Outline of Osaka: Business Environment
[Spirit of innovation] * [Intellectual resources] = [The ability to create new businesses that meet the demands of a new age]
Osaka has played a leading role in the industrial development of Japan, backed by its first-class universities and research institutions that have contributed to the area's intellectual resources, and Osaka's unique business culture based on a spirit of innovation and constant pursuit of new ideas. Osaka will take advantage of its ideal business environment to continue to facilitate new intellectual businesses.
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Osaka/Kansai Make Breakthroughs in Numerous Business Fields
Numerous innovative products have originated in Osaka and the Kansai region including instant noodles that are sold throughout the world today, and candy with enclosed prizes that are so popular with both children and adults. These products represent the spirit of innovation found in the unique business environment of this region. With this unlimited potential, Osaka will keep focusing on development of innovative breakthrough products that open new doors to the future.
New services and products that originated in Kansai
| Foods | Instant noodles, retort pouch curry, candy with enclosed prizes, cider, canned coffee, portion-sized coffee creamer, sports/nutritional soft drinks |
|---|---|
| Electric and electronics equipment | Meal coupon vending machines, note change machines, counterfeit note detection machines, automatic ticket gates, automatic teller machines, karaoke machines, hair driers, microwave ovens, solar-powered calculators, VHS videos, bread baking machines, kitchen waste driers |
| Housing and daily use products | Prefabricated houses, mosquito coils, toothpaste, nylon bags |
| Retail outlets | Sporting-goods specialty shops, department stores connected to railway terminals, supermarkets, warehouse-style discount shops, no-store retailing, chain stores, etc. |
| Services | Wedding halls, marriage information services, funeral services, moving services, cleaning equipment rental, business hotels, capsule hotels |
The Entrepreneurial Museum of Challenge and Innovation in the Business Innovation Center Osaka displays many innovative products that originated in Osaka.
Source: "Analysis of the Current Economic Situation in the Kansai Region and Survey on Strategies for Economic Revitalization" (2000) issued by the Center for the Industrial Renovation of Kansai
A Wealth of Intellectual Resources With a Wide Array of Knowledge and Know-how
The Kansai region is home to many outstanding universities that produce students with high-level knowledge and technical skills. Osaka and its vicinity also have a substantial concentration of major research institutions and international organizations.
Research Institutions
National Institutions for Testing and Research
- National Cardiovascular Center Research Institute
Independent Administrative Institutions
- Research and Development Institute, Mint Bureau, Ministry of Finance, Japan
- National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology KANSAI
(Legal Metrology Division) 
- National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology KANSAI
(Osaka National Research Institute) 
- National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology KANSAI
(Life Electronics Laboratory) 
- Kansai Advanced Research Center (KARC)
Communications Research laboratory
Other Testing and Research Facilities
- Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International
- Ion Engineering Research Institute
- Osaka Bio-Science Institute
- Bio-molecular Engineering Research Institute
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute
- Wakayama Agricultural Biological Institute Center
Facilities related to foreign countries
International organization
United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)
International Environment Technology Centre (IETC)
- Osaka office
- Shiga office
The World Tourism Organization (WTO)
- Regional support office for Asia and the pacific
World Health Organization (WHO)
- WHO Kobe centre
Economic Power and the Prospects of the Osaka and the Kansai Region (in Numeric Terms)
The economic power of the Kansai region is comparable to that of Canada
GDP (nominal) of major countries
University-based venture businesses that can have a positive impact on the economy
Year-to-year increase in the number of university-based venture businesses
Osaka: higher density of industry
Comparison of industrial activities
Reasonable business cost
Comparison of office rents and wages (Tokyo/Osaka)
Many organizations offer information and support to help foreign companies expand their business operations in the Japanese market
Port of Osaka and Kansai International Airport as emerging hubs of transportation
Container cargo handling volume at Port of Osaka
Kansai International Airport's international passenger and cargo flight data
