GREATER NAGOGYA INITIATIVE Monthly Newsletter Issue No.14 (July, 2007)

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GREATER NAGOGYA INITIATIVE Monthly Newsletter Issue No.14 (July, 2007)
Greater Nagoya Means Greater Business Opportunities
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1. Report Japan-Korea-China Industrial Fair 2007, in Seoul (Jun 13 to 16, 2007)
2. “Greater Nagoya Vanguard Vision” for Economy and Culture
3. Maglev train to be launched in Greater Nagoya in 2025
4. Beach Resorts in Greater Nagoya

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1. Report: Japan-Korea-China Industrial Fair 2007, in Seoul (Jun 13 to 16, 2007)
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Greater Nagoya Initiative participated in the Industrial Fair held in Seoul in Korea for the promotion of GNI. This exhibition was organized by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Korean Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT). The industrial fair was held in order to promote and strengthen the economic partnerships between Japan, Korea, and China. 269 organizations participated in the fair (86 from Japan, 96 from Korea, 114 from China) and it recorded 8,203 visitors. During the exhibition, symposium on “Business Alliances between Korea, China, and Japan” was held.

GNI used 3 exhibition stands and presented Greater Nagoya’s attractiveness to visitors and exhibitors. GNI also asked visitors to fill out the questionnaire about Greater Nagoya and GNI in order to collect information on how well people recognize and interested in Greater Nagoya. A total of 111 questionnaires were collected. According to the answers to the questionnaire, about 80 percent of the people were interested in expanding their business in Greater Nagoya. About 55 percent were interested in doing business with companies in Greater Nagoya. There were some companies that visited GNI booth who are planning to establish their operations in Greater Nagoya in the near future. Everyday during the industrial fair, GNI made presentations in the exhibition hall to appeal attractiveness of Greater Nagoya and to explain Greater Nagoya Initiative’s support and services. GNI is planning to participate in other large exhibition to be held in overseas countries for the promotion. The next one is going to be September for the “Japan Fair in Guangzhou” in China.

Japan-Korea-China Industrial Fair in Seoul: http://www.kjcbusinessfair.org/japan/main.asp
JETRO: http://www.jetro.go.jp/
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2. “Greater Nagoya Vanguard Vision” for Economy and Culture
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Greater Nagoya is now known as it has the most vigorous economy in Japan. Greater Nagoya is not only focusing on the area’s economic growth, but also improvement of attractiveness of its culture and living environment. To assist such activities, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in Greater Nagoya (METI, Chubu) recently announced a vision called, “Greater Nagoya Vanguard Vision”. In order to further develop Greater Nagoya as more open and innovative area in different aspects, Greater Nagoya’s administration, academia, and industry are working together to bring about the vision into reality. The vision is to try to further develop Greater Nagoya as a significant international business center, “Global Business Vanguard”, in the world and to improve urban culture and living environment, “Urban Culture Vangurad”. By doing these, we expect that Greater Nagoya will attract more and more people in Japan and in the world who are interested in doing business as well as culture and living.

Board members for the “Greater Nagoya Vanguard Vision” consist of leaders from different organizations and industries. Chairman for the committee is Prof. Atsushi Katagi (Architectural and Environmental Design, Nagoya University). Other board members include leaders in academia, culture, and industry in Greater Nagoya such as; Mr. Kenichi Inamoto (president of Zetton Inc., a leading food company in Greater Nagoya running many types of hip and fancy restaurants in Greater Nagoya and in Japan) and Mr. Kenichi Mizuo (executive director, Towa Real Estate Co., Ltd., a leading real estate company in Greater Nagoya that recently built Greater Nagoya’s tallest skyscraper tower called, “Midland Square”). The committee members have been discussing and exchange opinions to make the vision into reality.

Nagoya University: http://www.nagoya-u.ac.jp/en/
Zetton Inc. (in Japanese only): http://www.zetton.co.jp/
Towa Real Estate Co., Ltd. (in Japanese only): http://www.towa-fudousan.co.jp/index.html

Midland Square (in Japanese only): http://www.midland-square.jp/
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3. Maglev train to be launched in Greater Nagoya in 2025
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On April 26, 2007, the president of the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central), Masayuki Matsumoto announced that JR Central is aiming to launch its first magnetic levitation (maglev) rail service by 2025. JR Central operates “Shinkansen” (called “bullet train” as English name) which is a high-speed train running at 210 km/h (130 mph), linking the major cities in Japan, such as Tokyo and Osaka, and Greater Nagoya. Maglevs are also called linear motor cars. The motor is linear, not rotary. Maglev trains use electric-powered magnets to enable them to float above their tracks, allowing for much faster speeds than the bullet train. The initial service will link between Tokyo and Greater Nagoya region.

Using the new maglev bullet train, the trip from Tokyo to Greater Nagoya (366km) will take only 40 minutes, about half the current bullet train time. Eventually, the plan is to connect to Japan’s second largest city, Osaka, which connect Tokyo with Osaka in about an hour, down from the current 2.5 hours required. As travel time between Greater Nagoya and Tokyo will be slashed, we may expect to boost the Greater Nagoya region’s accessibility and presence. This is expected to affect the economy of growing Greater Nagoya region.

Japan Central Railway Company: http://jr-central.co.jp/eng.nsf
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4. Beach Resorts in Greater Nagoya
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Summer time is beach time. There are a lot of swimming beaches in Greater Nagoya area and an increasing number of tourists come here for swimming, tourism and bathing. Here just a few of the best beaches in Greater Nagoya are highlighted. “Goza Shirahama Beach” is one of Japan’s best swimming beaches where located in the south of Greater Nagoya area on the Pacific Ocean side. Goza Shirahama Beach is well known for its emerald green water, white sand, shallow beach and great for swimming. Beach is not the only attraction here. The local economy in this area is marine-based and Goza has its local fish market. Everybody can visit to the nearby fish market where the freshest raw fish (sashimi) can be eaten on the beach. The access from Greater Nagoya’s city center is easy and it takes about 2 hours by car. For people who like surfing, there are some good surf beaches around Greater Nagoya. Atsumi Peninsula is located in the south of Greater Nagoya’s city center, facing the Pacific Ocean. Every year from spring to autumn, the southern shores of the Atsumi Peninsula attract surfers from all over Japan. On weekends during the surfing season, the region transforms into a sufers’ mecca. This area has many advantages compared to other beaches in Tokyo or Osaka area in Japan. The waves are decent, prices are lower (car parking lots are free), and the area is not as crowded as the beaches in other areas. From Greater Nagoya’s city center, it takes about 1 hour by car; it takes 2 hours by train. With the summer bathing season just around the corner, Greater Nagoya offers lots of pleasant beaches to enjoy.

Mie Tourism Guide (Goza Shirahama): http://welcome.kankomie.or.jp/english/search/spot.php?act=dtl&id=78
Tahara City Information (Atsumi Peninsula) : http://www.city.tahara.aichi.jp/en/resort/index.html