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IS S U E 88 Switzerland Newsletter A U G U S T 2 0 1 6 Japan External Trade Organization

会見 Inside this INTERVIEW issue Janome Sewing Machine expands in Europe through Elna Janome Sew- 1 In October 2006, Janome Sewing household sewing machine sup- ing Machine + Machine Co. Ltd. took over the plier, but also one of the biggest expands in 2 Europe Swiss company Elna Internation- manufacturers of household sew- through Elna al Corp. SA located in Meyrin ing machines in the world, Elna Japan’s cur- 2 (Canton of Geneva) – a famous was able to distribute high quali- rent economic Swiss sewing machine company. ty household sewing machines situation Ryo Nakamura has been appoint- using Janome’s platform to ex- Next deadline 2 ed as the first Japanese president pand its business. At the same for JETRO’s of Elna in October 2015. After his time, Janome aimed to increase subsidy program graduation in the field of interna- its market share especially in tional relations, he joined Janome Europe. In order to be able to MOU signed 3 with Tokyo Group in April 2005. He has first play in each market, we needed University of served in Janome’s sales depart- to handle more than one major Foreign Stud- ment in Tokyo, and then gained brand name. That is why we de- Ryo Nakamura, President, ies further working experience in cided to focus on Elna”, said Ryo Elna International Corp. SA Mitsubishi 4 several overseas positions (in Nakamura. Electric de- Taiwan, Thailand and United In Switzerland, Elna now em- veloped real Strengths of Elna’s machines time crowd States). ploys more than 10 staffs in its estimation headquarters in Meyrin. They are “Elna is one of the famous and Acquisition in 2006 in charge of both international premium brands in Europe, and and domestic sales, marketing, we have valuable know-how to Headquartered in Tokyo and administration, accounting, lo- develop unique design and Swiss founded in 1921, Janome exports gistics, after-sales services and image products”, said Ryo Naka- sewing machines in more than education/training. Elna has an mura. 100 countries. It produces sew- additional team of three salesper- He further highlighted Elna’s ing machines in three factories, sons working at its store in historical machine “Lotus”, located in Tokyo, Taiwan and Balexert shopping center and which is now displayed at the Thailand, where Elna machines two technicians at its workshop New York’s Museum of Modern are now also produced. As of in Zurich. Elna also owns two Art (MoMA) as a milestone in March 31, 2014, it showed consol- subsidiaries: Elna Germany design and innovation: “The most idated sales of JPY 44,696 mil- based in Neumünster (North of famous Elna model, which is lion. Hamburg) and Elna France in called “Lotus”, was originally Janome acquired Elna in October Paris. introduced in 1968 and featured a 2006. “As Janome is not only a (Continued on page two)

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Janome Sewing Machine expands in Europe through Elna 会見 (Continued from page one) Living in Switzerland spectacular and innovative design. INTERVIEW Protective shutters that were built “The most difficult is the language. into the machine's body replaced As I only speak English, sometimes the traditional and heavy carry I cannot choose on the menu! But case. When the shutters opened all our employees speak English. like a Lotus flower, they created a And they can also speak several handy, go-anywhere sewing table. other languages, such as German, The accessories box was integrated Italian and Spanish”, said Ryo into the machine, and the result Nakamura. was a streamlined machine which “It is a wonderful environment, not was the delight of seamstresses and only for me but also for my family. sewists everywhere. The Lotus was We can have lots of experience, Elna's iconic and best-selling ma- which we could not expect in Ja- Ryo Nakamura, President, pan. My son has a chance to speak Elna International Corp. SA chine of all time and a world-wide success”. not only Japanese but also English As for Elna’s future plans, Ryo and French at school. That would Nakamura announced that Elna is not be possible in Japan”, he fur- planning to open a concept store in ther said. the Zurich area.

Japan’s current economic situation 動向 According to the Bank of Japan However, as the BoJ mentioned, (BoJ), “Japan’s economy has con- “domestic demand is likely to fol-

SITUATION tinued its moderate recovery trend, low an uptrend, with a virtuous although exports and production cycle from income to spending be- have been sluggish due mainly to ing maintained in both the house- the effects of the slowdown in hold and corporate sectors”. In- emerging economies” (Outlook for deed, the average of monthly in- Economic Activity and Prices, July come per household stood at JPY 2016). 731,099 in June, down 0.3% in nom- Japan’s exports declined 14.0% in inal terms but up 0.2% in real July from the same month in the terms from the previous year (see preceding year, to a total of JPY graph). The seasonally adjusted 5,728 billion. Exports dropped unemployment rate remained at a sharply in Middle East (-30.8%) very low level (3.1% in June 2016 and Africa (-21.3%), and to a lesser against 3.4% in June 2015). Orders Japanese income for two-or-more- extent in Asia (-13.9%), North received for construction increased person households, change over the America (-11.9% ) and Western 9.1% in the first half of 2016 to a year, in percentage Europe (-5.4%). total of JPY 42,667 billion Ministry of Internal Affairs and Com- munications

