Eu-Japan News Eu-Japan News

EU-JAPAN NEWS JUNE 2014 I 2 VOL 12

EU-Japan Business Round Table 16th Annual Meeting

Atue ercidunt am nos nullum nos aliquatis dolobor alit la at, quisl ea conseniat diatem irit am venim inci “EU-Japan Cooperation – New Opportunities for Global Growth”tat. Et, quat, quisi. The 16th annual EU-Japan Business discussions on the New Industrial Revo- and continued contribution… to further Round Table (BRT) meeting took place lution in relations to sustainability and development of bilateral economic rela- atEssit the Imperial velisse Hotel, Tokyo con on 08 &henibh important business elenit, themes for verothe EU tionship, dolor and reaffirm adionse our determination 09 April and was chaired by Hiromasa and Japan in the post FTA/EPA era; and to promote cooperation with the bu- YonekuraVelesenim (Chairmanquipit dolor and alismol CEO oforperci Sumi- discussionstem ip exeros with at. Duisi.the Japanese and EU sinesshenibh communities et, si te magniam, on both sides,volum notably quam tomodunt diat. Chemical Co., Ltd.) and Fabrice Authorities.Suscilit nonumsan eum eu feuisi. throughipsum zzriureet the BRT, inex order exer tosum strengthen Et adignim re- BrégierIpsum ea(President feum nonumsan and CEO of Airbusut aliquipisl S.A.S.). Henim illa con henis non hendreet irius- lationsdiam, vulla further coreet with auguerithe intention ustrud of addres dui bla- ilisism olobore volobor ipis ad exer ad Immediatelyciduisl utatummy after nulluptat the meeting, lut waugait the singfaci exercidunta wide variety prat of lorglobal si eros challenges” er summy. Thedel dipismodolor BRT Members si. (CEOs / senior exe- Co-Chairmaniriure modolore hand-delivered faccm amet, sent the adigna BRT’s num velesse tisim veliquisim dionsecte cutivesUre corer from adigna leading atumsan EU andut iure Japanese conse- 2014autatetuero Recommendations eui bla consenit to PM aliquat, Shinzo si Thefeugiamet, BRT’s uam contribution ad tat, quismod to furthering estrud firms)quam, vulla had feugiatthe honour uerilit numof welcoming velessim Abe.ex euipismod The Recommendations tio odolore dolore have dolore also EU-Japanmin ut praesse bilateral quissequateeconomic relations tat, si was ea high-levelzzriuscipsum representativesacil esequam ipsum of quatthe beenfeummol submitted endion vel to Europeanullan ulputpa Council tin- recognisedalissent wis indelisl the inim Joint atummodolore Press Statement er Japaneselum diat autand vel EU dolorperatAuthorities. wis The augue mee- Presidentcipit dolor ilismod Herman ming Van ea Rompuy faccum quat and issuedsum zzrilit at the lore end del of utthe alis EU-Japan dip ea Summitaugiam tingdit lamcor included susto updates consequ on theismodol negotia or- Europeanwis nulla feugait, Commission se modolor President sit acip José- –vullutpating see the text eliquisl box in do the eugait article ip entitled et do- tionspercilit for adion an EU-Japan ut nullan Free ute Trade min utet Agree iri- Manuelsumsan Barroso.ex ex essis In euguethe press feum statement nummy “22ndlore tat, EU-Japan qui tate Summit” exer sequisit on page aliquisse 8. mentuscilit lutat (FTA) adiam / Economic quamcommy Partnership nummy issuednulput lafollowing facipsum the zzrit 22nd adio eumEU-Japan veri- dipit, sed tio commy nim iliquam, qua- nonullan et, conulluptate tinibh et, quat uscidunt wisiscillum quat iriure mag- tet, core molorper sim velit venis dolore. Agreement (EPA); the adoption of ge- Summit, held on 7 May, the Summit http://www.eu-japan-brt.eu/an- nerallobore and min sectoralveleniam, recommendations; quis accum venisi leadersna faipsustrud acknowledged exerili thequamconumsan BRT’s “active nual-meeting-2014

IN THIS ISSUE

• 16th EU-Japan Business Round Table is a joint venture co-financed by the European Commission and the Japanese Ministry of • Centre’s missions to Japan - Call for applications Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). Its aim • Call for host companis for “Vulcanus in Europe” is to foster the development of industrial • NEW! - Market entry plan - “Keys to Japan” cooperation between companies from both regions through training programmes • NEW! - Japan tax & Public Procurement helpdesk for businesspeople, for EU and Japanese • Seminars, workshop and company visits from the Centre students and researchers, and through • 22nd EU-Japan Summit information services and an industrial dialogue. • Aichi - Global Leading Cluster for Advanced Materials • Japanese-Estonian Chamber of Commerce This quaterly newsletter is produced by the EU-based office of the EU-Japan Centre, and • Call for expert reports proposals on Japan-related business sectors is primarily intended to provide EU/Japan- • EU-Japan business cooperation opportunities related news. FROM CENTRE EU-JAPAN NEWS JUNE 2014 I 2 VOL 12 I PAGE 2

Results and Testimonials CALL FOR APPLICATIONS from the Latest WCM Session WCM Training Mission in November 20 participants working in various sectors, such as in the Metal Industry, Auto- The 30th session of the EU-Japan Centre’s standing of Japanese best practices, Lean motive, Machinery, Food, Healthcare etc., World Class Manufacturing (WCM) mission and Kaizen processes. The training course from 13 Member states, took part in the will take place from 17 to 21 November consists of lectures, workshops and vis- 28th World Class Manufacturing mission 2014 in Tokyo, Japan. its to some of the world’s most advanced from 11 to 15 November 2013. Japanese factories to understand the real Since the first edition in 1992, more than “Gemba” (the production site), to talk di- The participants visited four world class 700 companies across Europe have partici- rectly with their production managers, and companies (Toyota Motor Corporation, pated in this practical training course. to observe the effective implementation of TOTO Ltd., and AVEX Cooperation, Kyowa manufacturing methods. Kogyo Co.) and took part in Toyota Pro- The 5-day mission provides an in-depth duction System (TPS) practical training. analysis of Japanese manufacturing meth- To apply the application deadline is the They were also offered lectures on “Fu- odology and is aimed at EU Executives and 15 September 2014 sion of Total Productive Maintenance and Managers with knowledge of WCM and Toyota Production System” and “Funda- an engineering background. It assists the http://www.eu-japan.eu/detail-bu- mentals of Lean implementation”. participants in acquiring a better under- siness-programmes/WCM

“All about the TPS and TPM system. “The programme was an eye opener in seve- How important is Kaizen and Shop floor ral areas, and improved my understanding activities. 5S is a must have everywhere. of how to practically implement some of Management has to be involved in shop tools and concepts of continuous improve- floor activities”. ment. The reward system was a vital aspect as part of implementing the Kaizen culture”. Josef Malle, Plant manager, Kostwein Proizvodnja Strojeva D.O.O., Austria Waleed Mazen, EMS Manager, Electrolux Major Appliances Europe, England

Internship Programme - Vulcanus in Europe Opportunity for EU-based Companies to host a Japanese Trainee

The EU-Japan Centre is inviting applications from EU companies and By welcoming a trainee, the main benefit for research centres to host Japanese trainees for an 8-month internship the Host Company will be a valuable addition in the EU from August 2015 to March 2016. to its R&D workforce and an insight into Jap- The trainees come from leading Japanese universities and are stu- anese culture, which is extremely useful for dents in engineering or other scientific/high-tech fields. Following a conducting successful business with Japan. 4-month intensive language course the trainees will be able to com- municate in the EU company’s local language. To apply the application deadline is the 30 September 2014.

http://www.eu-japan.eu/host-trainee-0

Vulcanus in Europe Host Company’s Testimonial

“ZF Friedrichshafen AG has been hosting VUL- and us –as a host company- the time to guide CANUS students for a couple of years now. them and broaden their technical expertise in 2013, however, was the first time I personally order to help them achieve their targets. The had the opportunity to supervise a VULCANUS student also gains rich experience with a Euro- student. My colleagues and I were very pleased pean company. with the sincerity and hard work put in by the student during the internship, as well as the In today’s global economy, this programme skill level of the student. His efforts formed a provides the students with valuable experience significant contribution to our internal project. in an international company and adds to the cultural diversity in the workforce of the host Yoshitsugu Nagao (intern) and Nithin Sreeprakash, The programme with its 1 year schedule, in- company. We are definitely looking forward to MBS Simulation Engineer, ZF Friedrichshafen AG, cluding the 8-month internship, gives the stu- our next VULCANUS interns!” Germany dent the time to understand the tasks at hand, FROM CENTRE EU-JAPAN NEWS JUNE 2014 I 2 VOL 12 I PAGE 3

Clusters and SMEs Sectoral Missions in Japan Launched in 2012, the Cluster and SME support mission in Japan – which is funded by the European Commission and managed by the EU-Japan Centre – is now at its 4th session. This year’s mission will be held from the 13 to the 17 October 2014 both in Tokyo and Yokohama, Japan and – following on from last year’s success – will again cover Biotechnology and related sectors. In 2015, 2 missions will be organised: one in January covering the nanotechnology sector (see below) and again a biotech mission in October. Biotech Clusters and SMEs Mission in Japan Nanotech Clusters and SMEs Mission in Japan Results from the previous mission CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

The 2013 mission was a very positive experience In addition to the biotech mission, the EU-Japan for all participants in terms of their stage of rela- Centre is now launching a new mission focussing tions with Japan. Many newcomer SMEs managed on nanotechnology and related sectors. to establish a first contact with Japanese clusters The Cluster/SME support mission will be held on the and companies (and in addition they gained plenty 26-30 January 2015 in Tokyo in the fringes of the “nano of experience to prepare them for future business tech 2015” exhibition (http://www.nanotechexpo.jp/). with Japanese partners) whereas those SMEs and Clusters with pre-existing contacts were able to The Centre welcomes applications from EU build on these and improve their prospects of form- Clusters and SMEs operating in this sector. ing partnerships with Japanese organisations thanks The deadline for applications is 30 October 2014. to the new contacts made during the mission. This nanotech mission will last for 5 days and will The B2B matchmaking session organised during comprise market-specific business seminars, group the fair generated over 120 meetings for the partic- company visits, one-on-one meetings during the ipants. Overall the mix of lectures, company visits “nano tech 2015” fair as well as showcases and net- and meetings – which were also supported by the Ja- working events intended to maximize opportuni- pan BioIndustry Association – greatly improved the ties for the EU participants. In addition, the mission usefulness of the mission for participants, due in part to the will provide EU clusters with the opportunity to benchmark with complementary nature of these activities. Japanese counterparts during a specially-dedicated cluster to Another positive outcome was the strong interest among par- cluster session. ticipants in discussing cooperation opportunities, and in following up these discussions immediately after returning to Europe. The mission objectives are to facilitate first contact (which could This helped increase contact and cooperation between different be the door leading to new business opportunities), identify rele- clusters and SMEs, some of whom are actively planning to imple- vant key contacts and gain knowledge of Japan’s market structure. ment joint activities and projects in Europe. http://www.eu-japan.eu/cluster-missions

