YOKOHAMA’S INNOVATIVE CULTURE
An emerging innovation district withboundless potential
The Yokohama bay area is in the midst of transforming itself into a next generation innovation district. The bay area,
which stretches roughly from Yokohama station to Kannai station, includes the master-planned business district Minato Mirai
21 and features a beautiful waterfront with futuristic skyscrapers
juxtaposed with 100-year old picturesque brick warehouses thatcreate the unique atmosphere of “old meets new.” The reimagined urban center surrounding Minato Mirai 21 has become
home to some of the world’s most influential industries, attracting many large and small businesses in IT, mobility and manufacturing from around the globe. The Kannai area, an up-andcoming community made up of artists, creators, and innovators,
is forging a culture of its very own brimming with youthful andcreative energy, and is emerging as a hotspot for startup companies in the city. On top of all of this, Yokohama station boasts
30-minute access to Tokyo, the center of Japan’s $5 trillion
economy. The bay area, with all its soft and hard assets, has limitless potential to emerge as the next booming innovation district
in Asia.

Established industry clusters and abundant
physical assets
Over the years, Yokohama has grown into a flourishing hubof companies, universities and research institutes representing awide range of industry sectors and academic disciplines. Manyworld-renowned automotive companies and manufacturers haveestablished headquarters or major branches in one of Yokohama’s several business districts. Yokohama is also becoming
the chosen location for corporate research and development;
Apple Inc. and other multinationals such as Shiseido Company,Limited, Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd., and LG Electronics,Inc. have all chosen to open large-scale R&D centers in the city.
Moreover, the region is home to 26 universities and 157 research
institutes that constitute the foundation of Yokohama’s innovation economy. Leading institutions such as RIKEN, Yokohama
City University (YCU), Keio University, Tokyo Institute ofTechnology (TITECH), and Yokohama National University(YNU) are hosting some of the most advanced research projects
in Japan, actively collaborating with local companies as well as
the public sector in pioneering initiatives.
Many of Yokohama’s state-of-the-art office buildings areequipped with high-spec research facilities to support cuttingedge R&D and rapid research turnover. This is a unique charac-

teristic of Yokohama’s office property profile, which was developed based on years of ongoing active collaboration between
Yokohama businesses and life science and biotech researchers.
Work is currently underway to convert Yokohama's old City Hallbuilding area, which was vacated in 2020, into a new building
complex, with space reserved for cutting-edge domestic andglobal companies, and one of the universities based in Yokohama. This complex will serve as a business innovation center,
including co-working and event space, to support startups andinnovation-drivers.
Community-oriented co-working spaces are also becoming
increasingly popular in Yokohama, with WeWork’s largest Japanese location, OCEAN GATE MINATO MIRAI, taking center
stage, and many newly developed office buildings incorporate
community spaces open to the public.

NextGen workforce and collaboration
platforms create powerful breeding groundfor innovation
In addition to these hard assets, Yokohama has a wide rangeof soft assets that enable local innovative endeavors, such as anabundance of high skilled labor, support mechanisms for collaboration, and numerous networking assets. Many of the top-tieruniversities in Yokohama are equipping the next generation
workforce with knowledge and skills in new and promising areas such as data science and smart mobility, and there is a graduate school that specializes in cybersecurity. In addition, manyof these universities are also opening new satellite campuses
specifically within Minato Mirai 21, to capitalize on the district’s innovative culture. As one example, Yokohama City University opened a satellite campus within Yokohama Landmark
Tower in April 2020 that focuses on data science education.
Yokohama is known for having the highest concentration of engineers in Japan (9.3%) and approximately 0.4 million tech professionals among its workforce.
Yokohama has multiple platforms for industry-governmentacademia collaboration such as the Yokohama Life Innovation
Platform (LIP. Yokohama) and IoT Open Innovation Partners(ITOP Yokohama). These platforms offer companies, universities and research organizations opportunities to dialogue andpromote the development of new technologies and products.
Partnering events, seminars and exchange meetings are just afew of the ways the platforms facilitate networking and support
members’ R&D and commercialization efforts. LIP. Yokohama
and ITOP Yokohama work hand in hand, often collaboratingwith overseas companies as well: LIP. Yokohama has an in-Copyright © 2020 Office of the City of Yokohama Representative to the Americas. All rights reserved.
Phone 646-905-3758
E-mail: info@businessyokohama.com
URL: www.BusinessYokohama.com

