Shizuoka Prefecture Expand Your Business into Shizuoka
My name is Misa Kawashima. I am engaged in attracting satellite offices of foreign-affiliated companies to Shizuoka Prefecture.
I am grateful for this opportunity to write this newsletter.
I hope you will get to know Shizuoka Prefecture and consider expanding your business into our prefecture.
About Shizuoka Prefecture
First, let me briefly introduce Shizuoka Prefecture.
Shizuoka is located between Tokyo and Nagoya. Some people from outside the prefecture often say, “I’ve passed through the region, but I’ve never stayed there.”, but Shizuoka has easy access to major cities, just about an hour from Tokyo and Nagoya, and about two hours from Osaka by Shinkansen.
When it comes to Shizuoka, Mt. Fuji immediately comes to your mind! Mt. Fuji, the highest and most famous mountain in Japan, is registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, and it marked the 10th anniversary. The climbing season started on July 10. There are three different trails on the Shizuoka side: the Fujinomiya Trail, the Gotemba Trail, and the Subashiri Trail. Approximately 90,000 climbers used these trails last year (Ministry of The Environment, “Number of Mt. Fuji climbers in the summer of 2023 (detailed version)”).
Climate
The climate in Shizuoka Prefecture is generally warm and mild through the year, and it rarely snows except in the mountains. I was born and raised in Shizuoka, but as far as I remember, I’ve seen some snowfall only once. Children get so excited even when they see light snow carried by the wind over the mountain.
Food
Shizuoka Prefecture is well-known nationwide for its wide variety of local specialties such as green tea, sakura shrimp, bonito, and golden-eye snapper (kinmedai). You can enjoy the beautiful view of tea fields in various places from the west to the east in the prefecture. Fish markets in Yaizu, Shimizu, and Numazu are also renowned for people who love fresh fish and sushi. In addition, Shizuoka is known as the birthplace of wasabi cultivation, and it produces almost 3/4 of all wasabi grown in Japan. Local delicacies such as Fujinomiya yakisoba, Shizuoka oden and Hamamatsu gyoza are also famous.
Activities
Shizuoka Prefecture is surrounded by the sea and mountains. You can enjoy outdoor sports such as mountain climbing, cycling and marine sports as well as activities such as tea picking experience, green tea experience, and fruit picking.
Shizuoka is also well known for its hot springs and has the largest number of hot spring inns in Japan. I used to live in Shimoda City, the southern part of the Izu Peninsula. Each town on the peninsula has its unique hot spring. I still remember the time I enjoyed visiting each one.
Industries
In addition to its rich nature, Shizuoka Prefecture has developed as a transportation hub connecting some major cities in Japan. Shizuoka has been thriving with manufacturing (“Monozukuri”) industries, accounting for about 40% of the prefectural GDP.
Major industries in Shizuoka are divided into three districts: the east, the central, and the west. The east is famous for its electrical machinery, paper, and pharmaceutical and medical products. This region is the largest producer of pharmaceutical and medical products / medical devices in Japan. The central is famous for its fishery products, plastic models, and furniture products. The west is known for its musical instruments, motorcycles, and automobile industries. In all industries, the use of advanced technologies such as ICT is essential for further development in the future. In fact, according to the results of a survey previously conducted by Shizuoka Prefecture, the number of companies that have secured enough ICT personnel and utilized IoT and AI is still limited (Shizuoka Prefecture “Fujinokuni ICT Human Resources Securing and Development Strategy). In other words, this will be great business opportunities for ICT-related companies in our prefecture.
Shizuoka Prefecture is also known as a suitable place for test marketing. This is partly because the annual income and age structure in the prefecture are roughly the same in the national average and its geographical location reflects a mixture of Japan’s eastern and western cultures.
Subsidy Programs
Now, let’s get to the main topic of this article. Shizuoka Prefecture offers subsidies of up to 21.8 million yen to ICT-related companies to help with costs for expanding their business in our prefecture.
There are two types of subsidy programs: “Project for ICT and Service-Related Company Expanding Businesses in Shizuoka” and “Project for Recruiting Highly Skilled ICT Human Resources.”
For details, please visit the website below (in Japanese), but the outline is as follows.
