses, and focusing on opportunities for Japanese investment in the European Union.

Available webinar material:  Bilingual recording | Presentation slides by the European Commission: EN / JA, presentation slides by JAMA: EN* | Detailed event report: EN / JA.

During the webinar, Mark Nicklas (Head of the Automotive & Mobility Industries Unit in DG GROW), introduced the Automotive Action Plan, including outlining its five pillars and placed it in the context of the huge transformation the sector is facing in both the EU and Japan. He explained that the Action Plan is aimed at ensuring that the EU automotive industry has a promising long-term future. Responding, Shinichiro Oka (Vice-President & Director-General, General Policy Affairs Division at JAMA) noted that the Action Plan's five pillars overlap with the challenges facing Japan's automotive industry. He then outlined JAMA Vision 2035 which aims at reflecting the sense of crisis affecting Japan's automotive industry and its future desires. He explained that carbon neutrality and CASE drive the industry's once-in-a-generation transformation. Yoshio Nakano (Director of International Department at JAPIA) welcomed the Action Plan but thought measures needed to be taken at an early stage. He noted that the EU and Japan share the same idea of free and open trade and cooperation despite a friendly rivalry. He felt that the Action Plan was skewed towards clean mobility and thought a technologically-neutral approach was important. He thought that Japan and the EU should cooperate on overcoming reliance on mineral exporting countries. The event concluded with a detailed question & answer session.

* The original Japanese version of the JAMA Vision 2035 is available on the JAMA website

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Past Event - Invest in EU Hub Webinar #01:
NET ZERO INDUSTRY ACT AND CLEAN INDUSTRY DEAL - OPPORTUNITIES FOR JAPANESE BUSINESSES AND INVESTORS

The inaugural Invest in EU Hub webinar took place on 13 March 2025 and looked at the key provisions of the Net-Zero Industrial Act (NZIA) and Clean Industrial Deal (CID), highlighted their impact on industries and the business and investment opportunities they can generate for Japanese companies.

Available webinar material:  Bilingual recording | Presentation slides: EN / JA | Detailed event report: EN / JA.

During the webinar, Jacek Truszczynski (Deputy Head of Unit, Net Zero Industries, Sustainable and Circular Products at DG GROW) introduced the NZIA and outlined its key provisions on permitting, investment support, access to markets, skills and innovation.  Whereas NZIA is legislation, CID is a strategy with 6 pillars: lowering energy costs, creating lead markets, supporting key sectors through new sources of finance, increasing recyclability and recovery of materials, engaging with international partners, and skills. He ended his presentation looking at the financial context (the EC having leveraged €100bn of investments to support the industrial transition). The second part of the session took the form of a Q&A exchange. 

Disclaimer

The EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation is not involved in any way in the calls / proposals promoted on this webpage (i.e., it has no role in accepting or processing questions or offers submitted in relation to a call). The contents of this webpage are made available for general information and non-commercial purposes only. It does not claim to be comprehensive or up to date and is not intended to provide legal or other advice. No person should rely on the contents of this webpage without first obtaining advice from a qualified professional person.

If you have questions about the 'Invest in EU Hub' as opposed to the calls or other proposals featured on this webpage please to InvestInEUHub@eu-japan.or.jp.