The city of Kobe along with Hyogo Prefecture are recently encouraging foreign companies to expand into the area with some attractive incentives. As we mentioned in another post, Kobe is a major center for advanced technology and regenerative medicine research. Business stakeholders also surround these centers catering to their needs, many of them non-Japanese companies. Some of the new incentives include:
- an up to 50% rent subsidy on office space
- up to 500 million yen in low interest financing that will be used to purchase land
- preferential tax treatment for the first 3 to 10 years of business
Hyogo and Kobe have set up a useful website that outlines the local and some of the national subsidies available for foreign companies especially to take advantage of. Kobe has always been a big hub for international business (even dating back hundreds of years ago). If you are interested in expanding your business into Kobe or other parts of the Kansai region of Japan, please don’t hesitate to contact us for free consultation.
Kobe’s Biomedical Innovation Cluster also has an excellent website in English with lots of incentive information for foreign biomedical companies interested in establishing an office in Kobe.
Overview of foreign direct investment in Kobe, Japan
- number of foreign companies that have their East-Asia or Japan headquarters in Kobe: more than 100 (the 4th highest in Japan)
- number of foreign companies with a physical presence in Kobe: about 280
- major foreign companies in Kobe: Procter & Gamble Japan, Nestle Japan Limited, and Eli Lilly Japan Co.
