Why Fukuoka?
When convenience, cost savings, and opportunity are considered, you will find that Fukuoka is the best location for your East Asia sales/support office, R&D center, or manufacturing facility.
Convenience
Japan is a relatively small country, and a flight from Tokyo to Fukuoka is only 1.5 hours. Actually, from Fukuoka, a 1.5 or 2 hour flight will also get you to Seoul, Shanghai, and Taipei. You can effectively cover all of Japan and a good part of Asia from one location!
Metropolitan areas in Fukuoka tend to be less crowded and easier to navigate than other areas of Japan. In Fukuoka City, the airport terminal is just a ten-minute subway ride from the city center. Fukuoka is also home to:
32 universities
Consulates of 4 major countries including the USA and 5 foreign trade organizations
Robust port facilities
Optical fiber network that is largely free for foreign companies locating to the region
International school
Baseball stadium and Sumo tournament
Cost Savings
You will save considerably on costs when locating to Fukuoka. Consider the following:
Industrial land cost in Fukuoka is 13% of costs in Tokyo
Commercial land is 21%
Office rent is 71%
Apartment rent is 56%
Average employment costs (wages paid) are 79%
In addition, free or low-cost short-term office space, subsidies, and other assistance are available to North American companies considering Fukuoka as a location for their facilities. We are happy to provide you with information on available subsidies; a list of suitable office/warehouse/manufacturing options; or additional information per your request. Once a decision to locate to the region has been made, we are also happy to assist with initial public relations activities, business registration, and the location of legal and other professional service providers.
Opportunity
At Invest Fukuoka, we assist our client companies with their business development activities in Fukuoka by providing introductions to potential partners or customers. In the Japanese market, the first reference customer is extremely important, and we often arrange initial customer meetings to support our clients.
We believe that your best strategy is to establish a presence and find a reference customer in Fukuoka, test the market and your market strategy, and then use this experience to effectively compete in other markets in Japan and in Asia when you are ready and your business can support the additional cost.
Fukuoka represents a significant market opportunity. Companies like Yaskawa Electric (industrial robotics), TOTO (fine ceramics and technologies), Toyota Automotive Kyushu, Fujitsu Kyushu Systems (office automation technologies), Japan Steel, Kyushu Electric Power, and thousands of other regional companies present unique opportunities for North American companies.
Fukuoka is home to the subsidiaries of nearly all major Japanese electronics and trading companies, numerous systems integrators, a strong gaming and software industry, a robust microelectronics manufacturing industry, and growing opportunities in biotechnology and environmental technology. Fukuoka is also making significant research contributions to the emerging hydrogen and fuel cell industries.
We firmly believe that Fukuoka is your Best Option in Asia. At Invest Fukuoka, we can help you establish a beachhead in the Japanese market and help you locate your ideal partner or initial reference customers so that you can effectively compete in the Japanese market and in Asia. Please contact us for a consultation — we are a government organization and our services are completely free to you.