Are you Planning to go to Japan? Take Advantage of a “Hot Desk” in Tokyo with Logistical Support For EU SMEs planning to go to Japan, the EU-Japan Centre offers FREE logistical support and business assistance at its Tokyo office, for up to one month. Details of the support measures offered: • office facilities in Tokyo on the Centre’s premises which includes an internet connection and telephone • full access to meeting and seminar facilities on the Centre’s premises; • a help desk for all information inquiries about business in Japan; http://www.eu-japan.eu/other-activi- • assistance in using the Enterprise Europe Network service while in Japan. ties/step-in-japan Any SME wishing to benefit from this support should contact [email protected]

Study on “Sustainable Building and Construction Sector in Japan” CALL FOR PROPOSALS 1000 !!!! Call for proposals to outsource a study and market access, business development, 1000 people have joined the LinkedIn related activities (expert list and workshop) technological and regulatory cooperation group of the EU-Japan Centre for Industri- on the sustainable building and construc- within the construction sector in general al Cooperation since its creation. tion sector in Japan and the analysis of op- and the insulation materials in particular. Thank you all for supporting the Centre’s portunities for European firms. activities! Interested parties are invited to consult the The outsourced project is intended to sup- full details of the call, including the terms of port and complement policy exchange in reference available online. Not yet a member? the framework of the EU-Japan Industrial Feel free to join us! Policy Dialogue - “Climate Change and En- Deadline for applications: 20 June 2014. vironment Working Group” with a business https://www.linkedin.com/ driven perspective focusing on Japan http://www.eu-japan.eu/TORCallFor- groups?home=&gid=2456149&trk=a- Proposals_SC net_ug_hm FROM CENTRE EU-JAPAN NEWS JUNE 2014 I 2 VOL 12 I PAGE 4

Are you considering marketing a product or service in Japan? Do you need a professionalEssit market entryvelisse plan? con henibh elenit, Call for Applications to Benefit from a New veroSupport called dolor “Keys to Japan” adionse “Keys to Japan” is a new European Com- 3 plans will be offered each year: Who is eligible to apply? mission-funded initiative, managed by the - 1 plan is reserved for a market entry plan Applicants must be EU citi- EU-Japan Centre to help selected European covering end-user applications or receiver zens working in a manage- SMEs considering marketing a product or technology using Global Navigation Satel- ment position for a European service in Japan by developing a detailed lite Systems (GNSS). SME headquartered in the EU. Applicants and personalised market entry plan for must be at least 20 years of age at the date them. The cost of each plan will be covered - the other 2 plans can be for any relevant of submission of the application form. by the EU-Japan Centre. Each plan is worth industrial or consumer product or service. €10,000 and will be prepared by JMEC. Deadline for application: 31 July 2014 http://www.eu-japan.eu/keys-japan

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST Minerva Fellowship New support for EU SMEs to be launched this autumn! The 1st 2014 slot of the “Minerva” Japan Tax & Public Procurement Helpdesk EU-Japan fellowship programme successfully got off the ground. Venturing into a new foreign market In addition, the Helpdesk is planning to means that – in addition to getting to provide the following services: know your market – you must also fa- miliarise yourself with a plethora of pro- Tax cedures and regulations. Although your • Online helpdesk-service (first reply within company would rather devote its precious 48 hours); time to developing its business, much of it • A Tax Q&A database with frequently The candidates to whom the in-house is instead consumed by navigating a regu- asked questions regarding the Japanese fellowship in Japan has been granted are latory maze in an as yet unfamiliar foreign tax system; Mr. Cesar De Prado from Spain, Mr. Ed- market. • Practical guides and checklists; gar Hahn from Germany and Mr. Andrej • Frequent webinars by experts in the field; Zagar from Slovenia. The Japanese public procurement (PP) • “Ask the Expert” service and liaising with The fellowship (consisting of 1700 EUR market is largely unknown to European a pool of taxation experts; per month) covers a period of six months SMEs. Despite its enormous potential – • Information-clearinghouse on tax issues and is offered twice a year, from April to with an estimated size of €550 billion per September and from October to March. year – there are currently very few foreign Public procurement The Research Fellows are expected to companies active within this market. In • Online helpdesk service (first reply within produce a policy report on topics that are 2012, out of a total of 78,000 companies 48 hours); relevant for the EU-Japan Centre, as well only 264 foreign companies had regis- • Practical guides on supplier qualification as supporting the daily analytical activi- tered themselves as suppliers with central and industrial standards (JIS) and check- ties of the Centre. government organisations. Presently, a lists; substantial number of tenders are award- • Tender monitoring service and market Applications are currently open for the ed to single bidders, giving Japanese analysis; 2nd 2014 “Minerva” edition (October government institutions a limited choice. • Twitter service with selected tender notic- 2014-March 2015 period). Should you Entering the PP market is not without dif- es and related news (https://twitter.com/ be interested in applying, please submit ficulties, but with the right product and JTPPHELPDESK); your application documents (CV, cover right approach excellent opportunities • “Ask the Expert” service and liaising with letter, research topic plan). do exist. relevant experts; • Frequent webinars by experts in the field; Deadline for application: 15 July 2014 In order to lessen these initial hurdles • Information-clearinghouse on public pro- and difficulties, the EU-Japan Centre for curement. Industrial Cooperation is preparing for “Through the Minerva fel- the launch of the Japan Tax & Public Pro- The online JT&PP Helpdesk will be part of the lowship I have broadened curement Helpdesk to support European http://www.eubusinessinjapan.eu portal. my insight about Japanese SMEs in their efforts to enter the Japa- nanotechnology. Japan is nese market. The launch of the Helpdesk With the JT&PP Helpdesk still in its devel- one of the largest markets is scheduled for autumn 2014. The JT&PP opmental stage, we would like to include for nanotechnology. Helpdesk will provide first-line informa- your wishes and expectations with regard Its research and development is at the highest tion and advice on tax and public pro- to the kind of services and information levels, opening up new possibilities for future curement. Additionally, it will offer train- that you will like us to provide. Please get markets.” Andrej Zagar, Visiting Fellow ing, materials and online resources. in touch!

http://www.eu-japan.eu/other-activi- http://www.eubusinessinjapan.eu/ ties/minerva-fellowship form-tax-public-procurement FROM CENTRE EU-JAPAN NEWS JUNE 2014 I 2 VOL 12 I PAGE 5

3rd EU-Asia Industry Collaboration Seminar Old and New Spaces 12 June 2014, Prague, Czech Republic of the Automotive Industry: Towards a new Balance? 04-06 June 2014, Kyoto, Japan

A seminar titled “Old and new spaces of the automotive industry: towards a new balance?” was co-organised by the EU-Ja- pan Centre for Industrial Cooperation and GERPISA at Kyoto University from the 4th to the 6th of June. This year’s colloquium The EU-Asia Industry Collaboration Seminar is the biggest EU-Asia industrial collabora- shed light on the overall tendencies in the tion event organised by GNSS.Asia in the context of the European Space Solutions 2014 Asian automobile industry. Asia appears (http://www.space-solutions.eu). This event brought together leading GNSS actors (com- as the main “driver of change”, in terms of panies and governmental organisations) from Europe and Asia to share the most up-to- sales and production volumes, and from date information on GNSS markets and promote business opportunities. the point of view of firm strategies, local Being Europe’s largest Satellite Navigation conference, the event allowed participants to policies, industrial policies and innovation get the latest information on European GNSS and market by attending various GNSS-re- (technologies, products, organisations), etc. lated side events such as the session on Space Solutions for Sustainable Transport, or the Space Solutions for Consumer Applications (LBS) Conference. Some B2B matchmaking The seminar benefited from Dr. Lucian Cer- events were held and provided an opportunity to find an appropriate partner for business nat, Chief Trade Economist , DG Trade, Eu- or R&D collaboration. ropean Commission delivering a key note http://www.gnss.asia/ speech titled “Impact Study of the Automo- bile Industry”. He presented a comprehensive study on automobiles and the impact GNSS.Asia Japan Seminar - eCall and EGNSS Applications of FTAs on the EU car industry. Also the for High Precision and Transport – exploring EU‐Japan cooperation opportunities EU-Japan Centre’s General Managers Silviu 29 May 2014, Tokyo, Japan Jora, and Hiroshi Tsukamoto contributed to the meetings as discussants.

http://gerpisa.org/node/2302

Mega-FTAs, Globalization and Technological Change 03 June 2014, Tokyo, Japan An assessment of the EU and Japan’s The EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooper- Another objective of this seminar was to role in setting the Trade rules for the ation in cooperation with the Delegation foster concrete cooperation opportunities 21st Century of the European Union to Japan successful- between the EU and Japan in GNSS down- ly organised the GNSS.Asia Japan seminar stream applications, following the suc- Several «mega-FTAs» (TTIP, TPP) are in the in Tokyo with the support of the European cessful organisation of workshops in May, making, as well as major trade deals, like Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agen- October and November 2013. Relevant EU the EU-Japan FTA. What role can such «me- cy and the Satellite Positioning Research GNSS service providers were also present, ga-FTAs» play in shaping our common eco- and Application Center. and offered presentation pitches, and par- nomic future? How will these «mega-FTAs» ticipated in a moderated panel discussion affect the current WTO post-Bali agenda? together with leading members from the These were some of the questions which Japanese GNSS industry. were debated, with the participation of a number of high standing policy practitioners and academics from the EU and Japan. The Seminar welcomed the generous presence of Dr. Lucian Cernat, Chief Trade Eco- nomist, DG Trade, European Commission, as keynote speaker. He presented the EU-Ja- pan FTA’s challenges and perspectives. Ad- The objective of the GNSS.Asia Japan sem- ditional speakers from Japanese govern- inar was to: ment and academia contributed their views 1) present an update on eCall (a European through presentations and via an open de- initiative intended to bring rapid assistance The target audience for this event consist- bate with speakers and participants. Global to motorists involved in an accident) and to ed of businesses based and operating in value chain governance in the area of MEGA introduce opportunities in the European the Japanese market, academia and stake- FTAs, EU-Japan EPA/EFTA’s contribution to GNSS market for automotive; holders interested in cooperation with the Japan’s economic and trade objectives and 2) open a discussion in order to engage EU on GNSS user segment. the challenges were also presented. Japanese GNSS stakeholders in cooperation opportunities with the EU on GNSS for http://www.eu-japan.eu/mega-ftas-globalization-and-technological-changean-assess- transport applications. http://japan.gnss.asia/home-japan ment-eu-and-japans-role-setting-trade-rule FROM CENTRE EU-JAPAN NEWS JUNE 2014 I 2 VOL 12 I PAGE 6

