After the publication of a first general report showing the importance of European and Japanese business cooperation in third markets, the EU-Japan Centre is publishing a new report focusing on business opportunities in the digital economy.
This new report written by Florence Arnu as part of the MINERVA Market & Policy Intelligence Programme, provides recommendations to companies, and in particular EU SMEs, on how to be involved in business cooperation with Japanese partners in third markets, with suggestions on promising sub-sectors of the digital economy and opportunities in third markets.

EU-Japan business cooperation in third markets is supported by a substantial political momentum between the EU and Japan and is likely to be a growing business trend. In addition, surveys in some EU Member States show that many EU companies are already involved in business activities with Japanese partners outside Japan. In general, cooperation between European and Japanese companies in third markets presents an opportunity for both sides to complement each other’s strengths such as in technologies, networks, market intelligence, financing, and leveraging pre-existing subsidiaries that may be used for joint projects in third markets.
The report suggests that business opportunities remain largely untapped in emerging countries, which have made ASEAN, Africa, and Latin America, among other regions, particularly attractive for EU-Japan business cooperation in third markets. Finally, the report highlights opportunities that result from the following trends: (i) the growing need for smart cities and smart rural solutions which often require innovative digital solutions; (ii) the growing importance given by governments and businesses to development issues and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); and (iii) the growing need for digital transformation, in particular for the healthcare sector, which has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The full report is available online.