KUMAMOTO PREFECTURE Latest Update: August 2013

www.EUbusinessinJapan.eu KUMAMOTO PREFECTURE Latest update: August 2013

Prefecture’s Flag

Main City: Kumamoto Population: 1,801,000 people, ranking 23/47 prefecture (2013) [1] Area: 7,404 km2 [2]

Geographical / Landscape description Kumamoto Prefecture is located in the centre of Kyushu, the southernmost of the four major Japanese islands. Mt. Aso (1592m), an extensive active volcano, is in the east of Kumamoto Prefecture, and is a main spot for tourism. [2]

Climate A mild climate with significant temperature differences between winter (cool) and summer (hot). There is a significant rainy season in June-July that accounts for 40% of the annual precipitations. [2]

Time zone GMT +7 in summer (+8 in winter)

International dialling code: 0081

Recent history, culture Kumamoto Prefecture was an important battlefield during the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877 that opposed tradition- driven samurai against the new imperial government. This rebellion was seen as a confrontation between the old traditions and the winds of modernity that had been blowing throughout Japan since 1868 when the last Shogun was overthrown and full political/economic powers were restored to the Emperor. Finally defeated, the spirit and honour showed by these samurai are still highly considered today providing many examples of heroism to follow and refer to. [3][4]

Economic overview In January 2011, the prefecture enacted the Kumamoto Prefecture Industry Promotion Vision 2011. This 10 year long project aims to develop and promote strategic regional industry measures in the five areas of: semiconductors, mobility (automotive, shipbuilding…), clean (environment, new energy…), food & Life (biotechnology, medical, food …), social system. [5][6]

Economic Indicators Kumamoto Prefecture All Japan Population (2013) 1,801,000 127,350,000 Unemployment rate (2012) [7] 4.3% 4.3% GPD (2010) [8] 1.1% of Japan’s 495 trillion Yen

EU-JAPAN CENTRE FOR INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION - Head office in Japan EU-JAPAN CENTRE FOR INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION - OFFICE in the EU Shirokane-Takanawa Station bldg 4F Rue Marie de Bourgogne, 52/2 1-27-6 Shirokane, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0072, JAPAN B-1000 Brussels, BELGIUM Tel: +81 3 6408 0281 - Fax: +81 3 6408 0283 - [email protected] Tel : +32 2 282 0040 –Fax : +32 2 282 0045 - [email protected] http://www.eu-japan.eu / http://www.EUbusinessinJapan.eu / http://www.een-japan.eu

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Infrastructure

Road/railways Located at the centre of the Kyushu region, the prefecture is a good distance from other large cities of the area. The completion of the Kyushu Shinkansen (bullet train) line shortened the trip between Hakata and Kumamoto to 36min and between Shin-Osaka and Kumamoto to 3h. [9]

Shipping Kumamoto Port and Yatsushiro Port operate regular international container services to China and Korea. [9]

Civil Aviation Aso Kumamoto Airport has domestic connections to Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Okinawa. One international route to Korea. [10]

Living Environment With a moderate climate, plentiful water and natural beauty, a rich history and culture and numerous hot springs, Kumamoto offers a good environment for everyday life. Its cultural masterpiece, Kumamoto Castle, is one of the most impressive and well preserved castles in Japan. [4]

Major type of activities of the economy

Agriculture, natural resources The prefecture has a strong agriculture economy; it is in the top 10 prefectures when considering the sector output. The main products are tomatoes, watermelon and tobacco for which it ranks first in terms of national market share. [11]

Manufacturing, construction In 2011, the manufacturing industry's shipment value was principally composed of electronic components (17.3%), transport machinery (16%) and food and related products (11.6%).[12] The prefecture hosts many large semiconductor manufacturing companies as well as automotive-related industries, it is home to the only factory in Japan manufacturing motorcycles. [13]

R&D, Innovation, Scientific research Within the Kumamoto Prefecture Industry Promotion Vision 2011 various relations between public, academic and private entities have been established. The local semiconductor sector revolves around the Kumamoto Institute for Photo-electro Organics while the Kumamoto Industrial Research Center, the Kumamoto Technology and Industry Foundation and other universities support development in the other sectors. [5]

Opportunities for EU Investors / Exporters / Importers

Promising sectors for cooperation Long-established industries: agriculture, forestry products, fisheries and aquaculture, electronics (semiconductors), transportation equipment (automobile industries), food processing. [6][14]

Financial/logistic support No recent and verified incentive-related information found in English-language web pages. Data is available only in Japanese.

More info: http://www.kumamoto-investment.jp/life/pub/list.aspx?c_id=8&pg=1 EU-JAPAN CENTRE FOR INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION - Head office in Japan EU-JAPAN CENTRE FOR INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION - OFFICE in the EU Shirokane-Takanawa Station bldg 4F Rue Marie de Bourgogne, 52/2 1-27-6 Shirokane, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0072, JAPAN B-1000 Brussels, BELGIUM Tel: +81 3 6408 0281 - Fax: +81 3 6408 0283 - [email protected] Tel : +32 2 282 0040 –Fax : +32 2 282 0045 - [email protected] http://www.eu-japan.eu / http://www.EUbusinessinJapan.eu / http://www.een-japan.eu

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Setting up a business in Kumamoto Industrial Recruitment & Location Division, Kumamoto Prefectural Government 6-18-1 Suizenji, Kumamoto 862-8570 TEL: +81(0)96-333-2330 FAX: +81(0)96-385-5797 http://www.kumamoto-investment.jp/

Other contacts:

Kumamoto Prefecture http://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/english/list.html Kumamoto recruitment and location guide http://www.kumamoto-investment.jp/one_html3/pub/Default.aspx?c_id=38 Kumamoto Industrial Research Center http://www.iri.pref.kumamoto.jp/ Kumamoto Institute for Photo-electro Organics http://www.kumamoto-phoenics.jp/ Kumamoto Technology and Industry Foundation http://www.kmt-ti.or.jp/ Kumamoto Tourism Site http://kumanago.jp/en/

Sources and footnotes

[1] http://www.stat.go.jp/data/jinsui/2.htm [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumamoto_Prefecture [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satsuma_Rebellion [4] http://www.kumamoto-icb.or.jp/eng/ [5] http://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/57/vision2011.html [6] http://www.jetro.go.jp/en/invest/region/kumamoto/ [7] http://www.stat.go.jp/data/roudou/pref/index.htm [8] http://www.esri.cao.go.jp/jp/sna/sonota/kenmin/kenmin_top.html [9] http://www.jetro.go.jp/en/invest/region/kumamoto/infra.html [10] http://www.kmj-ab.co.jp/eng/index.html [11] http://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/english/list.html [12] http://www.stat.go.jp/data/e-census/2012/sokuho/gaiyo.htm [13] http://www.jetro.go.jp/en/invest/region/kumamoto/icinfo.html [14] http://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/english/pamphlet/3_1_e.html

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Kumamoto Castle

Kumamoto Suizenji-jojuen Park

Pictures copyright: Wikipedia under the GNU Free Documentation License and EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation

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