EU-Japan Workshop on Research & Innovation in Robotics: REPORT New Opportunities for EU-Japan Cooperation The Japanese Clean Energy On 11 June 2014 in Brussels, the European Commission and the EU-Japan Centre co-organ- Sector Development ised “EU-Japan Workshop on Research & Innovation in Robotics: New Opportunities for EU-Japan Cooperation” with the objective of bringing together leading Japanese and Eu- This report by the EU-Ja- ropean centres of excellence in robotics and to discuss opportunities for future large-scale pan Centre aims to pro- EU-Japan joint research projects in robotics. vide the European Com- mission, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Eu- ropean businesses with a comprehensive analysis of clean energies in Japan. It will look at to what extent clean energies have in- fluenced or are capable of influencing Ja- 33 participants joined the meeting, including This is a domain where both Europe and Ja- pan’s economy, notably in its relationship 12 from research institutions (Waseda Univer- pan can build on considerable experience with Europe. sity; Scuola di Studi Universitari e di Perfezion- and knowledge. In the second part, the Eu- amento Sant’Anna – SSSA; Technical Universi- ropean Commission presented the oppor- In order to accurately explain the broad ty of Catalonia; Ecole Polytechnique Federale tunities offered by Horizon 2020 and other and complex matter of clean energy de- de Lausanne; Imperial College of London; specific initiatives in various areas of robotics velopment in Japan, the report is divided Technische Universität München; Laboratoire research. into three parts. The first part will exam- LIRMM), 13 from industry (including KUKA In the third part, European research institu- ine the electricity market structure, as a Laboratories and a representative of euRo- tions made presentations to introduce their whole, including a description of the ef- botics) and 8 from authorities, including DG latest research activities and their suggestion fects of the deregulation reform. This will RTD, DG CNECT, METI and MIC. or proposals for cooperation with Japan. provide the framework to understand clean energy development. The second In the first part of the workshop, Waseda Further exchanges and discussions were held part will focus on the Abe administration University made a presentation to propose during the networking lunch and the after- general energy policy, and specifically “human-robot-collaboration challenges” noon session (brokerage meetings). its clean energy policy with the aim of as a potential area of EU-Japan research co- assessing what steps the government operation. In the super-ageing society, hu- Promotion of robot industry will be one pil- has taken. Finally, the third part of this man-adapted robots or human-symbiotic lar for Japan’s new growth strategy to be put report will analyse the clean energy mar- robots are urgently required both for daily life forward by the Japanese government this ket structure before 2011 and how it will support and for manufacturing assistance. summer. evolve in the foreseeable future. Advanced research and development in human-robot-collaboration challenges is crucial http://www.eu-japan.eu/eu-ja- http://www.eu-japan.eu/sites/eu-ja- in a future where robots work in the same en- pan-workshop-robotics-and-oppor- pan.eu/files/Japanese-Clean-Ener- vironment with humans. tunities-eu-japan-cooperation gy-sector-development-2014.pdf

Seminar & Training Course on Horizon 2020 Information on how the European Programme for Research and Innovation works and how to get involved 12 March 2014, Brussels, Belgium EU-Japan cooperation in science, technolo- The seminar mainly targeted Japanese-af- gy and innovation (STI) has an opportunity filiated companies in Europe in order to for growth, with the entering into force of encourage their participation in Horizon the EU-Japan Agreement on Cooperation in 2020 by enhancing their understanding of Science and Technology in 2011. In Europe, Horizon 2020. “Horizon 2020”, the world’s biggest public It also provided a platform to exchange funding programme for multinational re- European, Japanese and other global com- search, development and innovation, has panies’ experiences in the previous Frame- officially started. work Programme (FP7) and considered In this context, the EU-Japan Centre for In- strategic questions relevant to industry. dustrial Cooperation and the Japan Business In addition, the seminar was followed by Council in Europe (JBCE) co-organise a sem- a 3-hour training course by “JEUPISTE pro- inar on Horizon 2020 with the objective of ject” team on practical aspects necessary http://www.eu-japan.eu/semi- further promoting EU-Japan STI cooperation. for participating in Horizon 2020. nar-training-course-horizon-2020

The EU-Japan Centre is National Contact Point for Horizon 2020 in Japan In November 2013, the EU-Japan Centre was named National Contact Point (NCP) for Japan, for FP7 and the EU’s new Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, namely Horizon 2020 (http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en) which was launched in 2014. The Japanese NCP system will be the main structure for providing guidance, practical information and assistance on all aspects of participation in Horizon 2020 from Japan. For more information or enquiries, please contact Toshiyasu Ichioka at [email protected] FROM CENTRE EU-JAPAN NEWS JUNE 2014 I 2 VOL 12 I PAGE 7

Lean in Europe Driving Competitiveness Visits

The latest visits to EU manufacturing companies in the frame of “Lean in Europe Driving Competitiveness”, the recent programme of the EU-Japan Centre based around visits to leading European factories to see how they implemented world-class principles originated in Japan in their manufacturing process, have been held in March and May (see below). The aims of the programme are to improve EU companies’ competitiveness by sharing ideas between participants and host companies. Through lectures, shop-floor visits, coaching and detailed ex- planations provided by the host company, participants will be inspired to continue along or begin improvement activities. Each “Lean in Europe Driving Competitiveness” visit ends with a debriefing time during which ideas, opinions and suggestions were shared between all the participants providing the host companies with useful feedbacks, and new ideas to participants to be implemented in their own companies. Should you be interested in being informed about the next visit scheduled for October in http://www.eu-japan.eu/detail-bu- Denmark (TBC) please contact Céline Godart [email protected] siness-programmes/Lean-in-Eu- rope-Driving-Competitiveness-visits

Lean in Europe: Visit to Bosch Thermotechnology GmbH Held on the 26-27 March 2014 the 3rd visit of on Lean and best practices and prepared Lean in Europe Driving Competitiveness the mission’s participants so that they was organised at Bosch Thermotechnol- could get the most out of the visit. ogy GmbH in Wernau, Germany. 23 engineers from 20 different companies located On the 27, Bosch Thermotechnology in 13 EU Member-States and operating in GmbH’s representatives shared with the various sectors such as textile, automotive, participants their own experience on Lean postal services, electronics, heating… at- and best practices with a focus on “A3 tended the visit. Thinking” (a way of presenting reports) and problems solving and participants could The first day a preparatory lecture from see their assembling lines. They explained Prof. Richard Keegan of Enterprise Ireland about the improvements introduced in and Mr. Patrick Scheede from Porsche Con- their assembling lines and the positive resulting GmbH provided the basic theory sults obtained doing so. http://eu-japan.eu/lean-europe-driving-competitiveness-visit-bosch-thermotechnology-gmbh

Lean in Europe: Visit to Audi SA/NV The 4th Lean in Europe Driving Competitiveness’ visit was organised on 9 May 2014 at Audi S.A. / N.V. Brussels plant, Belgium. 24 engineers from 20 different companies located in 14 EU Member-States and operating in various sectors such as automotive, electronics, machinery, textile, domes- tic equipment, steel constructions… attended this visit.

This factory tour through the body shop and assembly line has given participants the chance to experience production of the Audi A1 up close. From the manufacture of the wheel arches and the connecting of the engine/transmission with the body to the final quality check of the A1, the visitor route provided a look behind the scenes of modern car making. Audi’s representatives shared their own experience on Lean http://www.eu-japan.eu/lean-europe-driving-competitiveness-visit-audi-sanv and best practices and explained Audi Production System.

LEAN & KAIZEN WEBINARS As a new service from the EU-Japan Centre 4 What you will learn during this webinar? online free webinars on Lean and Kaizen will • introduction to Lean and KAIZEN® be organised in 2014. The 2 first webinars • identify the seven types of waste: transporta- were held in spring receiving positive feed- tion, inventory, motion, waiting, over-produc- backs from participants. tion, over-processing, defects • start a 5S campaign as basic method of in- DATES creasing efficiency Registrations online at: • 11 August 2014 - Introduction level • create standards for improving quality • 18 September 2014 - Advanced level http://www.eu-japan.eu/wcm-webinar- • involve employees in the continuous im- series-4-webinars-and-2-levels-principles- provement process and-advanced FROM COMMISSION EU-JAPAN NEWS JUNE 2014 I 2 VOL 12 I PAGE 8

22nd EU-Japan Summit Mr Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, Mr José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the European Commission, and Mr Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan met in Brussels on 7 May 2014 for the 22nd Summit between the European Union and Japan.

According to the press releases from the European Commission, various topics were covered during the summit in particular trade related ones with the reaffirmation of the importance of strengthening the trade and economic relationship between the EU and Japan, and of the early conclusion of a highly comprehensive and ambitious Free Trade Agreement (FTA)/ Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) which would play a vital role in this regard, notably by addressing issues related to market access for goods, services and investment, procurement, including railways, and non-tariff measures. Satisfaction about the good progress made in sectoral dialogue and cooperation in various areas such as the ICT, transportation, energy, food security, higher education and industry in general was expressed during the summit. The summit also covered joint cooperation in global issues such as in climate change, disarmament and non-proliferation, nuclear energy, science and technology, cyberspace, peace and security and other. Summit conclusions in English: Other related press releases: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STATEMENT-14-151_en.htm http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-14-348_en.htm Summit conclusions in Japanese: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-14-332_en.htm?lo- http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/files/000037965.pdf cale=en

In paragraph 5 of the Joint Press State- termination to promote cooperation with the tariffs, non-tariff measures, procurement, investment issued at the end of the Summit, business communities on both sides, notably ment, services, competition, intellectual property the Summit leaders recognised and paid through the BRT, in order to strengthen rela- rights, geographical indications and regulatory tribute to the work of the EU-Japan Busi- tions further with the intention of addressing cooperation, ‘and that a comprehensive, ambi- ness Round Table (BRT): a wide variety of global challenges. We wel- tious, high-level and mutually beneficial FTA/ come the recommendations adopted by the EPA should be concluded as soon as possible’. We “We recognise the active and continued con- BRT in April that ‘reiterate its calls that the EU are also strongly encouraged by the BRT’s com- tribution of the EU-Japan Business Round Ta- and Japanese Authorities should step up their mitment to make every effort to support the early ble (BRT) to further development of bilateral efforts to tackle and resolve the substance of realisation of an EU-Japan FTA/EPA.” economic relationship, and reaffirm our de- the outstanding issues’, which should include Source: European Commission

