Last week it was announced at the annual International Supercomputing conference in Hamberg that the “Kei” supercomputer being built in Kobe will be the worlds fastest when it is finished. The computer is being jointly developed by Fujitsu and RIKEN. The name Kei in Japanese means 10 quadrillion, the number of calculations per second the it will be able to do. The computer will be 3 times faster than the next fastest supercomputer, located in China, and is scheduled to be completed next year. The supercomputer is planned to be used for a wide range of projects, especially medical research. In 2004 Japan built a supercomputer in Yokohama called the Earth Simulator which was the worlds fastest for two years.
Kansai: Home of the Medical and Pharmaceutical Industry
Kobe is already known as a base for the medical industry in Japan. The news that the worlds fastest supercomputer will be build there and will be used for medical research is very appropriate many would say. Kobe’s Port Island in particular is a well known location for medical research. The government is actively inviting foreign companies such as in the medical industry to establish themselves in Kobe with generous subsidies and tax relief programs.
The local government offers the following subsidies and tax relief that want to set up business in Japan. These subsidies are available for Japanese and Non-Japanese companies alike, and some are only available for foreign companies. For more information, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
- real estate tax reduction (50%) for three years
- real estate purchase tax reduction (50%) up to 200 million yen
- business tax reduction (50%) for three years
- up to 300 million yen subsidy to support hiring local staff and/or building next-gen energy facilities
- rent subsidy (50%) for foreign companies
- low interest loans for businesses (up to 500 million yen at a fixed yearly interest rate of only 1.4%
