Invest Japan Seminar “Promoting Japan as a Global Hub: New Initiatives by the Japanese Government”

JETRO, in cooperation with the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) and European Business Council in Japan (EBC), held an Invest Japan Seminar titled “Promoting Japan as a Global Hub: New Initiatives by the Japanese Government” on July 22 at JETRO’s IBSC Hall in Tokyo.

The seminar, part of JETRO’s inward foreign direct investment promotion activities, showcased a number of new initiatives by the Japanese government that aim to encourage business creation and expansion by foreign and foreign-affiliated companies in Japan.

The first keynote speaker at the event, Nobuo Kagomiya, Deputy Director-General for Economic and Fiscal Management at Japan’s Cabinet Office, outlined specific items in the government’s Policy Package for Promoting FDI into Japan, including measures to relax regulations and improve administrative procedures, attract and foster globally competitive human resources, and improve the living environment for foreign nationals.

The seminar provided a forum for attendees to deliver their questions and comments directly to government officials from the Cabinet Office; the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI); TOSBEC; JETRO; and other experts on a range of topics including trade, finance, accounting and taxes, labor and visa-related matters, and living and education in Japan.

Questions from attendees covered areas including the educational development of children of foreign expatriates, government incentives, preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, incorporation of a legal entity in Japan, immigration policy, the Corporate Governance Code, recruiting talent and the pension system, to name a few.

The attending government officials addressed participants’ questions and comments and took them back to their respective agencies for further consideration. JETRO plans to hold similar events in the future based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback from attendees.