From Numerical Results to Broadcasting Internationalisation of EU Gateway on EURONEWS Portal for EU SMEs Since 2009, the EU Gateway programme the Construction and Building sector and The European Commission, DG Enterprise has shown an unfaltering commitment in one specialised in the Environment and En- and Industry officially launched its EU assisting European SMEs in opening doors ergy field, were invited to Japan and Korea SMEs Internationalisation Portal. to the Japanese and the Korean markets. to share their business accomplishments in This EU initiative has a portfolio of 30 busi- a video story prepared by EURONEWS. ness missions to Japan and 15 business missions to Korea, enrolling over 1500 EU Both live broadcastings provide details companies, attracting 6400 Korean and about existing opportunities and chal- 13500 Japanese stakeholders. All in all, nu- lenges on the Japanese/Korean markets merical indicators accompanied by actions and how newcomers should overcome it. have transformed it from a statistical exer- In addition, it gives insights about benefits cise into quantifiable results. of the EU Gateway programme and how these participants turned it to their business advantage. The stories were broad- casted on EURONEWS TV channel in March and April 2014 and were made available This new portal is meant to help EU-based in 13 languages: Arabic, English, French, SMEs wanting to engage in business with German, Hungarian, Italian, Greek, Persian, countries outside the EU to find out about Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and the organisations at national or European Ukrainian. level that can provide them with internationalisation services and support. All in all, a success story is about sharing This site offers: good and bad experiences. It is about high- •a database of support services (e.g. local Over the years, EU Gateway has succeeded lighting mistakes and challenges encoun- chambers of commerce) who can help in building sound success stories from its tered by the story-teller to help others avoid the SME to start doing business with its business missions, EU companies, and Ko- doing it. It is about helping viewers to con- target country; rean and Japanese counterparts. Thanks to clude: if he was able to do it, I can too. •links to other EU-backed sources of help/ outstanding results, its successes have got- advice. ten the attention of the Business Planet Ini- To watch the videos, follow the link: tiative, EURONEWS TV Chanel. Two past EU Source: European Commission Gateway participants, one specialised in http://www.eu-gateway.eu/home https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/smeip/ FROM JAPAN EU-JAPAN NEWS JUNE 2014 I 2 VOL 12 I PAGE 9

22nd Japan-EU Summit and Prime Minister Abe’s Visit to Europe The leaders also de- and Belgium. During his visit in Belgium, clared that “we reaffirm Prime Minister Abe also held a meeting with our commitment to Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Secretary Gen- concluding a Strategic eral of NATO, at the NATO Headquarters and Partnership Agreement delivered a speech and exchanged opinions with a comprehensive with permanent representatives from 28 coverage as a sound countries of NATO. structure for deeper po- litical, global and sec- Prime Minister Abe also had an audience toral cooperation over with His Majesty King Philippe, and attend- Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe between José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the European Commission (left) and Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council the coming decades. ed the Japan-Belgium Summit Meeting. The Copyright© Cabinet Secretariat, Cabinet Public Relations Office. All Rights Reserved. We reaffirm the impor- final event was a dialogue session with Eu- tance of strengthening the trade and economic ropean companies and representatives of The 22nd Japan-EU Summit took place on relationship between the EU and Japan, and of Japanese companies in Europe which was May 7th in Brussels. Prime Minister Abe was the early conclusion of a highly comprehensive co-hosted by BUSINESSEUROPE and Japan welcomed by Mr. Herman Van Rompuy, and ambitious Free Trade Agreement (FTA)/ Business Council in Europe (JBCE). President of the European Council and Mr. Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).” José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the Further coverage of Prime Minister Abe’s vis- European Commission. The 22nd Japan-EU summit was part of it can be found in below website. Prime Minister Abe’s visit to Europe, during Source: Mission of Japan to the EU Following the summit the leaders released which time the Prime Minister also visited; a joint statement which covered bilateral Germany, the U.K., Portugal, Spain, France www.mofa.go.jp/erp/c_see/ relations, global issues and regional issues. page18e_000072.html

The Fifth Japan-EU English Ambassador Shiojiri Opens the Friends of Europe and JICA Haiku Contest Conference “EU-Japan: Ready for a new stage in relations?” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Ambassador Shiojiri delivered the opening (MOFA) and the Delegation of the Euro- speech at the Friends of Europe and JICA pean Union to Japan will host the Fifth conference “EU-Japan: Ready for a new Japan-EU English Haiku Contest under the stage in relations?” theme of “Wonderful Encounter”. The contest is open to the nationals of Japan and This event was an opportunity for Japa- the EU member states, who reside in Japan nese and EU representatives to meet and or the EU member states. The application discuss current Japan-EU relations as the ©FriendsofEurope2014 period will be from May 7th to June 27th. negotiations for the Japan-EU Strategic On the Japan-EU SPA and EPA, Ambassa- Partnership Agreement (SPA) and Econom- dor Shiojiri stated that, “we must endeavor One winner each from the EU and Japan ic Partnership Agreement (EPA) continue. to make sure that the content of the agree- will be announced in due course. MOFA Ambassador Shiojiri spoke in detail about ments is substantial and will have real im- and the Delegation of the EU to Japan will his vision for Japan-EU relations and how pact”. While looking towards the conclu- offer the winner from the EU and Japan a to elevate their relationship. “We need to sion of the agreements, the Ambassador round-trip to Matsuyama City, the birth- cooperate with each other to enhance de- pointed out that; “if we take too long, we place of modern Haiku in Japan. mocracy, support basic human needs and run the risk that the SPA and EPA will be irrel- strengthen governance of the world. By act- evant when they are concluded. This is why This contest is expected to provide an op- ing together and setting norms and stand- we must consider the importance of a swift portunity to meet citizens of Japan and ards in these areas, Japan and the EU will in- conclusion of the negotiations”. the EU, which encourages more active ject new added values to global dynamism”. The full text of Ambassador Shiojiri’s re- people-to-people exchanges between The Ambassador also stated that Japan and the marks can be accessed on the website of the two. For details on how to enter, please EU have a responsibility “to make our partnership the Mission of Japan to the EU. visit the official webpage and good luck! a vehicle which has a profound and positive im- Source: Mission of Japan to the EU pact on global peace and security, a vehicle which http://www.mofa.go.jp/press/release/ strengthen our own and the global economy”. http://www.eu.emb-japan.go.jp/ press4e_000280.html Friends_of_Europe_Speech.html

College of Europe Students Visit the Mission

A group of 40 students from the Natolin campus of the College of Europe visited the Mission and held a roundtable discussion with Ambassador Shiojiri. Ambassador Shiojiri first presented an overview of Japan-EU relations and outlined the framework and expectations for the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and Japan-EU Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA). The majority of the session was taken up by a roundtable discussion between the stu- The session concluded with Ambassador Shiojiri taking the opportuni- dents and the Ambassador. The students took the opportunity to ty to wish the students success in their upcoming exams and the stu- gain the insights of Ambassador Shiojiri on a range of issues perti- dents kindly presented the Ambassador with a gift from their campus. nent to Japan-EU relations. Source: Mission of Japan to the EUci FROM JAPAN EU-JAPAN NEWS JUNE 2014 I 2 VOL 12 I PAGE 10

Aichi, Global Leading Cluster for Advanced Materials Located in the centre of Japan, Aichi Prefecture is one of the top world-class manufacturing clusters, featuring great production achieve- ments especially in the transportation equipment (automotive, aerospace etc) and manufacturing (machine tools etc) sectors. Many research and development facilities are located in Aichi Prefecture, which contribute efficiently to supporting these industries by spurring innovation breakthroughs. There were already several research institutions in the field of advanced materials, but there is no doubt that the establishment in November 2013 of a research hub named “Automobili Lamborghini Advanced Composite Structures Laboratory Japan” (ACSL Japan) will further boost research in this cutting-edge field. Advanced Composite Structures Laboratory Japan On 12 November 2013, Nagoya Institute of Technology established ACSL Japan. This laboratory was set up to conduct R&D on carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP), under the supervision of Dr. Paolo Feraboli, the director of Automobili Lamborghini Advanced Composite Structures Laborato- ry in Seattle, USA.

ACSL Japan will focus on developing high-volume production techniques in a short time for forged composite, which aim at building a research platform which uses a paste of fibres mixed with resin that will spur industrial creation through the ex- is squeezed out to make almost any shape, periment and the accumulation of a wide thanks to a metal mold. As such, ACSL range of technologies from the elabora- Japan intends to collaborate closely with a tion to the mass production of carbon fibre wide array of companies, especially in the composites-based products. This collabora- automotive and aerospace industries, to tion, in other words, allows Lamborghini’s apply this next-generation CFRP to various next-generation carbon fibre technologies products. Moreover, thanks to the joint re- to meet Aichi-based Nagoya Institute of search with the companies, ACSL Japan will Technology’s expertise in research.

