YOKOHAMA’S MAJOR INDUSTRIESLIFE SCIENCE
An established life science cluster withgrowing potential
In October 2018, BioJapan, Asia’s largest international convention in the biotechnology industry, celebrated its 20th anniversary meeting at its beloved home, the Minato Mirai 21 district of
the City of Yokohama. The large-scale annual partnering event,which invites 900 organizations from 30 countries and hosts anestimated 9,000 business meetings over the course of three days,
has chosen to return to PACIFICO Yokohama, the highly acclaimed international convention center in Yokohama, year afteryear as their prime conference location.

It is no coincidence that Asia’s largest biotech event has been
hosted in Yokohama all these years. Kanagawa prefecture wasnamed by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) as oneof the three top prefectures to be recommended to foreign businesses seeking to enter Japan’s healthcare market, and Yokohama
is a major driver of the Kanagawa economy. The city has had along and constructive relationship with the life science industry.
Yokohama pinpointed the growth potential of life science related industries early on and began actively investing in the area as
early as 30 years ago. In the 1990s, the city created the Kanazawa
Bio Park in its southernmost district, which was a visionary bio-tech R&D district that captured the industry’s attention by attracting major players such as Kirin Company, Ltd., Japan Tobacco
Inc., and Shiseido Company, Limited.

Since then, Yokohama has continued to invest in the life sciences, gradually building up a reliable infrastructure for promoting
advanced R&D. Some major milestones include the attraction ofRIKEN, Japan’s largest and most comprehensive research organization for basic and applied science, and the establishment ofthe Joint Graduate School of Medicine Program by the Yokohama City University (YCU), which aims to strengthen educational collaboration in advanced research in the field of medicine.
YCU is also recognized for its leadership in educating highly
skilled medical professionals through unique programs such as
the Training Program for Oncology Professionals, and has been
designated by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) as one of the leading institutions
in medical workforce development. Among YCU’s faculty is Dr.
Takanori Takebe, who holds a joint appointment at the Cincinnati
Children’s Hospital Medical Center and is known for his extensive work on human stem cells (iPSC).

Today, the life science landscape in Yokohama also includes
leading institutions such as the Tokyo Institute of Technology (TITECH) and Keio University, and R&D facilities of companies
such as AGC Inc., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Meiji
Seika Pharma Co., Ltd., and Ricoh Company, Ltd. The rigorous
research climate has attracted various life science companies,
both large and small, to the region. SAKATA SEED CORPORATION, a global leader in vegetable and ornamental seed production that has several research locations within the US and sells
seeds to over 170 countries, is headquartered in Yokohama. A
number of foreign-owned companies have also chosen to locate
in the region, such as PerkinElmer Japan Co., Ltd. and Thermo
Fisher Scientific K.K. Today, there are close to 6,000 life scienceestablishments in Yokohama, which include pharmaceutical andmedical device companies, major hospitals, and up-and-coming
biotech startups.

Ready for innovation and cross-bordercollaboration
Throughout history, Yokohama has been known as an
open-minded port city that welcomes new peoples, cultures andideas. This strength is evident in the city’s abundant mechanisms
to support and promote cross-industry and international collaboration, which is crucial to ensure the continued growth of its life
Copyright © 2018 Office of the City of Yokohama Representative to the Americas. All right reserved.
Phone 646-905-3758
E-mail info@businessyokohama.com
URL www.BusinessYokohama.com

science industry. In 2016, the city launched its very own Yokohama Life Innovation Platform (LIP.Yokohama), a scheme thataims to strengthen collaboration between various stakeholders tocreate innovative projects that support R&D and commercialization projects led mainly by small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs). The platform is populated by companies, universities
and research institutions that have committed to LIP.Yokohama’s
ethos of collaboration which includes global companies such as
Pfizer Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, andpromising startups that have succeeded in raising capital for their
young businesses such as JITSUBO Co., Ltd., J-Pharma Co., Ltd.,PRISM Pharma Co., Ltd., and ReproCELL Inc., Through the platform, the city has hosted numerous matching events, seminars,
and exchanges between members, promoted collaboration withoverseas life science clusters, and managed grant programs andother financial schemes to help SMEs trying to commercialize
their latest discoveries. The Kihara Memorial Yokohama Foundation for the Advancement of Life Sciences and the Yokohama Industrial Development Corporation (IDEC Yokohama) have provided substantial support to be directed at startup companies andSMEs through this scheme, and the city has also signed an MOU
with Biocom Life Science Association of California (BIOCOM)in April 2017 promising future collaboration and exchange withthe largest cluster advocacy organization in California.

