OKINAWA PREFECTURE Latest Update: August 2013

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

Prefecture’s flag

Main City: Naha Population: 1,413,000 people, ranking 27/47 prefectures (2013) [1] Area: 2,271 km2 [2]

Geographical / Landscape description Okinawa is the southernmost prefecture of Japan. It comprises hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over 1,000km long. [2]

Climate The island experiences temperatures above 20 °C for most of the year with a subtropical marine climate. [2]

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

International dialling code: 0081

Recent history, culture Following the end of World War II, Okinawa was put under the administration of the USA and it became home to many USA army bases. Only in 1972 was the island returned to Japanese administration but a strong presence of American forces remained and they are still present today.

Due to its distance from the main territory of Japan, Okinawan culture developed in a unique style and bears influence from Chinese, Thai and Austronesian cultures. In traditional architecture many roofs display images of a lion or dragon, called a shisa, which is said to protect the home from danger and has Chinese origins. [2]

Economic overview The prefecture features the only "special economic zone" in Japan, offering various types of preferential treatment measures targeting national taxes, regional taxes and tariffs. Its strategic location at a crossroad of routes that connect Japan's mainland with continental China and Southeast Asia makes the prefecture a hub for international exchange and as such it is an attractive destination for business development in Asia and Japan.

Okinawa attracts over 5.9 million tourists per year thanks to its climate, marine life and culture making tourism a main industry of the prefecture. The presence of US military bases still bears a significant impact for the local economy. [3][4][5]

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

www.EUbusinessinJapan.eu

Economic Indicators

Okinawa Prefecture All Japan Population (2013) [1] 1,413,000 127,350,000 Unemployment rate (2012) [6] 6.8% 4.3% GPD (2010) [7] 0.7% of Japan’s 495 trillion Yen

Infrastructure

Shipping Okinawa’s main port is Naha Port with many domestic routes and aiming to become an international logistical base. [4]

Civil Aviation The islands count various small airports, but the prefecture’s main one is Naha airport which has domestic flights to major Japanese countries and international flights to Taiwan, China and Korea. [8]

Living Environment Okinawans are known for their longevity. Individuals live longer on this Japanese island than anywhere else in the world. Five times as many Okinawans live to be 100 as in the rest of Japan, who as a nation are on average the world’s longest-living people. Possible explanations for this are the diet, low-stress lifestyle, caring community, activity, and spirituality of the inhabitants of the island. [2]

Major type of activities of the economy

Agriculture, natural resources Sugar cane, sweet potatoes, papayas, mangoes, green beans, goyas and pineapples are the main products. Local beef and hog are also well appreciated while fisheries see seaweed and prawns shipments ranking first for Japan. [9]

Manufacturing In 2011, the manufacturing industry's shipment value was principally composed of petroleum and coal products (37.3%), food and related products (26%) and beverage products (9.7%). [10]

R&D, Innovation, Scientific research The prefecture promotes various academic, industrial and public cooperation projects through public research centres such as the Kyushu Okinawa Agricultural Research Center, the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology the Okinawa IT Shinryo Park or the Okinawa Health Biotechnology R&D Center.

Opportunities for EU Investors / Exporters / Importers

Promising sectors for cooperation Long-established industries: tourism, agriculture/fisheries, civil engineering/construction, petroleum, and wholesale/retail. [3]

www.EUbusinessinJapan.eu

Financial/ Logistic support *Preferential tax treatment in the Special Zone for Financial Businesses *Subsidies for training expenses in line with the IT Professional Personnel Development Program *Special Free Trade Zone to promote industry and trade in Okinawa *The Okinawa Industry Support Center, working with academic researchers to apply cutting edge technology to business *Several support facilities

More information: http://www.pref.okinawa.jp/english/thisis/gaikyo_english.pdf http://www.pref.okinawa.jp/iipd/document/pdf/okinawaguide_all_en.pdf http://www.pref.okinawa.jp/zone/zone/english/pdf/guide2012.pdf

Setting up a business in Okinawa Industrial Site Promotion Division, Department of Commerce, Industry and Labor 1-2-2 Izumizaki, Naha 900-8570 TEL: +81(0)98-866-2770 FAX: +81(0)98-866-2846 http://www.pref.okinawa.jp/zone/zone/english/index.html

Other contacts:

Okinawa Prefecture http://www.pref.okinawa.jp/english/ Okinawa Health Biotechnology R&D Center http://www.ohbic.jp/ Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology http://www.oist.jp/ Okinawa IT Shinryo Park http://www.it-shinryo.org/en/company.html Kyushu Okinawa Agricultural Research Center http://www.naro.affrc.go.jp/org/karc/Eng/ Okinawa Tourist Information Website http://www.okinawastory.jp/en/

Sources and footnotes

[1] http://www.stat.go.jp/data/jinsui/2.htm [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okinawa_Prefecture [3] http://www.jetro.go.jp/en/invest/region/okinawa/ [4] http://www.jetro.go.jp/en/invest/region/okinawa/infra.html [5] http://www.pref.okinawa.jp/site/chijiko/kichitai/25185.html [6] http://www.stat.go.jp/data/roudou/pref/index.htm [7] http://www.esri.cao.go.jp/jp/sna/sonota/kenmin/kenmin_top.html [8] http://www.naha-airport.co.jp/ [9] http://www.pref.okinawa.jp/english/thisis/gaikyo_english.pdf [10] http://www.stat.go.jp/data/e-census/2012/sokuho/gaiyo.htm

www.EUbusinessinJapan.eu

Shuri Castle in Naha

Cape Manza

Pictures copyright: Wikipedia under the GNU Free Documentation License

Disclaimer

Neither the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation, nor any person acting on its behalf is responsible for any consequences which may arise from the use by third parties, whether individuals or organizations, of the information contained in this report, or any possible errors which, despite careful checking of the text, could remain. The authors retain the copyright of the information published in this report. Reproduction is authorized except for commercial purposes, provided the source is acknowledged. All logos and figures published in this report are copyrighted and cannot be reproduced without the full consent of their respective author.