Aichi Prefecture, Major R&D cluster for Carbon-fiber-reinforced Polymer (CFRP) Toray, the global leader for the manufacture advanced composites as well as their de- To be added that the above centre signed of carbon fibre composite materials, estab- sign, and the creation of new manufacturing MOUs with Germany’s carbon fibre rein- lished its Advanced Composites Center in technologies. forced plastics cluster CFK Valley (Hamburg) Aichi Prefecture in 2009. This facility is in- and French cluster EMC2 / IRT Jules Verne tended to develop process technologies for The National Composite Center in Nago- (Nantes) in March 2014, at JEC Europe 2014 carbon fibre composite material primarily in ya University, which was inaugurated in in Paris: these MOUs will enable further tech- automobile and aircraft applications. June 2013, is another example of a core re- nological breakthroughs and exchanges in search facility, born from industrial-govern- scientific fields. All these initiatives contrib- In addition, the Composite Engineering ment-academia joint efforts, for the appli- ute to increasing Aichi’s leading position in Research Center (CERC) of Nagoya Univer- cation of carbon fibre composites to aircraft the field of advanced materials. sity is a centre of excellence for education, and automobiles. Companies like Toyota Please feel free to contact Aichi Prefecture’s research, and development in the field of Motor Corporation, Aisin Seiki, Komatsu, Representative Office in Europe should you composite material engineering. It con- and Toray have been involved in the R&D on have any questions about the aforemen- ducts challenging research activities such the production and the evaluation of large- tioned information. as clarifications regarding the behaviour of size components, such as car bodies. http://www.jetro.go.jp/france/jetro/ bureaux/

The Business Development A New Website to Promote SMEs from Yokohama Center Tokyo Excellent Companies in Yokohama Formerly known as Tokyo Business Entry Point, since April, the organisation name has The new website “Excellent Companies characteristic products and solid exper- been changed into Business Development in Yokohama” was unveiled on 25 April. It tise in their respective fields. We hope this Center Tokyo with a new email address presents Small and Medium sized Enter- business directory will serve as a bridge [email protected] and website. prises (SMEs) in Yokohama to people out- between excellent companies in Yokoha- The organisation provides support to side Japan, showing how products and ma and customers outside Japan. foreign companies who are already op- technologies from Yokohama’s SMEs can erating or considering establishment of a solve problems for businesses overseas. Source: The City of Yokohama Frankfurt Representa- business base in the Tokyo area. The companies listed in this directory have tive Office http://yokohama.excellentcompa- http://bdc-tokyo.org nies.jp FROM JAPAN EU-JAPAN NEWS JUNE 2014 I 2 VOL 12 I PAGE 11

Social Innovation 2014 Japan-EU Meeting on Science and Technology Cooperation 29-31 October 2014, Yokohama, Japan On 15 April 2014, H.E. Mr. Makoto Katsura, efficient mechanisms to enhance future re- Ambassador for Science and Technology search cooperation in the context of the new Resolving social issues, forging a Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Af- EU programme Horizon 2020 and the new bright future - Overview of Events En- fairs of Japan, and Ms. Maria Cristina Russo, Japanese Comprehensive STI Strategy from ergy issues, infrastructure, aged pub- Director for International Cooperation at the perspectives of EU and Japanese front- lic infrastructure, a hyper-aging so- the Directorate-General for Research and lines of research and development. ciety, declining population, frequent Innovation of the European Commission, natural disasters… co-chaired an officials’ meeting on Science Through this meeting, both sides recon- and Technology Cooperation between firmed the strategic importance of EU-Japan Japan and the EU, with the participation of cooperation in science, technology and inno- several Japanese ministries. vation. They agreed that Japan-EU partnership is improving steadily and moving for- This meeting took place in response to ward to unlock the full potential of Japan-EU the mandate by Japanese and EU Leaders science and technology cooperation and to at the EU-Japan Summit of 19 November promote greater collaboration as partners in 2013 “to explore a way forward by the next the field of research and innovation. Building The social issues Japan is now facing are Summit”. On the occasion of this meeting, on these fruitful discussions, they agreed expected to occur in other parts of the participants of Japan and the EU reaffirmed to report, as requested, to the forthcoming world in the future. For this reason many the successful outcomes of the collabora- EU-Japan Summit in Brussels, and to pursue countries are watching Japan to see how tive activities undertaken under the FP7 this dialogue in order to identify a concrete that country will resolve these issues and programme of the EU. They exchanged way forward. what kind of future it will create. views for exploring more effective and Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Initiatives on the resolution of these http://www.mofa.go.jp/dns/isc/ issues present significant business op- page22e_000361.html portunities for corporations. Faced with an ever complex array of problems such that they have never experienced before, affected parties are looking for new part- Japan for Sustainability nerships, know-how, technology, and For a Happy, Sustainable Future solutions. At the same time, corporations developing new technologies and solu- The current challenge of the non-profit or- Regarding these local tions are seeking out ways in which to ap- ganisation Japan for Sustainability (JFS) is to issues, JFS collects and ply them. By bringing together this array consider not only sustainability and future spreads insights and experiences of Japa- of knowledge, technology, and solutions generations on our planet, but also how nese researchers and practitioners. and addressing these issues—including to make our livelihoods and communities hidden potential—we create new busi- more resilient today. Various efforts are un- • Social Vision in an Era of Population De- ness opportunities and pave the way for der way in Japan and around the world to cline from the Perspective of Local Economy future development. tackle issues like climate change, biodiver- and Well-being (http://www.japanfs.org/ sity loss, water and food crises, and energy. en/news/archives/news_id034791.html) In this connection, Nikkei Business Pub- • Pursuing Local Economy and Well-Being lications is organizing the event called Japan for Sustainability carefully tracks in Ama Town, Shimane Prefecture (http:// “Social Innovation 2014” with a view to such efforts and signs of positive change www.japanfs.org/en/news/archives/ forging ahead with future possibilities in Japan, and provides its findings to peo- news_id034869.html) and resolving social issues. The confer- ple everywhere who share an interest in ence is designed to provide a venue for change for the better. One of the JFS’s lat- While forming a network with non-profit stakeholders in Japan and other countries est challenges, launched in 2013, is to focus and research groups in the EU and other working to address social issues to forge on local activities - the core of sustainabil- countries, JFS researches how economic new partnerships with corporations and ity - from the economic perspective. JFS components in local areas contribute to to identify possible new technologies has covered some Japanese municipalities’ people’s well-being. In this light, JFS inter- and solutions that can facilitate resolu- efforts to measure local-wellbeing. viewed Helena Norberg-Hodge, known as tion. It also serves to showcase and pro- a director of “the Economics of Happiness”. vide information on Japan’s solutions for • Arakawa City’s ‘Gross Arakawa Happiness’ http://www.japanfs.org/en/interview/in- the rest of the world, from its position as (GAH) Initiative Challenges GDP-Centric terview_id034446.html a country addressing said issues early on. Thinking, Supports a Sustainable, Happier In sum, Social Innovation 2014 is intended Community (http://www.japanfs.org/en/ Japan has entered in an era of aging and to bolster new Japanese industry and to news/archives/news_id034247.html) declining population, which will bring differ- facilitate progressive future trends. • Kumamoto’s Challenge to Maximize Cit- ent and tough challenges to rural, suburban Social Innovation 2014 will be held from izens’ Happiness - “Aggregate Kumamoto and urban areas. With these research pro- 29 to 31 in October 2014. The venue is Happiness (AKH)” (http://www.japanfs.org/ jects and coverage on how Japan copes with Pacifico Yokohama. en/news/archives/news_id034506.html) the challenges, JFS will contribute by sharing • Hyogo Prefecture’s Long-Term Vision for the Japanese experience with the world. Source: Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. Committee the 21st Century and the “Hyogo Well-be- http://www.japanfs.org/en/news/archives/ for Social Innovation 2014 ing Index” (http://www.japanfs.org/en/ news_id032978.html http://expo.nikkeibp.co.jp/social/ news/archives/news_id034563.html) english/ http://www.japanfs.org/ FROM EU-JAPAN EU-JAPAN NEWS JUNE 2014 I 2 VOL 12 I PAGE 12

Paving the way for a Sustainable EU Laboratory in Japan in the Field of Micro and Nanosystems In 2014, EUJO-LIMMS, the first EU laboratory Micro Mechatronic Systems (LIMMS), Joint Hosted European researchers develop joint in Japan in the field of micro and nanosys- Unit between CNRS and The University of projects for new applications in flexible tems, opened up to a 4th partner after a call, Tokyo-Institute of Industrial Science, locat- electronics, optics, nanotechnology, molec- and started building an active collaboration ed in Tokyo, to European partners, namely: ular and cellular bio-engineering. with MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology of - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne the University of Twente in the Netherlands (EPFL) in Switzerland, On 18 June 2014, EUJO-LIMMS organised from April 2014. - University of Freiburg - Department of Mi- an “Information Day” at Haltia, Espoo (Fin- crosystems Engineering (IMTEK) in Germany, land) to introduce the new partnership with The project supported by the EU 7th Frame- - Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT), MESA+, and start paving the way for the fu- work Programme for Research and Techno- - from now the Institute for Nanotechnology ture of this EU laboratory. logical Development (FP7), aims at opening of the University of Twente (MESA+) in the the activity of the Laboratory for Integrated Netherlands. http://limmshp.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp

DJW Forthcoming Events Promoting the Greek Mediterranean diet in Japan

The Japanese-German Business Associ- In accordance with the Greek Embassy’s consorted efforts to popularize and promote the ation (DJW) is holding two big events in Greek diet in Japan, the Economic and Commercial Affairs of the Embassy of Greece in June and October in Düsseldorf and To- Tokyo (ECAO), has teamed up with celebrity Greek American food guru and chef Ms Diane kyo respectively. Kochilas (www.dianekochilas.com). 30 June 2014, DJW-Symposium “Quo Vadis Free Trade – Will the EU and Japan pave the Way towards an Economic Part- nership? Latest Tendencies of Negotia- tions and Statements from the Japanese and German Industry’s Point of View”. Negotiations on a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Japan and the EU have been officially launched on March 25th, 2013. They aim at liberalization of the trade of goods, services and investments, the opening of the public procurement Ms Diane Kochilas with Ms Tsukiko Hattori (left), chairwoman of Hattori Nutrition College and Mr Marios Mathiouda- market as well as the protection of intellec- kis, Head of Economic & Commercial Affairs Office of the Embassy of Greece in Tokyo (right) tual property and the reduction of non-tariff trade barriers. The symposium will shed Ms Kochilas boosted the Greek Embassy’s promotional efforts, by leading three separate light on the question how and in which seminars, throughout the Tokyo area. These 3 seminars are listed below: direction the negotiations have proceeded since then. Is a conclusion and implementa- • Cooking demonstration at the renown Kochilas, where they had the opportuni- tion of the FTA between Japan and the EU Hattori Nutrition College ty to taste unique Greek dishes, prepared within sight? What are the exact difficulties Ms Kochilas prepared three Greek dishes with natural Greek ingredients. At the be- of the negotiation process? If the FTA is im- utilizing traditional Greek products such as ginning of the dinner, Ms Kochilas gave a plemented would it liberate trade or would extra virgin olive oil, Chios mastic, Krokos lecture entitled “The Greek Mediterranean it protect certain branches and industries Kozanis (saffron), Mainalos honey, strained Diet and Longevity”. and therefore limit the access to both econ- yoghurt, and Greek Avgotaraho (bottarga) omies’ markets? Those and other questions before an audience of 180 students. During Ms Kochilas efforts went a long way in will be discussed at our DJW symposium. the demonstration, Ms. Kochilas made a spe- strengthening the popularity of Greek cui- cial reference to the Greek island of Ikaria, her sine in Japan, while also building up brand Speaker: Federal Minister for Economic ancestral home, which is known internation- awareness of unique Greek food products. Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel, Anto- ally for the longevity of its residents. Ms Kochilas is consulting chef at three nio Parenti, Deputy Chief Negotiator for popular Greek restaurants in the USA: Py- the EU-Japan FTA of the European Com- • Cooking demonstration at Kai house los (NYC), Axia (NJ), and Avli (Chicago). She mission and a representative of the Jap- Students and professors from the well- has written 18 books on Greek cuisine, in- anese government. Venue: “S-Forum” of known cooking school of Niki’s kitchen, cluding the IACP (International Association Stadtsparkasse Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf. attended a cooking demonstration by Ms of Culinary Professionals)-awarded “Glori- http://www.djw.de/veranstaltungen/ Kochilas held at the professional kitchen ous Foods of Greece” and the more recent djw-veranstaltungsuebersicht/djw-veran- “Kai house.” Attendees, had the oppor- “Country Cooking of Greece”. She regu- staltungsarchiv/details/article/djw-sympo- tunity to practice alongside Chef Kochilas larly writes for major international media sium-duesseldorf-30062014-djw-2014.html during the instructional time. including the Washington Post, New York Times, Dow Jones wire, Food & Wine, Gour- SAVE THE DATE! • Dinner and lecture to 28 distinguished met Live, zesterdaily.com and more. She The second DJW event will be held in To- Japanese guests currently presents a popular TV cooking kyo on the 1 October 2014. Distinguished guests-from all facets of show which is broadcast in Greece. Venue: The Industry Club of Japan, Tokyo Japan’s food service industry attended Source: Greek Embassy in Japan http://www.djw.de a dinner at “Kai house” prepared by Chef FROM EU-JAPAN EU-JAPAN NEWS JUNE 2014 I 2 VOL 12 I PAGE 13

