A Helpdesk for the EU-Japan Regional Cooperation Platform is in preparation

As stressed by several European and Japanese regions last November at the seminar organised by the Centre in Tokyo, region-to-region cooperation is an effective means for bringing dynamism to regional economy. The helpdesk for EU-Japan regional cooperation will focus on industry (in particular SMEs), trade (in particular the EPA implementation), investment and co-financing of industry projects, research and innovation, tourism, and people mobility. The EU-Japan Centre expects the platform to include regions, clusters and prefectures, including European networks of clusters and regions.

The helpdesk will provide relevant information and guidance on existing EU and Japan programmes and funding, as well as identify best practices, needs and expectations from European and Japanese regions, clusters and prefectures to stimulate and facilitate new regional partnerships and develop further the existing ones. Different types of regional partnerships could be explored such as cooperation between one region / cluster in Europe and one prefecture / cluster in Japan, cooperation between a network of regions / clusters in Europe and one prefecture / cluster in Japan, and Europe-Japan region-to-region cooperation targeting regions / clusters in third countries, such as in South East Asia, Latin America or Africa.

The Centre plans to put in place this helpdesk in 2019.