ternational partnership with Biocom Life Science Association ofCalifornia (BIOCOM), the largest advocacy organization for
California’s life science sector.
The Minato Mirai 21 area is thriving with collaborative spaces run by corporations, such as Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.’s Customer
Co-creation Laboratory, Fujitsu FSAS Inc.’s Minato Mirai Innovation & Future Center, and IHI Corporation’s Tsunagu Lab, allaiming to spur open innovation by directly taking in fresh ideas
from consumers and industry stakeholders. To further include
individual entrepreneurs, creators, artists, and the public in thisexchange of ideas, “YOKOHAMA GADGET FESTIVAL,” anew multi-stage public event to celebrate innovation was held in2019 in Yokohama through a joint partnership with local SMEs,large corporations, and the city government.
Yokohama also has a great variety of venues for meetings,incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) that serve as avaluable networking asset. Pacifico Yokohama in Minato Mirai
21 is one of the largest convention complexes in the world, hosting international conventions and exhibitions throughout theyear. BioJapan, Asia’s largest annual biotechnology convention,
is just one of them. In addition, there are countless convention
facilities and hotels to fit the purpose and needs of every MICEevent.

A city that embraces the power ofopen innovation
The municipal government of Yokohama has shown steadfast commitment towards creating a supportive climate for innovation. The city has a track record of utilizing creativity andcollaboration to solve social issues; the Office of Co-governanceand Creation, the first of its kind in Japan, was established inYokohama in 2008 to enhance public-private collaboration. In
the decade since its inauguration, private businesses and organizations have submitted over 725 proposals for joint pilot programs, and 311 have been implemented. To further promote thecity as a testing ground for new innovative technologies, inMarch 2020 ITOP Yokohama opened a One Stop Center to create a streamlined process for those wishing to collaborate withthe city to demonstrate and test their proofs-of-concept.

References• Baystars Sports Accelerator• BIOCOM• Fuji Zerox’s Customer Co-creation Laboratory• IHI Tsunagu Lab• ITOP Yokohama• ITOP Yokohama - One Stop Center• Kanagawa Startup Acceleration Program• Keikyu Accelerator• LIP. Yokohama• MICE in Yokohama• WeWork Ocean Gate Minato Mirai• Yokohama Business GP• YOXO - Yokohama Cross Over• YOXO BOX

Mechanisms to support aspiringentrepreneurs
Yokohama provides a welcoming and nurturing environment for startup companies. In fact, in 2020 Yokohama wasnamed one of Japan’s Global Startup Cities by the Japanese national government, recognizing the city’s efforts in creating afully-formed startup ecosystem. Innovation platforms LIP.
Yokohama and ITOP Yokohama both have startup support components, and in addition, the City of Yokohama holds variousworkshops, seminars and exchange meetings to accelerate networking among entrepreneurs and innovators.
In 2019 Yokohama opened “YOXO BOX.” a new startup
support center in Kannai district that offers mentoring, individual consultation with specialists in startup growth, space for exchange and business events focused on creating innovation, anda special in-house accelerator program called the “YOXO Accelerator Program.” The city provides other opportunities forstartups to showcase their groundbreaking ideas to the business
community as well; the Economic Affairs Bureau of the municipal government has held a series of venture pitch events since2015 to help connect entrepreneurs to prospective investors andpartners, and the Yokohama Industrial Development Corporation(IDEC Yokohama) has been hosting the Yokohama BusinessGrandprix, a pitch competition which awards multiple cash
prizes including special prizes for student and women entrepreneurs and provides long-term business support to finalists.
There are also several unique acceleration programs operated by the private sector. The beloved local professional baseballteam Yokohama DeNA BayStars owns the Baystars Sports Accelerator which supports new business development in the sportand entertainment realms, and Keikyu Corporation, a private
railroad company that operates train service between Yokohamaand Tokyo, launched an accelerator program in 2017 aiming topromote innovative projects involving the latest technology suchas drones and AR/VR t invigorate the transportation industry andthe local community. Sagami Railway Co., Ltd., another railway
company operating in the prefecture, and Takashimaya Co., Ltd.,a leading department store company, have also launched a joint
acceleration program aiming to support entrepreneurship in inbound tourism, entertainment and other fields. Kanagawa Prefecture, supported by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu LLC, also operates a large-scale startup hub and acceleration program that features a startup camp, guidance workshops, and a list of accomplished mentors. There is no shortage of support for young businesses looking to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams in Yokohama.

Copyright © 2020 Office of the City of Yokohama Representative to the Americas. All rights reserved.
Phone 646-905-3758
E-mail: info@businessyokohama.com
URL: www.BusinessYokohama.com

September 2020