15 Companies and 4 business support organizations, Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Flanders Investment & Trade (FIT), Croatian Employers` Association and ACCIÓ from 4 different EU countries were visiting Tokyo on 16-18th April during an EU trade mission organized by project GOOSE, under the leadership of FIT local office and with the support of Belgian Embassy.
The aim of this trade mission was to learn about the cooperation possibilities with public sector and the complex world of public procurement in Japan. One was quite clear since the beginning – you need a local partner to be successful in this – that is why a big part of this trade mission was dedicated for B2B meetings and networking with potential Japanese companies.
On the first day of the mission the delegation had interesting presentations and discussions with the Delegation of the European Union to Japan, Digital Agency of Government of Japan, and Tokyo Metropolitan Government. They heard of some success stories about doing business in Japan from Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (imec) and witnessed the formalization of partnership between Belgian company Ride On Track and NEC Corporation, a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation.
On the second day delegates participated in the valuable master class on public procurement in Japan, run by Lyckle Griek, consultant from Japan Tax & Public Procurement Helpdesk, EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation.
The EU trade mission to Japan wrapped up with an intense B2B matchmaking event at the Belgian Embassy on the third day. There, 50 Japanese companies engaged with innovative EU businesses hailing from various sectors including smart city, mobility, digital healthcare, ICT, and green economy. This event served as a pivotal opportunity for fostering partnerships and exchanging ideas and showcasing the potential for fruitful collaborations.
Around 3% of public contracts are awarded to foreign companies, but the public procurement market is huge, with billions of euros expenditure on top focus areas such as sustainable development and decarbonization, transition from nuclear power to renewable energy; education and IT skills, digitalization in healthcare and aging society; digital transformation and revitalization of local economy.