The city has also been promoting innovative collaboration
projects between medical, IT, and manufacturing communities,
which is evident in its efforts to mesh initiatives carried out by its
two major innovation platforms, LIP.Yokohama and ITOP Yokohama. ITOP Yokohama fosters innovation in the areas of Internetof Things (IoT), big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics,
and the city is looking to apply these new technologies to healthand medical fields in order to accelerate breakthroughs in the development of new technologies and products, such as cutting-edge
medical devices.
The city also has mechanisms to support entrepreneurs thatown startup businesses. There are several centers which provide
services to young life science companies in the area, such as theVenture Plaza jointly operated by the city, the Kanagawa Prefecture, the Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises andRegional Innovation and TITECH, and an incubation center operated by IDEC Yokohama. The Economic Affairs Bureau of theCity of Yokohama has held a series of venture pitch events since2015 to help connect entrepreneurs to prospective investors andpartners, and their 2017 and 2018 events both focused on life science startups.

Initiatives
LIP. Yokohama: A platform intended to promote the collaboration of industry, government and academia to ensure a sustainablestream of innovation from Yokohama in the health and medical fields. Initiatives include creating innovative projects from the networkof entrepreneurs and academic institutions, supporting SMEs and venture firms in commercialization efforts, and promoting thedevelopment of new technologies and products.
Website: http://translate-en.city.yokohama.lg.jp/keizai/sogyo/life/lifepf.html (Japanese, with auto-translation)
Brochure: http://www.city.yokohama.lg.jp/keizai/yuchi/sinsyutu-e/pdf/lipyokohama.pdf
Medical & tech collaboration projects: Yokohama promotes innovations in medical device R&D through accelerating meaningful
collaboration between companies, medical institutions, R&D institutions, academics, etc. To promote synergy between the medicalcommunity and manufacturing industry in Yokohama, the City supports collaborative opportunities between stakeholders in these
two fields.
Website: http://www.city.yokohama.lg.jp/keizai/sogyo/life/index04.html (Japanese only)
Yokohama Kanagawa Bio-Business Network: In Yokohama and surrounding areas in Kanagawa, there are many universities
and research institutions with advanced bio-related research seeds, as well as companies and bio-ventures that can turn these scientific discoveries into new products. There is also a growth of surrounding industries. By strengthening the network between thesebio business leaders, the organization aims to give birth to innovative products that will vitalize the regional economy and improve
the quality of life of people. The Kihara Memorial Yokohama Foundation for the Advancement of Life Sciences operates the Network.
Website: https://www.yk-bio.net/en/index.html
Life Innovation Comprehensive Special Zone: Kanagawa Prefecture, Yokohama City, and Kawasaki City are part of a government
designated “Special Zone” in the Keihin waterfront area that specializes in life science innovation and globalization. The Special
Zone was designated in 2011, with its overall goal to spur economic growth and innovation in the life science sector while making
full use of existing industrial assets in the region. Major initiatives include supporting global companies to take the lead in stimulating
the growth of pharmaceutical and medical device industries in the region.
Website: https://www.keihin-tokku.jp (Japanese, with auto-translation)

References
December 2018
• Bio Japan: https://www.ics-expo.jp/biojapan/en/outline.html; https://www.ics-expo.jp/biojapan/en/• IT sector statistics (At a Glance): http://www.city.yokohama.lg.jp/keizai/toukei/yokohamakeizai/2017/pdf/pdf/2017-04gyousyubetunodoukou.pdf• JETRO: https://www.jetro.go.jp/usa/topics/entering-japan-healthcare-market-incentives-business.html• Kanagawa prefecture Life Innovation districts: http://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/docs/r5k/cnt/f7282/documents/480281.pdf• LIP Yokohama and BIOTEC: http://www.sandiegobusiness.org/sites/default/files/YokohamaBiocom_LifeInnovationMediaAdvisory_F1.pdf• LIP Yokohama members: http://www.city.yokohama.lg.jp/keizai/sogyo/life/20170719105903.html• Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine Joint Graduate School Programs: https://www.yokohama-cu.ac.jp/en/academics/graduate/med/jgsmp/• Yokohama City University Training Program for Oncology Professionals: http://www-user.yokohama-cu.ac.jp/~yganpro/about-us/• Yokohama Venture Pitch: http://yokohama-v-pitch.strikingly.com/

Copyright © 2018 Office of the City of Yokohama Representative to the Americas. All right reserved.
Phone 646-905-3758
E-mail info@businessyokohama.com
URL www.BusinessYokohama.com