GREATER NAGOYA INITIATIVE Monthly Newsletter Issue No.23 (Apr, 2008)

URL: https://greaternagoya.org/

*Please contact Greater Nagoya Initiative Center (Ms. Miura and Ms. Sumi) for further details on the above events.

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Greater Nagoya Initiative has recently renewed its website, which provides regional information on industry, economy, infrastructure and lifestyle for the Greater Nagoya area. Greater Nagoya is known as one of the top industrial regions in the country where major industries related to automotive, aerospace, and robotic industries are concentrated. One useful tool in the website is the Greater Nagoya Initiative Partners Club search engine, which includes information on more than 400 member companies who are seeking foreign firms with whom to do business. The tools on the website are often used by foreign companies looking for potential business partners in the Greater Nagoya area. The website also contains essential information on medical institutions and international schools with information provided in English. An overview of Greater Nagoya’s attractiveness to inform visitors on aspects of Greater Nagoya’s industrial tourism, culture and entertainment and includes vivid images is also available on the website. Please come and visit GNI website to explore more updated information at greaternagoya.org.

Greater Nagoya Initiative Website: http://greaternagoya.org

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On March 14^th, Greater Nagoya Initiative Center (GNIC) board members (who decides and discuss activities of Greater Nagoya Initiative) held an annual meeting to discuss and share their thoughts about several matters in order to attract more foreign companies expanding and entering their business in Greater Nagoya. Board members are the leaders of administration, industry, and academia in Greater Nagoya. For the fiscal year 2007, 18 foreign-affiliated corporations successfully established their offices with Greater Nagoya Initiative’s support. GNI invited 57 overseas companies and held six seminars in Japan with participants of about 600 people in total. Those invitees are specialized in different fields and from different countries.177 business-partner-matching meetings were organized for the invitees and the local companies, and many of those who had the meetings have been keeping and building relationships continuously. During the fiscal year, GNI visited overseas countries four times for promotions of Greater Nagoya area. GNI Partners Club members became more than 400 corporations and organizations. GNI Partners Club members are those who are seeking to find foreign firms to do business with overseas companies. GNI plans to focus more on promotion activities to widespread attractiveness of Greater Nagoya area that is not yet known in the world. GNI will continue to support not only those planning to establish offices, but also those already established offices in Greater Nagoya. We will try to support until they succeed in their business in Greater Nagoya after their establishment.

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UK-based Bodycote International plc has chosen to headquarter its Japan operations in Greater Nagoya due to numerous commitments to the automotive and aerospace industries in Japan. Based on 25 years experience doing business with Japanese companies, Bodycote International decided that Japan, and especially the Greater Nagoya area, is a very large market for heat treatment services. As the world’s largest selling provider of thermal processing services, Bodycote moved into the Invest Japan Support Center (IBSC) operated by Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) on January 31st, incorporated as Bodycote Japan K.K. on March 4th, and moved into its new sales office at the Nagoya Lucent Tower, on April 1st. IBSC is an organization which provides one-stop support and service to foreign firms seeking to set up business in Japan run by the government-related organization called Japan External Trade Organization. The Nagoya Lucent Tower is 40 floors tall and is directly connected via Nagoya station with companies in manufacturing, finance, IT, and human resource industries including TOYOTA Financial Service Corporation’s headquarters.

Mr. John Hubbard – the CEO of Bodycote International plc – visited Japan for the Grand Opening and announced at a press conference on April 2nd that Bodycote plans to further increase investment in the Greater Nagoya region. Bodycote International plc was established in 1923, and the main services of the Bodycote Japan K.K. are to provide heat treatment, hot isostatic pressing, materials testing, and metallurgical coatings in Asia. There are many competitors in the region and the company thinks that launching in Greater Nagoya area is beneficial because the location is physically close to customers such as Toyota Motor Corporation, Aishin Seiki Co., Ltd, and Denso Corporation. Moreover, the company can adsorb experiences and information from other heat treatment competitors.