Issue 88 Page 3

Next deadline for JETRO’s subsidy program The next deadline for application (2) experimental studies, or JETRO’s programme schedule (tentative) 活動 to JETRO’s Subsidy Program for (3) feasibility studies (F/S) in Ja- September 9 th Deadline of the ap- Global Innovation Centers is Fri- pan with respect to projects plication ACTIVITY day, September 9 th , 2016 (12:00 connected to regenerative med- p.m. Japan Time). It will be the last icine or IoT (=Internet of Mid September — Screening and se- deadline. Things) by foreign / foregin late September lection affiliated companies, in collab- Early October Notification of result Global Innovation Centers oration with Japanese compa- of selection nies, universities, public re- JETRO’s Subsidy Program for search institutions or other Mid October Grant petition Global Innovation Centers aims at organizations. Late October- Notification of grant drawing investments and excellent For more information, please refer early November decision (Start of project) management resources from over- to Application Guidelines of Subsi- seas by promoting location of high dy Program for Global Innovation value-added sections of overseas Centers. early November- Project implementa- th companies such as R&D facilities, (in English) February 3 tion and making Japan a high value- https://www.jetro.go.jp/en/invest/ February 3 th , 2017 Completion of Pro- added hub and innovation base for incentive_programs/info.html ject global value chains. (in Japanese) This subsidy program subsidizes https://www.jetro.go.jp/invest/ the cost of support/info.html Please feel free to contact JETRO (1) establishment of global inno- Application forms shall be submit- for any consultation before submit- vation centers, ted by mail or in person. ting the application.

MOU signed with Tokyo University of Foreign Studies

th On July 8 , JETRO concluded a related to Africa, 活動 memorandum of understanding • Providing useful information to (MOU) concerning comprehensive Japanese companies from the ACTIVITY collaboration with the Tokyo Uni- results of surveys and studies versity of Foreign Studies. • Fostering global human re- On the basis of this MOU, JETRO sources. will aim at contributing to the de- Tokyo University of Foreign Stud- velopment of Japan and its local ies has promoted multilingual glob- communities through the following al human resources able to respond activities: to global diversification. It has • Strengthening linguistic sup- signed agreements with 150 organi- port for Japanese companies zations from 57 countries and re- JETRO Chairman and CEO Hiroyuki Ishige and TUFS President Hirotaka expanding business overseas, gions. Tateishi • Promoting surveys and studies Issue 88 Page 4

Mitsubishi Electric developed real time crowd estimation 革新 Tokyo-based company Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has an- INNOVATION nounced on August 18 th that it has jointly developed a high-accuracy real-time estimation system related to crowd congestion on pathways to and from event sites. This technology has been invented in collaboration with the Research Center for Advanced Science Tech- nology of Tokyo University (RCAST). ©2014 Mitsubishi Electric Corporation With 80% accuracy rate, Mitsubishi Electric’s technology is approximately 30% higher than ments. termeasures in advance. conventional methods. It will provide event organizers the A field demonstration of this new This technology relies on both sur- possibility to manage pathways by system has been carried out on veillance cameras and a real-time anticipating crowd movement and August 30 th at Tamagawa Fire- stimulator predicting crowd move- taking crowd-management coun- works Festival in Tokyo.

Agenda st 日程 ✓ 1 Nov.: Invest Japan Seminar (TBC) 8:00AM-10:00AM, Chambre de commerce, d'industrie et des services de Genève AGENDA ✓ 4th Nov.: Invest Japan Seminar (TBC) 8:00AM-10:00AM , Basel Handelskammer

JETRO is a government-related organization that works to promote mutual trade and investment between Japan and the rest of the world. Originally established in 1958 to promote Japanese exports abroad, JETRO’s core focus in the 21st century has shifted toward promoting foreign direct investment into Japan and helping small to medium size Japanese firms maximize their global export potential.

JETRO Geneva The JETRO Switzerland Newsletter can also be viewed and/or downloaded online: 80, Rue de Lausanne http://www.jetro.go.jp/switzerland/newsletter 1202 Geneva Phone: 022/732 13 04 Fax: 022/732 07 72 E-mail: [email protected]