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The Kyoto City government fosters industry-academia-government partnerships by integrating Kyoto’s unique traditional industries with technologies and skills in advanced industries. It has also built a system for stimulating technological innovation under the leadership of universities or other research institutes with the participation of companies inside and outside Kyoto. By doing so, the Kyoto City government aims to promote manufacturing industries unique to Kyoto and revitalize the local economy.
Despite disadvantages such as the difficulty in constructing large production facilities due to its location being enclosed by mountains in three directions, Kyoto City has been an incubator of many world-class high-tech companies. This has happened thanks to a favourable environment for collaboration between industry, academia and government, created by sharing universities’ intellectual resources with local companies and the municipality, as well as owing to a favourable environment for combining long-established techniques in traditional industries, such as ceramics, and advanced industries.
On one hand, as a city full of universities, Kyoto has always been a leader in education and research. There are as many as 36 four-year universities and two-year colleges currently based in Kyoto City. Due to a massive accumulation of research achievements with considerable future potential, the city has developed and produced outstanding academic talent, including many Nobel Prize Laureates.
On the other hand, the industrial structure of Kyoto comprises a wide range of industries, from long-standing traditional industries to advanced industries based on technologies created by universities and companies. From generation to generation since the early Meiji era (1868-1912), many venture companies with original technologies have been born in Kyoto. Therefore, Kyoto has been called “the city of Venture companies”.
Kyoto has long served as an arena for beneficial combinations of tradition and novel ideas, which has created various innovations together with harmony and integration between diverse cultures.
To know more, contact the City of Kyoto Business Attraction Promotion Office at: kigyoyc@city.kyoto.lg.jp
Published: December 2023
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Joint venture established in 1987 by the European Commission (DG GROW) and the Japanese Government (METI) for promoting all forms of industrial, trade and investment cooperation between the EU and Japan.