Information Seminar on Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in Japan From Information to Innovation

The Japanese Government plans to im- the upcoming “tokkus” in Japan’s industri- The National Information Processing In- prove its competitiveness through the in- al heartlands of Tokyo and Kansai, Niigata stitute is a good source for a unique, com- troduction of six Special Economic Zones and Okinawa prefectures as well as around plete and up-to-date knowledge about or SEZs. The SEZs or “tokku” in Japanese the cities of Fukuoka and Yabu. Each “tok- the R&D and higher education sector in are to be the test bed for various deregula- ku” will have a different focus. Poland which is also useful for commer- tion and structural reform initiatives of the cial use. The Institute is open to cooperate Abe Administration. Their main purpose is The metropolitan areas for instance will with Japanese partners. to ensure the sustained strengthening Ja- concentrate on urban development, med- pan’s competitiveness. ical technologies, labour market reforms Its interdisciplinary institute employs over and education while the rural areas around 200 specialists dedicated to IT studies, While widely announced, it has been diffi- Niigata and Yobu aim to strengthen the sociology, economy of science and user cult to obtain detailed information about SME and farming sectors. Start-ups can ex- experience design. Their knowledge and the SEZ policy from public sources. In or- pect a more fertile environment in Fukuo- experience lets the Institute conduct its der to shed more light on the subject, the ka in the south west of the country while own R&D projects, mainly of an applicable German Embassy and JETRO organised Okinawa will build on its strength in the character, which can serve as a stimulus an information seminar at JETRO’s Tokyo tourism sector. The presentation was at- for development of science, technology headquarters. Takeshi Saito, JETRO’s Di- tended by over 30 diplomats, many from transfer and improvement of the higher rector of the Invest Japan coordination EU member states, and representatives of education system. Among them are: data Division provided a detailed overview of regional offices and international cham- bases, complex IT systems, researches on JETRO’s services to potential investors in- bers of commerce. human-computer interactions, user-expe- cluding incubation offices, partner search- rience, usability, and much more. es or legal advice before elaborating on Source: JETRO and Embassy of the Fed. Rep. Germany in Tokyo The Institute is also able to prepare reports on the sector of science and higher edu- FCIJ Business Confidence Survey – Spring 2014 cation according to any specific criteria. Moreover, it is willing to prepare analy- The Foreign Chambers in Japan (FCIJ) has omy, albeit at a slightly lower level than in sis of the problem and offer its partners been conducting Business Confidence sur- the previous survey in October 2013. The assistance in solving them, even in very veys online twice a year since 2002 among economy for the next 6 months is expected specific scientific areas. The Institute has foreign-affiliated companies in Japan. This, to continue to grow; 58% of the respond- an access to information about specialists the 25th, survey was conducted in April ents expect strong or some improvement with particular experience and more. 2014, and received 330 valid responses while only 16 % see some decline. Looking from members of 17 foreign chambers of 12 months ahead, the companies see a fur- Some of its projects and resources: commerce and business organisations. ther growth, on a similar level forecasted in • Polish Science Database (BWNP): one of This survey shows that the respondents the previous survey. the most important sources of data on Pol- remain positive about the Japanese econ- ish scientific and R&D units, scientists and http://www.fcc.or.jp/fcij/bcs.html their research papers, conferences etc.

• Polish higher education information Founding of the Japanese-Estonian Chamber of Commerce system (POL-on): a global database of scientific institutions, students, researchers MTÜ the Japanese - Estonian Chamber of (degrees and titles), financial aid. Informa- Commerce (JECC) is a registered non-gov- tion gathered in the database support the ernmental, not-for-profit association of Ministry of Science and Higher Education businesses and individuals that have come in decision-making processes. together to advance the economic inter- • Support System for Selection of Re- operability between Japan and Estonia. viewers (SSSR): the adaptive knowledge JECC was founded in January 2014 in As JECC is a networking place, it also invites database on potential reviewers. The order to offer assistance to connect Esto- businesses who are not necessarily looking system provides: ranking of reviewers nian and Japanese businesses, universities to trade with Japan. Those who could use (generating a listing of the most recom- and research institutions on a day-to-day their specialist knowledge and expertise mended reviewers/experts), analysis of basis as well as at trade fairs and other can benefit other members or use the a document (automatic keyword extrac- commercial events which take place in Chamber’s referral service to be introduced tion), browsing data (by fields of science, Estonia and beyond. JECC will organise to other potential partners or clients. JECC names, keywords, publications, sources). monthly gatherings as a networking op- is constantly expanding its connection • Inventorum: a platform dedicated portunity for its members, including sem- with foreign chambers, academic institu- to connect the business and scientific inars, information sessions, factory visits tions, entrepreneurs’ networks and so on. worlds. It will give an information on in- and so on while the members are encour- terests of the commercial market about aged to pro-actively support each other For more information about membership innovative products and will help to build and to share their skills and knowledge information please visit JECC’s homepage. long lasting, successful partnerships to strengthen JECC and make it the place among them. for the businesses that wish to exploit the enormous marketing potential in Japan. http://www.jecc.ee/ http://www.opi.org.pl ABOUT JAPAN EU-JAPAN NEWS JUNE 2014 I 2 VOL 12 I PAGE 14

Would You Like to Know More About Japan? Have a look on www.EUbusinessinJapan.eu In January 2014, the EU-Japan Centre officially launched its new information portal http://www.eubusinessinjapan.eu for EU companies wishing to do business with Japan. Since its launch, a wide range of webpages, expert reports and eLearning resources have been published covering important Japan-related issues and sectors to assist EU companies in seizing opportunities in the Japanese market. Within the course of the 3 forthcoming months, the Centre will be releasing quite a lot of practical information. Here below an overview of all the content releases for the period June-September 2014 organised by topics.

FINANCIAL ISSUES INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY HUMAN RESOURCES Underestimating the financial aspects of a The Japanese IT industry is a key driver of In order to succeed in Japan you must have business venture can be ruinous. It is there- global economic growth, and Japanese com- a thorough knowledge of Japanese human fore essential to properly understand the panies have a significant global presence and resources procedures, especially regarding subject. Financial aid and support is available, an international reputation for excellence. wages, working hours, resignation, and the and knowing where to find them can signifi- The following webpages and reports will al- management of labour-related disputes cantly assist your business venture. Correctly low you to learn more about opportunities when starting a business and hiring staff. protecting yourself against financial risk will within this dynamic industry in Japan. help you to avoid sticky situations. Reports: • Finding the Right Executives • Legal Reports: • ICT Services • Nanotechnology & Regulatory Issues Reports: • Accounting and Taxation • Direct Applied to ICT • Digital Technologies (Sound, Webpages: • Human Resources Investment to Japan • FDI in Japan Image, Text Technologies) Webpages: • Access to Finance • Banking • Webpages: • ICT • Digital Technology • Jap- ENVIRONMENT Incentives & Subsidies • Payment Methods anese Nanomedicine Market • Software & In recent years, green technology has been • Risk Management • Taxation and Account- Video Games the been the subject of increased discussion ing • About FDI • Joint Ventures • Mergers & and debate in Japan, with more and more re- FOOD & BEVERAGES Acquisitions search and funding being invested in the de- Japan’s food and beverage sector is a poten- velopment of renewable energy technologies. HEALTHCARE & MEDICAL tially highly lucrative market for foreign com- Japan celebrated its 50th anniversary of panies, and enjoys a reputation as a “trend Reports: • Water & Water Treatments universal health care on 1 April 2011. During setter” market for other countries. In order Webpages: • Recycling this relatively short period of time, Japan has to be successful in this market, EU companies quickly become a world leader in healthcare must thoroughly research the unique tastes by several measures, and has enjoyed par- and expectations of Japanese consumers. EDUCATION / CULTURE / MEDIA ticular success in increasing Japanese life The cross-cultural issues inherent in estab- expectancy. Reports: • Food Regulation lishing a business in Japan represent one Webpages: • Alcohol • Cereals • Confection- of the greatest concerns and challenges Reports: • Alternative Medicine • Healthcare ary • Diary • Functional Foods • Frozen Foods currently facing European companies seek- Equipment • Meat • Soft Drinks ing to enter the Japanese market. For this Webpages: • Telemedicine in Japan reason, knowledge of Japanese culture as a LEGAL ISSUES first step towards understanding Japan and LEISURE / LUXURY GOODS / In order to successfully embark on your busi- Japanese society is crucial, for successfully CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ness venture with or in Japan, a thorough conducting business in Japan. Below you will find a list of all online content knowledge of the Japanese legal and regu- covering this wide range of markets. latory landscape is required. Webpages: • Business Culture: Negotiation Process • Online Education • Universities • Webpages: • Architecture • Design • Electronic Webpages: • Legal & Regulatory Issues • Ad- Advertising • Publishing Games • Fashion & Clothing • Manga & Anime • vertising & Competition Law • Labour-Related Music • Cosmetics & Perfume • Jewellery • Toys Law • Unfair Competition & Prevention Law

WEBINARS E-LEARNING VIDEOS Over the summer, our events calendar un- In June: • HR Matters - Legal Aspects (03/06) In addition to the wide range of planned re- derstandably begins to slow down. Nev- • Hardware (10/06) • Japanese Nanomedicine leased of new webpages and webinars, we ertheless we will be organising 8 Webinars Market (17/06) • Investing in Japan (24/06) are also releasing several e-learning videos. between June and September. In July: • Business Negotiations in Japan (01/07) In September: • Water & Water Treatments • Business Negotiations As always, these will be recorded and read- (02/09) • Telemedicine in Japan - Trends & Mar- • Changes in Corporate Japan Today ily accessible for all registrants who are not ket Situation (09/09) • HR Matters: Finding the • The Realities of Business in Japan able to make the live sessions! Right Executives (16/09) • My Three Recommendations

Free membership registration for EU companies or EU non-profit organisation aiming http://www.eubusinessinjapan.eu/ REGISTER! at directly supporting EU companies in their internationalisation process with Japan at: user/register ABOUT JAPAN EU-JAPAN NEWS JUNE 2014 I 2 VOL 12 I PAGE 15

Are you an Expert on Japan? Call for Expert Reports Proposals on Japan-related Business Sectors The EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation is seeking contributions from experts on a wide range of Japanese business sectors for its information portal http://www.eubusinessinjapan.eu for EU companies interested in the Japanese market.

