Japan spends consistently over 3% of its GDP on R&D, of which some 70% come from industry. Concerning biotech-related R&D, more than half is directed towards pharmaceutical and medical goals, but agricultural, industrial and environmental biotech are recently getting more attention in view of a future “bioeconomy” based on “smart cells” and a better integration of biological and digital innovations.

Japan society has been late in digitisation, but the government tries to speed this up, among other things, to reduce the cost of health care. This is an excellent opportunity for EU companies with exciting solutions.

Three French companies – hydrogen taxi company Hype, industrial gas supplier Air Liquide, and energy supplier Idex – joined forces with Japanese car manufacturer Toyota Motor in 2019 to form HysetCo, a joint-venture determined to bring a change to the mobility landscape. Together, they deploy in Paris the world’s largest fleet of hydrogen taxis.

The report focuses primarily on the balance of trade between Japan, the EU and its constituent Member States in 2020. The report begins by analyzing Japanese trade with the EU as a whole (both for goods and services) and then provides a country-by-country analysis for each individual EU Member States.

In 2013, two years after the nuclear accident of Fukushima, the recently founded Japanese renewable energy developer and supplier Shizen Energy established a joint-venture with juwi, a German leader that started building wind and solar farms in 1996. Together, the companies developed nearly 70 renewable energy plans in Japan, and are working on increasingly ambitious projects, adapting their model to the geographic conditions of Japan and the evolution of the local market.

The capital market for SMEs and start-ups consists of several segments,ranging from SME lending and crowdfunding to business angels and venture capital markets.

As the 3rd largest economy in the world, Japan places a high value on the advancement of new technologies. The high level of urbanization creates strong incentives for development of Smart Mobility innovations.

Europe has been one of the most popular global destinations for Japanese tourists. Global COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the tourism sector. Yet, one may expect that European SMEs will try to attract Japanese visitors in the coming years.