(APRIL 25) The Japanese government held its annual seminar on Government Procurement on April 25. In the early hours (European time) Japan's Central Ministries presented their WTO-regulated procurement plans for the coming fiscal year during a 3-hour Zoom session organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The first part of the seminar dealt with Japan's so-called voluntary measures, which have been in place for 30 years to stimulate participation by foreign suppliers in tender competitions, followed by an overview of the Government Procurement Challenge System. A more recent addition are measures where work-life balance is taken into account when selection suppliers.
Most of the seminar consisted of presentations by individual ministries, each explaining their main procurement intentions for the coming year. For more details of intended procurement by each of the ministries, click the links below.
Some of the Ministries will also organise separate procurement seminars online in the coming weeks.