The EU-Japan Centre is currently interested in receiving proposals for expert reports covering the following topics. Experts who are interested in applying are free to submit their proposals. Submission deadline: 30 June 2014.

SECTORAL TOPICS • Green Tech Market in Japan • Chemicals & Chemical Products • Cosmetics/Semi-drugs • Construction Sector / Eco building • Practical guidelines with cases studies for Exporting Goods, • Cosmetics/Semi-drugs Services and Technologies to Japan (products/services to be chosen) • Export Automotive Parts to Japan • Export Fashion to Japan NON-SECTORAL TOPICS • Distribution Channels for Fast-Moving Consumer Goods • Marketing for EU SMEs in Japan • Food and Beverages / Organic & Health Food • Opportunities for EU SMEs in Japan’s Prefectures • Food and Beverages / Alcoholic Beverages (i.e. Special Economic Zones, the impact of “Abenomics” etc.) • Food and Beverages / Regional Food Products • Pet Market in Japan / Animal Healthcare Products, etc. http://www.eu-japan.eu/call-pro- • Robotics in Japan posals-expert-reports-japan-relat- (to cover one or more sectors linked to robotic technologies) ed-business-sectors

International Joint Ventures in Japan International Joint Ventures (IJVs) are be- various options available to foreign compa- BY THE EXPERT coming increasingly popular in the business nies that which to form an IJV in Japan, as world as they assist companies in forming well as the strengths and limitations of each Michio MATSUZAKI strategic alliances. Typically, IJVs will involve approach. Examples of issues discussed Administrative Lawyer, a foreign company and a local company within this articles include the distribution Matsuzaki General Counsel which is based where the operations of the of profits within different IJVs, their organ- Office, Saitama, Japan IJV take place. But how can a foreign compa- isational structure, and their conditions for ny successfully form such an IJV in Japan and eligibility and/or membership. with a Japanese company? Finally, Mr. Matsuzaki also discusses Yu- The full article is available at: In this article, Michio Matsuzaki shows how gen-Sekinin Jigyo Kumiai, or Limited Liability it is possible for European and international Partnerships (LLPs), the steps involved their http://www.eubusinessinjapan. companies to form such IJVs under Japanese establishment, as well as which corporate eu/library/news/article-internatio- law. Mr. Matsuzaki outlines and discusses the entities are bested suited to forming an LLP. nal-joint-ventres-ijvs-in-japan

BIZZ Tip Hierarchy in Japan The “Communicating with Japanese in Business” brochure of the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) provides some practical examples of the importance of hierarchy in Japan.

When Japanese exchange business cards, a formality which takes place when businesspeople first meet, the higher level people exchange cards first. When a card is received, the title on the business card is always checked to establish relative status. Employees of higher rank such as a general manager (buchoo) are often addressed by their title (“Buchoo”) or their name and title (“Tanaka-buchoo”). When Japanese bow to each other, the person of lower status bows more deeply.

Seating arrangements are based on hierarchy. In a taxi, the seat behind the driver is for the highest ranking person while the seat next to the driver is for the lowest ranking person. The order of speaking is also hierarchical, in that often the highest ranking person speaks last. Japanese language itself reflects hierarchy. A person of higher status speaks polite or casual speech, whereas the person of lower status uses “super-polite” or “respectful” speech (keigo).

Source: JETRO, Communicating with Japanese in Business http://www.jetro.go.jp/costarica/mer- cadeo/communicationwith.pdf FROM NETWORK EU-JAPAN NEWS JUNE 2014 I 2 VOL 12 I PAGE 16

EU-Japan Business Cooperation Opportunities

REQUEST FOR DISTRIBUTORS IN JAPAN REQUEST FOR DISTRIBUTORS IN JAPAN Sector: photovoltaic Sector: food A Croatian company is looking for Japanese photovoltaic A Spanish company specialized in natural food products distributors is looking for distributors/agents Profile ID: BOHR20130730001 Profile ID: BOES20140224002 REQUEST FOR POTENTIAL PARTNERS IN THE EU REQUEST FOR SUPPLIERS IN THE EU Sector: aerospace Sector: satellite, integrated circuit A Japanese manufacturer of precision metal sheet machin- A Japanese electrical & aerospace company is seeking a ing is offering its services supplier of application specific integrated circuit Profile ID: BOJP20140324001 Profile ID: TRJP20140523001 REQUEST FOR DISTRIBUTORS IN JAPAN REQUEST FOR DISTRIBUTORS IN JAPAN Sector: IT Sector: food, honey A Polish company specialized in mobile solutions for in- An Estonian company producing honey is looking for dis- dustry is looking for distributors tributors Profile ID: BOPL20140401003 Profile ID: BOEE20140416001 REQUEST FOR PARTNERS IN THE EU REQUEST FOR DISTRIBUTORS IN THE EU Sector: drawing and marking item, stationery Sector: industrial machinery A Japanese drawing and marking item manufacturer is A Japanese X-ray device manufacturer is seeking an EU offering its services to EU companies distribution partner Profile ID: BOJP20140331001 Profile ID: BOJP20140407001 REQUEST FOR PARTNERS IN JAPAN REQUEST FOR PARTNERS IN JAPAN Sector: Software Sector: business services An Italian software company is looking for technical co- An Italian consulting company wishes to act as an agent for operation on management software the Italian market Profile ID: TOIT20140319004 Profile ID: BRIT20140226001 REQUEST FOR DISTRIBUTORS IN THE EU REQUEST FOR DISTRIBUTORS IN THE EU Sector: dental, IT Sector: industrial machinery A Japanese engineering IT company is seeking EU distribu- A Japanese paper collator manufacturer is seeking a distri- tors for their dental business solution bution partner Profile ID: BOJP20140327001 Profile ID: BOJP20140327002 REQUEST FOR PARTNERS IN JAPAN REQUEST FOR RESELLERS IN JAPAN Sector: printing Sector: IT An Italian company is looking for partners for their lentic- A Polish IT company looking for a reseller of its web ap- ular production system plication Profile ID: TOIT20140131001 Profile ID: BOPL20140331001 REQUEST FOR SALES REPRESENTATIVE IN THE EU REQUEST FOR DISTRIBUTORS IN THE EU Sector: chemicals Sector: cutlery A Japanese chemical manufacturer of pigments and ink A Japanese knives manufacturer is seeking distributors in products is seeking EU sales representative the EU Profile ID: BOJP20140325001 Profile ID: BOJP20140401001 REQUEST FOR PARTNERS IN JAPAN REQUEST FOR DISTRIBUTORS IN JAPAN Sector: biotechnology Sector: food-processing An Italian biotech SME is looking for manufacturing or A Bulgarian manufacturer of specialized food-processing licencing agreements equipment is seeking distributors Profile ID: TOIT20131007004 Profile ID: BOBG20140328002 REQUEST FOR AGENTS IN THE EU REQUEST FOR DISTRIBUTORS IN THE EU Sector: forging Sector: security, optical equipment Japanese manufacturer of cold forging dies is seeking Japanese CCTV lens manufacturer seeking distribution agents partner in Europe Profile ID: BOJP20140530001 Profile ID: BOJP20140604001

http://een-japan.eu/opportunities Enterprise Europe Network Events MATCHMAKING OPPORTUNITIES FOR EU AND JAPANESE SMES LET’S MATCH 2014 Brokerage Event gamesmatch Brokerage Event Sector: R&D in Nanotechnologies, Advanced Materials, Biotechnology Sector: Entertainment, Video Games 1 October 2014, Bologna, Italy 13-15 August 2014, Cologne, Germany

The event will be an intensive day of bilateral meetings among A brokerage event will be held during the gamescom fair, the world companies, research centres and universities interested in starting largest trade fair for video and computer games. Developers, pub- technological or research collaborations in the thematic areas of the lishers, investors and service providers in the game sector are wel- event the Work Programme NMP+B, and will aim to building quality come to attend the event. partnerships in view of the new Horizon2020 calls. Registration deadline: 28 July 2014 Registration deadline: 12 September 2014 http://www.b2match.eu/gamesmatch2014 http://www.b2match.eu/letsmatch2014 http://een.ec.europa.eu/tools/services/EVE/Event/ListEvents FROM NETWORK EU-JAPAN NEWS JUNE 2014 I 2 VOL 12 I PAGE 17

