GREATER NAGOGYA INITIATIVE Monthly newsletter Issue No.7 　December 2006

Greater Nagoya Means Greater Business Opportunities
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GREATER NAGOGYA INITIATIVE
Monthly newsletter Issue No.7 　December 2006
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▼INDEX▼———————————————————————
◇◆　1. Event: GNI Cluster Forum (Jan 18th & 19th 2007)
◇◆　2. IKEA’s first Logistic Center in Japan
◇◆　3. World Heritage in Greater Nagoya
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◇◆　1. Event: GNI Cluster Forum (Jan 18th & 19th 2007)◇◆
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The Greater Nagoya Initiative is holding an exhibition, “Greater Nagoya Cluster Forum (Monozukuri – The art of creating products with the spirit of research and creativity – Exhibition)” on January 18th and 19th 2007. A total of about 3,000 visitors are expected to visit the forum, and corporations in manufacturing, IT, biotechnology, industries and many other corporations will be joining the forum. Administration, academia, and research institutions will also be participating in the forum to exhibit their project, research progress, findings, technologies, products developed in cooperation with Greater Nagoya’s corporations under the several clusters. There will be approximately 150 booths to be set up for the exhibition and about 20 overseas corporations will be participating in the exhibition.

Together with the forum, GNI will be inviting foreign-affiliated corporations highly interested in investing into the Greater Nagoya region and provides opportunities to participate in the exhibition and other business programs. At the exhibition, overseas corporations will have opportunities to promote and present their products, services, business developments, and so on and they will also be providing presentations at the exhibition. They will have opportunities to have business meetings with Greater Nagoya’s local corporations to promote business alliances. GNI will be holding a symposium as well as a reception at the forum. During their visit in Greater Nagoya, we will also organize various tours including industrial and corporate site tours. We hope that overseas corporations will learn more about the business situations and environment and hope this event will result in further progress of their business in Greater Nagoya.

Dates: January 18th (Thu) and 19th (Fri) 2007
Location: Port Messe Nagoya (URL:http://www.u-net.city.nagoya.jp/pmn/English/english-frame.html)
Contents: Exhibition, Presentations, Symposium, Business-partner-matching meetings, and Reception.
URL (in Japanese Only): http://www.t-cluster.com/

Greater Nagoya Initiative Center (GNIC)
Tel: 052-223-7340
Fax: 052-223-7341

Please see our website for more details: https://greaternagoya.org/eng/index.php?mid=6&cid=73

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◇◆　2. IKEA’s first Logistic Center in Japan◇◆
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Last month, Aichi prefecture’s Ｐublic Enterprise Bureau (one of the board members of Greater Nagoya Initiative) agreed to transfer its industrial property to IKEA. IKEA Group is planning to build its logistic center at this industrial site in Greater Nagoya in 2008.

IKEA Group is the world’s largest home furnishing retailing company with 104,000 employees in 34 countries worldwide. Its sales is 17.3 billion euros (1 September 2005 – 31 August 2006) selling furniture, accessories, bathrooms, kitchens, etc at low prices.

There are two IKEA stores in Tokyo area and their products are shipped directly from overseas to these stores. When the IKEA’s new logistic center in Greater Nagoya is completed in 2008, the company will be able to ship all the products from overseas manufacturing sites to the port of Nagoya (the port is handling the largest cargo volume in Japan) and transfer them to its Greater Nagoya’s logistic center located right by the port. Shipments from IKEA’s logistic center to its stores in Japan will also be easier and convenient because of Greater Nagoya’s geographical advantage (the logistic center will be located right by the Ise Bay roadway connected to the Nagoya port and to the Nagoya expressway to the central Nagoya area). This highway is also connected to other major expressways that lead Japan’s major cities such as Tokyo and Osaka area (Tomei and Higashimeihan expressway).

Because many major expressways in Japan are merged in Greater Nagoya, they allow easy access to Japan’s major cities. Furthermore, the access to the other area will become much more convenient in the future since there are ongoing constructions of expressways in Greater Nagoya area (such as Nagoya Urban Expressway, the New Tomei Meishin Expressway, and the Tokai Loop Automobile Roadway). By taking advantage of great infrastructure in Greater Nagoya, companies will be able to enjoy faster and easier transportation of products.

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◇◆　3. World Heritage in Greater Nagoya ◇◆
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There are 13 World Heritage sites in Japan and two of them are in Greater Nagoya: One in Gifu, “Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama”, and another one in Mie, “Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range”. The World Heritage is considered to be outstanding universal value and is designated by the United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to preserve and hand it down to the next generation. It is proud for Greater Nagoya’s people to have the World Heritage that shows our respects and appreciation to the history, culture, and nature.
Shirakawa-go is a small, traditional village showcasing a style of buildings called gasshō-zukuri (hands in prayers – from its shape), located in Gifu, Japan. It is estimated that they were built about 300 years ago in mid-Edo era. One of the famous architects in Germany, BRUNO TAUT (1880-1938) recognized these buildings so unique that it is built highly logistic and rational. As of April 1, 2004 the village has an estimated population of 1,933 and a density of 5.4 persons per km². The total area is 356.55 km². There are skiing and hot spring resorts close to the site.
Shirakwa-go in Gifu: http://www.jal.com/world/en/guidetojapan/world_heritage/shirakawago/description/
Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes is a passage leading to the shrines in the Kii Mountain Range in Mie. People have been walking the passage to make a pilgrimage to the shrines since the Heian Period (9th century, more than 1,200 years ago). The forests and mountains along the passage have been preserved till today and are believed to be the sacred place for gods.
Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes – in Mie: http://www.jal.com/world/en/guidetojapan/world_heritage/kii/description/
As of 2006, a total of 830 sites are listed: 644 cultural, 162 natural, and 24 mixed properties, in 138 States Parties. Each World Heritage Site is the property of the country on whose territory the site is located, but it is considered in the interest of the international community to preserve each site for future generations of humankind. The protection and conservation of these sites are a concern of all the World Heritage countries.