Bodycote Japan K.K. Website: http://www.bodycote.co.jp (Japanese)

Bodycote International plc Website: http://www.bodycote.com (English)

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Greater Nagoya is expecting more concentration of new business into the area because of the new development plan to be put forward. The plan is to redevelop a massive area of 22.1 hectare around Nagoya station called “Sasashima” for the center of business and education. Around Nagoya station, many new buildings complexes have been built over the last years, but Sasashima area. We have seen the completion of new towers revitalized the area which is a center of Greater Nagoya area. One of the reasons is because Nagoya station is a central station in Greater Nagoya area which brings people from abroad as well as from all over Japan. It connects directly to Greater Nagoya’s international airport (Centrair).The station also connects directly to Tokyo (95 minutes), Osaka (52 minutes) and other major cities in Japan by bullet trains. Toyota Motor Corporation’s headquarters for international affairs has moved into one of the new office tower called “Midland Square” with 47 floors (about 810 feet and is the tallest building in the Greater Nagoya). Another tower called Lucent Tower with 40 floors (about 590 feet) was also opened recently. The tenants are the companies in manufacturing, finance, IT, and human resource industries including TOYOTA Financial Service Corporation’s headquarter which is Toyota Motor Corporation’s financing company. Headquarters and operation centers are starting to concentrate more in Greater Nagoya, and it is expected that Greater Nagoya area will become even more vigorous after the redevelopment of Sasashima area.

Within the Sasashima area, a resort management company in the U.S. called Benchmark Hospitality International is going to build two towers with 33 floors. Towers will consist of offices, conference centers, and a hotel. All the rooms for the hotel will be designed as suite rooms. The company’s business in Greater Nagoya (Sasahima) will be its first operation of its hotel business in Japan. The hotel will be opened in April 2013. Because the area is close to Greater Nagoya’s international exhibition site called Nagoya Port Messe (Nagoya International Exhibition Hall), it is expected that the hotel will also attract people visiting exhibitions. This exhibition site will also be renovated soon and will become a site with about 20,000 squared meters, which will be the largest exhibition center in Greater Nagoya. Greater Nagoya’s university called Aichi University will also open its new campus in the area. The university has partnerships with 26 universities around the world and has many overseas students studying on campus. Faculties and research courses related to business administrations will be placed in the area, and about 7,500 students will study there. Aichi University is also planning to build an international convention hall with a capacity of 700 people. The development of the area is expected to revitalize the area around Nagoya station more, hence accelerates more and more concentration of headquarters, operation centers, and international business into Greater Nagoya area.

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When people stop using their heaters, Hanami season is getting close in Japan. ”Hanami” commonly refers to cherry blossom viewing, an annual event which has been celebrated for centuries and takes a very prominent position in Japanese culture. When the blossoms appear on the cherry trees at the end of March, people start coming outside to enjoy the warm weather and varieties of pink cherry blossoms on trees that announce the arrival of spring. People enjoy the intensity of so many blossoms with their delicate scent of spring. Relieved from Japan’s long severe winter, people appreciate the Hanami season. Hanami traditionally involves a picnic party under the blooming trees and is often held in parks and historical places across the country. When the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, parks in Japan are filled with people and they relax under the cherry trees with food and drink, both day and night. Famous cherry blossom spots can get very crowded, and the Greater Nagoya area is not an exception. Cherry blossoms can be stunning, especially in combination with a Medieval castle.

One of the most beautiful viewing spots in Greater Nagoya region is the Nagoya Castle with its surrounding cherry trees. Nagoya castle was built by Tokugawa Ieyasu who was born in the small castle in Mikawa Province (located in Greater Nagoya) and in his early career, he controlled the province. He became the first General of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan which lasted for 265 years, from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. In 1610, Tokugawa Ieyasu ordered the various feudal lords to help with the building of a new castle. Nagoya Castle’s construction was completed in 1612, and it was recognized as one of the most important castles in Japan because the castle was at the center of a post station where many trade men and travelers rested. The castle was destroyed by fire in World War II and most of the castle’s artifacts were destroyed. The castle was rebuilt in 1959 and many of the original painted parts of the palace which were rescued from the fire were restored to their original locations. Symbols of the Nagoya castle are placed on top of the castle, which are two golden imaginary tiger-headed fish, and this logo is used as a talisman for fire prevention and is said to be a symbol of the feudal lord’s authority. The historic castle, forming a backdrop for the cherry blossoms, is often found on the front page of Japanese guidebooks, but even these dynamic photographs do not do justice to the real scene.

Nagoya Castle: http://www.nagoyajo.naka.nagoya.jp/ (Japanese)

Nagoya Castle for Cherry Blossom Viewing: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3300.html

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Thank you so much for reading our e-newsletter, and sharing in our excitements for expansion of Greater Nagoya. All comments are welcomed! To subscribe, or unsubscribe, please email us at　gninewsletter@greaternagoya.org

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〔Issued by〕 Greater Nagoya Initiative Center（GNIC）

〔EMAIL〕 gninewsletter@greaternagoya.org

〔URL〕 https://greaternagoya.org/

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