EU-Japan Business Cooperation Opportunities

REQUEST FOR DISTRIBUTORS IN JAPAN REQUEST FOR PARTNERS IN JAPAN Sector: renewable energy Sector: automotive A Bulgarian producer of wood chips power installations is An Italian company is looking for partners for their test seeking distributors automation product Profile ID: BOBG20140328005 Profile ID: TOIT20130805001 REQUEST FOR POTENTIAL PARTNERS IN JAPAN REQUEST FOR PARTNERS IN JAPAN Sector: industrial machinery Sector: IT A Bulgarian producer of hydraulic cylinders and compo- A Hungarian IT company specialized in international GPS nents is looking for partners tracking platform is looking for partners Profile ID: BOBG20140409001 Profile ID: BOHU20140421002 REQUEST FOR PARTNERS IN JAPAN REQUEST FOR DISTRIBUTOR IN JAPAN Sector: software Sector: food A Polish company specializing in mobile and web appli- An Italian company producing typical Sicilian foods is cation development offers technology in quality control looking for distributors Profile ID: TOPL20131126003 Profile ID: 20120209059 REQUEST FOR DISTRIBUTOR IN JAPAN REQUEST FOR DISTRIBUTORS IN JAPAN Sector: food Sector: food An Italian nougat manufacturer is looking for distributors An Italian gelato producer is looking for distributors Profile ID: BOIT20140417005 Profile ID: BOIT20140415007 REQUEST FOR TRADE AGENTS IN JAPAN REQUEST FOR DISTRIBUTORS IN JAPAN Sector: software Sector: renewable energy A Polish company specialized in software for commercial Slovenian SME looking for distributors for Solar Plant Su- properties management is looking for trade intermediaries pervisory System Profile ID: BOPL20140423001 Profile ID: BOSI20140423001 REQUEST FOR PARTNERS IN JAPAN REQUEST FOR PARTNERS IN JAPAN Sector: IT Sector: wastewater treatment A German IT company has developed a versatile system A Polish distributor of wastewater treatment equipment for visual data entry using smartphone cameras is looking for partners Profile ID: TODE20140424001 Profile ID: BRPL20140418001 REQUEST FOR TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS IN JAPAN REQUEST FOR DISTRIBUTORS IN JAPAN Sector: mobile communication Sector: IT Portuguese «Call shirt» business idea is looking for poten- A Swedish company is looking for agents/distributors for tial partners their online e-recruiting software Profile ID: TRPT20140424001 Profile ID: BOSE20131028004 REQUEST FOR DISTRIBUTORS IN JAPAN REQUEST FOR PROTOTYPE DESIGNING IN JAPAN Sector: IT Sector: medical device Latvian company specialized in software development A French company developing a cardiovascular assist de- and maintenance is looking for distributors vice is looking for prototype designing Profile ID: BOLV20140429001 Profile ID: TRFR20131205001 REQUEST FOR FRANCHISEE IN JAPAN REQUEST FOR PARTNERS IN JAPAN Sector: organic products Sector: software A Croatian company offering natural and organic prod- A Polish software R&D company offers subcontracting ucts is looking for franchisee partnership and outsourcing services Profile ID: BOHR20140507002 Profile ID: BOPL20131121002 REQUEST FOR PARTNERS IN JAPAN REQUEST FOR PARTNERS IN JAPAN Sector: transportation services Sector: telecommunication A Spanish company is offering Visa On arrival and port A Romanian company developed a Voice over Internet services to Japanese ship-owners Protocol call recording solution Profile ID: BOES20140508001 Profile ID: TORO20140508001 REQUEST FOR DISTRIBUTORS IN JAPAN REQUEST FOR DISTRIBUTORS IN JAPAN Sector: safety, housing Sector: biochemistry UK supplier of bath safety aid products is looking for dis- A German SME offers magnetic beads for purification of tributors membrane proteins Profile ID: BOUK20140424001 Profile ID: BODE20131216002 REQUEST FOR DISTRIBUTORS IN JAPAN REQUEST FOR DISTRIBUTORS IN JAPAN Sector: biochemistry Sector: fashion, textiles A German SME offers agarose-based resins for protein An Italian company specialised in high fashion silk fabrics purification is looking for distributors Profile ID: BODE20140304001 Profile ID: BOIT20140418002 REQUEST FOR PARTNERS IN JAPAN REQUEST FOR PARTNERS IN JAPAN Sector: apparatus engineering Sector: construction materials A Polish manufacturer of diaphragm pumps is looking for A Greek manufacturer of stainless steel wire mesh is technical cooperation looking for commercial partners Profile ID: TOPL20140514001 Profile ID: BOGR20140430002 REQUEST FOR DISTRIBUTORS IN JAPAN REQUEST FOR PARTNERS IN JAPAN Sector: food Sector: medical devices An Italian fresh vegetable producer is looking for a distributor Spanish SME offering 3D printing technology Profile ID: BOIT2013220008 Profile ID: TOES20140609001 IN BRIEF EU-JAPAN NEWS JUNE 2014 I 2 VOL 12 I PAGE 18

Canon Foundation in Europe Japan and The Netherlands Magazine release: Research Fellowships 2014 have much to offer Dutch innovations at its one another best 2014 Each year, to contribute to international understanding between Europe and This article from the Dutch Food Valley The Dutch Agro&Food Topsector and Japan, the Canon Foundation in Europe Organization presents the possible co- Food Valley NL proudly present to you grants up to 15 Research Fellowships to operation opportunities for Dutch and “Dutch innovations at its best 2014”: the highly qualified European and Japanese Japanese companies operating in the latest innovations; leading scientist about researchers. food sector. current food and nutrition issues; inspira- tion to build new partnerships in order to “Because Japan’s population is well-edu- strengthen your business and tackle glob- cated and interested in high-quality food, al challenges in food and nutrition. there’s quite a demand for new technologies, among other things,” said Anne Men- sink, International Relations Manager at Food Valley NL. “This creates many business opportunities for Dutch companies.” “Just think of all the technology and knowledge of horticulture and functional ingredients we have, and all those new industrial processing technologies,” Mensink said.

“We’ve noticed that Japan is becoming Candidates are required to have ob- more and more open to international co- tained a PhD or MA higher degree within operation. The Netherlands is one of the the previous ten years. Exceptional can- largest agro-food exporters in the world On page 46 of this issue an interview with didates who obtained their qualification and Japan is one of the biggest importers. the Japanese food company “Kikkoman more than ten years prior to application For that reason alone, Food Valley NL has Europe R&D Laboratory” about their ex- will also be considered. Such candidates many contacts with Japanese businesses perience of R&D in the Netherlands and are required to provide further support- and knowledge institutes. We regularly the resulting new products launched in ing information in their application. host delegations from Japan and introduce the European market. them to a range of Dutch companies and Applications from all fields of research knowledge institutes.” More information on are welcome. European Fellows pursue a http://www.hollandfoodvalley.nl/ period of research in Japan and Japanese Full article on news/magazine-release-dutch-inno- Fellows at host institutions in Europe. http://www.foodvalleyupdate.com/ vations-at-its-best-2014 Fellowships are awarded for periods of at news/japan-and-the-netherlands- least three months up to a maximum of have-much-to-offer-one-another/ one year.

Deadline for applications: 15 September 2014 Life Science Baltics 2014 Negotiations over Cathode Collaboration with Japan More information on Active Materials http://www.canonfoundation.org On 6 June 2014 Enterprise Lithuania met BASF, the world’s leading chemical com- with Japan bio industry association’s pany, and Toda Kogyo Corp., one of the Executive Director prof. Yoshiaki Tsuka- Daiwa Anglo-Japanese industry leaders in the development and moto, director of business expansion de- Foundation Grants manufacture of cathode materials for partment Hironori Tanaka and manager lithium-ion batteries, have announced Kaori Takakura. A fruitful meeting was The Foundation awards grants to individ- that they will enter exclusive negotia- held as Japanese companies were invited uals and institutions in the UK and Japan tions to form a joint venture for cathode to connect with the Baltic region at the in all areas of the visual and performing active materials. Life Sciences Baltics 2014 Forum, the po- arts, the humanities, the social sciences, tential of Lithuanian life sciences sector science and engineering, mathematics, More information on was introduced and possible collabora- business studies, and education, includ- http://basf.com/group/pressre- tion opportunities were discussed. ing schools and universities, and grass lease/P-14-191 roots and professional groups. More information on http://www.lsb2014.com/en/news/ More information on life-science-baltics-2014-collabora- http://www.dajf.org.uk/grants- tion-with-japan/ awards-prizes/overview CALENDAR EU-JAPAN NEWS JUNE 2014 I 2 VOL 12 I PAGE 19

DATE/LOCATION DETAILS CONTACTS

EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation 30 June - 4 July 2014 EUROPEAN COMMISSION FOUNDED PROGRAMME Tokyo, Japan http://www.eu-japan.eu/detail-business-pro- Training Mission: WCM - World Class Manufacturing - session I grammes/WCM

French Chamber of Commerce & Industry in Japan SEMINAR 30 June 2014 http://www.ccifj.or.jp/evenements/calendrier/ Going from Kansai to Outbound : Osaka, Japan vue-detail/d/evenement-kansai-going-from- Practical tips and legal awareness for international development kansai-to-outbound-practical-tips-and-legal- awareness-for-interna

German Chamber of Commerce & Industry in Japan 2 July 2014 SEMINAR http://www.japan.ahk.de/en/events/ahk-ja- Tokyo, Japan B2B Marketing and PR - Success Stories of Foreign Firms in Japan pan3/event/events/b2b-marketing-and-pr-success-stories-of-foreign-firms-in-japan

EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation 13-17 October 2014 EUROPEAN COMMISSION-FUNDED PROGRAMME Tokyo, Japan http://www.eu-japan.eu/detail-business-pro- Sectoral Mission: BioJapan Cluster & SMEs Mission grammes/Bio-Japan-Cluster-Mission-2014

3 November 2014 TRADE MISSION UK Trade & Investment Japan http://www.exporttojapan.co.uk/event/cns- Tokyo, Japan Central Nervous System Trade Mission To Japan trade-mission-to-japan

14 November 2014 AWARDS British Chamber of Commerce in Japan https://www.bccjapan.com/ Tokyo, Japan 2014 British Business Awards events/2014/11/2014-british-business-awards

17-21 November 2014 EUROPEAN COMMISSION-FUNDED PROGRAMME EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation Training Mission: WCM - World Class Manufacturing - session II http://www.eu-japan.eu/detail-business-pro- Tokyo, Japan Application deadline: 15 September 2014 grammes/WCM

EUROPEAN COMMISSION-FUNDED PROGRAMME EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation 26-30 January 2015 Sectoral Mission: Nanotech Cluster & SMEs Mission http://www.eu-japan.eu/detail-business-pro- Tokyo, Japan grammes/Nanotech-Japan-Cluster-Mis- Application deadline: 30 October 2014 sion-2015

EUROPEAN COMMISSION-FUNDED PROGRAMME 10 May - 5 June 2015 Training Mission: HRTP 51 EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation http://www.eu-japan.eu/detail-business-pro- Tokyo, Japan Human Ressources Training Programme - Japan Industry Insight grammes/HRTP Application deadline: 12 February 2015

Any EU-Japan-related News?

Feel free to contact us if you would like your EU-Japan-related news/event to be announced in our forthcoming newsletter and/or on our website :[email protected]

HEAD OFFICE IN JAPAN OFFICE IN THE EU Shirokane-Takanawa Station bldg 4F Rue Marie de Bourgogne 52 1-27-6 Shirokane, Minato-ku B-1000 Brussels, Belgium Tokyo 108-0072, Japan T +32 2 282 00 40 T +81 3 6408 0281 F +32 2 282 00 45 F +81 3 6408 0283 [email protected]

http://www.eu-japan.eu

The European Office of the EU-Japan Centre alone is responsible for the information contained in its communications or publications. Neither the European Commission nor the Government of Japan is responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. Editor: J. Michelson