Project for ICT and Service-Related Company Expanding Businesses in Shizuoka
First, the “Project for ICT and Service-Related Company Expanding Businesses in Shizuoka” is a subsidy program for ICT and service-related businesses from outside the prefecture that are planning to open their first office in Shizuoka prefecture.
You can receive up to 5.1 million yen in subsidies for office rent, communication fees, and renovation costs for up to one year by satisfying certain requirements.
Eligible companies
・Companies that conduct ICT and service-related businesses (*) and are planning to establish their first office in Shizuoka Prefecture
(*) ICT and service-related businesses include software, information processing / provision services, design, advertising, management consulting, and job replacement services. For details, please contact us.
Requirements
The requirements are as follows.
① Companies do not have any offices in Shizuoka prefecture at the time of application.
We welcome companies that have an office in Tokyo and are looking for a second office as well as companies that are looking for their first office in expanding their business in Japan.
② Companies are planning to conduct ICT and service-related businesses in Shizuoka prefecture for more than one year.
③ At least one full-time director or employee should be stationed at a new office.
Project for Recruiting Highly Skilled ICT Human Resources
The “Project for Recruiting Highly Skilled ICT Human Resources,” aiming at securing ICT human resources, is a subsidy program for companies that are planning to open their first office for ICT-related businesses in Shizuoka Prefecture. Companies can receive up to 21.8 million yen in subsidies for up to three years for office rent, communication fees, renovation costs, and part of labor costs.
Eligible companies
・Companies that assign highly skilled ICT engineers to a new office and provide ICT utilization services, etc.
This subsidy program is limited to companies that provide ICT utilization services such as software, information processing and provision services, and internet-based services.
Requirements
The requirements are as follows.
① Companies have a plan to continue operating ICT utilization services in Shizuoka Prefecture for more than three years.
② ICT engineers (*) with advanced knowledge and skills should be stationed at a new office.
(*) ICT engineers refer to persons with advanced ICT skills such as those who have passed the Advanced Information Processing Engineer Examination, etc.
Why these subsidies specialized in ICT-related businesses
Why do we offer subsidies specialized in ICT-related businesses?
The reason is that Shizuoka Prefecture is facing a shortage of information and communication engineers.
According to the 2021 Economic Census Activity Survey, the ratio of employees engaged in the ICT industry to all industries is 3.18% nationwide, while the ratio is 1.11% in Shizuoka Prefecture. In the survey mentioned above, many companies with fewer than 500 employees in the prefecture responded that they realize they should secure more ICT personnel but that they cannot recruit enough. To address this shortage, Shizuoka is looking to attract more ICT human resources.
Although the overconcentration of people and businesses in Tokyo has unchanged, we are actively promoting to increase the number of people living in our prefecture. Therefore, we need to encourage teleworkers usually engaged in ICT-related work to live in our prefecture or promote U-turn and I-turn by creating job opportunities that attract young people.
Since it is difficult to set up a large-scale office at the beginning, we are promoting to open a small-sized office such as a satellite office and to expand your business as you have fully experienced our excellent investment environment.
Conclusion
These subsidy programs can be applied together with other subsidies provided by municipalities in Shizuoka Prefecture. You will be able to reduce the initial costs for establishing an office by combining these subsidies with other subsides offered by municipalities you are planning to move to.
When you consider starting business in Shizuoka Prefecture, we will arrange with our municipalities. Please feel free to contact us.
Shizuoka Prefecture has appointed ARK Outsourcing KK as a coordinator (a corporate consultation coordinator) for attracting satellite offices for foreign-affiliated companies in FY2024. When you consider opening a new satellite office in Shizuoka Prefecture, consultation with our prefectural officials will be provided. If necessary, we can arrange experts (mainly in the field of accounting, tax, company registration, and other procedural matters) through ARK Outsourcing KK. Consultation is available in English, and we will cover the costs for arranging experts to the meeting. (In case where you request ARK Outsourcing KK for some specific tasks beyond the scope of consultation, please note that you may cover such costs,) If you are interested in expanding business to Shizuoka Prefecture, please feel free to contact the Regional Diplomacy Division, the Shizuoka Prefectural Government.) We are looking forward to your expansion in our prefecture.
Shizuoka Prefectural Government
Regional Diplomacy Division
Email: kokusai@pref.shizuoka.lg.jp
Misa Kawashima
Query on the phone+81-3-6821-9455