Fukuoka, Japan News

About Fukuoka, Japan

Fukuoka Prefecture is the social and economic centre of western Japan. Fukuoka Prefecture attracts many businesses, particularly in automobile and semiconductor related industries.

The accumulation of industry in the prefecture has pushed the prefecture's GDP to over 160 billion US dollars, which is on a par with Hong Kong. Every year, over one million motor vehicles are produced in the prefecture by companies including Toyota, Nissan and Daihatsu. New plants continue to open and businesses in related industries continue to accumulate.

Kyushu is known as the Silicon Island as it accounts for approximately 5% of world semiconductor production and approximately 25% of Japanese production. Fukuoka is one of Kyushu's major centers for the production of semiconductors.

Major semiconductor manufacturers and venture companies compete against each other. Fukuoka Prefecture is evolving as a center for the design and development of System LSI, which is a growing area due to the growth in mobile phones and digital appliances.

Personnel are essential for the development of any business and Fukuoka Prefecture has excellent personnel resources with 130,000 students studying at local universities and junior-colleges producing a total of 25,000 top-level graduates each year.

The prefecture also hosts 5000 foreign students from 80 different countries and is working to match those foreign students with appropriate domestic and foreign-owned companies.

Currently, approximately 400 foreign-owned companies have set up business in Fukuoka Prefecture. Roughly half are from North America and roughly half from Europe, but in recent years companies from Asian countries including China, South Korea and India are increasing in number.

Many of the new companies have responded to calls to join the industrial projects being promoted by the prefecture. Since auto maker Nissan's tie-up with Renault, many French components makers have come to Fukuoka Prefecture.

Fukuoka's status as a production base for over one million automobiles has also attracted foreign companies looking for an opportunity to expand their business including a major German design company. These new companies also introduce new technologies, products and services to the Fukuoka area.

 Other Major Cities

• Tōkyō
• Yokohama
• Ōsaka
• Nagoya
• Sapporo
• Kōbe
• Kyōto
• Fukuoka
• Kawasaki
• Saitama
• Hiroshima
• Sendai
• Kitakyūshū
• Chiba
• Sakai
• Niigata
• Hamamatsu