Information for Financial Institutions and FinTech Companies to Establish a Business Hub in Fukuoka

FUKUOKA

The Nexus of Inspiration and Innovation
English/Invest FUKUOKA
Invest FUKUOKA (English)

https://www.kigyorichi.pref.fukuoka.lg.jp/en/

English/Incentive

Incentive (English)

https://www.kigyorichi.pref.fukuoka.lg.jp/en/incentive/

FUKUOKA

Develop the Future
Pamphlet

FUKUOKA Develop the Future Pamphlet (English)

https://www.kigyorichi.pref.fukuoka.lg.jp/foreign/img/en/top/invest-fukuoka-pamphlet.pdf

FUKUOKA CITY

Aiming to Become A Global Financial City
Fukuoka City Website
FUKUOKA CITY Aiming to Become A Global Financial City (English)

https://ﬁnancialcity.fukuoka.jp/en/

Contact for inquiries regarding establishing
Contact for inquiries regarding this brochurea business in Fukuoka Prefecture

General Policy Section, Planning andRegional Development Department,
Fukuoka Prefecture

Business Establishment Section,
Commerce and Industry
Department, Fukuoka Prefecture

Email : int-ﬁnance@pref.fukuoka.lg.jp

Email : kigyo@pref.fukuoka.lg.jp

Phone : 092-643-3499

Phone : 092-643-3441

02Business and life environment in Fukuoka

FUKUOKA
The Gateway to Asia
If you are looking for the fastest way to get to many major cities in East Asia, Fukuoka is your best choice.
The Fukuoka economic zone is Japan s 4th largest city
after Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya with a hinterland population of over 10 million.

Beijing
Tianjin
Wuhan

Qingdao
ShanghaiHong Kong

2,000kmSingapore

Taipei

Seoul
Busan

Fukuoka

1,000km

500km
Osaka

N

Tokyo

Business environment̶Support for business continuity

Daily life̶

National Strategic Special Zone for
Global Startups and Job Creation;
City-centre redevelopment projects

A backup city with a low risk ofearthquakes

Fukuoka rated the no.1 city tolive in by Japanesebusinesspeople*

Fukuoka Prefecture boasts the nation s

Located on the coast of the sea on

Fukuoka City is an urban centre andtop-level business start-up rate andthe western side of Japan, Fukuoka

a compact city that hosts an airport, port,

Fukuoka City, the centre of the prefecture,

Prefecture is less likely to be aﬀected atconvention facilities and urban districtis designated as a National Strategic

the same time as Tokyo, Osaka and otherwithin a 2.5 kilometre radius. The city isSpecial Zone for Global Startups and Job

cities on the country s Paciﬁc Ocean side invalued for close access to work and a highCreation. At Fukuoka Growth Next,

the event of a disaster. Since the prefecture

quality of life (QOL). Food prices area startup support facility where

also has a large economy and urban

the lowest and the price of daily necessities

entrepreneurs and their sponsors meet withfunctionality, it serves as one of the nation s

excluding rent is also the 2nd fromeach other, startups with ideas for creating

main backup sites. In anticipation of

the bottom among 21 large cities ina prosperous future are concentrated

disaster risks and a geographicallythe country, making the city more attractive

together. In addition, two city-centre

distributed society after COVID-19,

regarding its low cost of business and living.

redevelopment projects, Tenjin Big Bangthe development of earthquake-resistantand Hakata Connected, have establishedbuildings featuring some of the best BCP

a high-quality oﬃce environment in Fukuoka

functions in Japan, as well as supportingcity centre.

the prevention of infectious diseases,

planning (BCP)̶

* Based on a survey of 1,000 businesspeople inJapan by Nikkei Research Institute of Industry andMarkets

is ongoing in the prefecture.

03

Creation of high-level human resources

Concentration of universities and research institutions̶

01

Producing a number of talented people comparable
to those in other major Asian countries

Fukuoka s geographical advantages

Fukuoka Prefecture has 34 colleges and universities and 122,000
students, which ranks it 6th and 7th, respectively, in Japan. The numberof science students is over 6,000, which ranks 5th in the country. A rangeof growth industries and research institutions from biotechnology andFukuoka
Kitakyushu

Osaka Nagoya

space to hydrogen energy are also concentrated in Fukuoka.

Tokyo* Chapter 25 Education, Japan Statistical Yearbook, Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Aﬀairs and Communications, 2021
* Seven Charms of Fukuoka Prefecture̶Human Resources from Information on Establishment of New Businesses in Fukuoka Prefecture (browsed on Sept. 22, 2021)

Kagoshima
DATA

Make a day trip between Fukuoka and cities
in East Asia
In Fukuoka, there are two international airports. One is
Kitakyushu Airport, an oﬀshore airport oﬀering 24-hourservices and operating overnight cargo ﬂights as well.
The other is Fukuoka Airport, oﬀering the world-classconvenience of a one-hour ﬂight to Seoul and a two-hour
ﬂight to Shanghai and providing ten-minute access toFukuoka city centre by subway.

10 minutes

International
ﬂights:02776

direct ﬂights
per week to

From the Fukuoka Airport, you can reach Hakata Station,
subway. From Hakata Station, you can take a bullet train

Kinki
GDP: ¥86 trillion
Population: 21 million

two hours and a half. Fukuoka, a hub of transport both22

cities(as of January 2020)

FUKUOKA: The Nexus of Inspiration and Innovation

1 hr to Seoul, 1.5 hrs to Tokyo, 2 hrs to Shanghai, 3.5 hrs to Hong Kong

Kanto

Tokyo
Osaka

KyushuNagoyaGDP: ¥232 trillion
Population:
46 million

Fukuoka

GDP: ¥52 trillion
Population:
14 million

Tokai
Chugoku/Shikoku

GDP: ¥45 trillion
Population: 11 million

GDP: ¥75 trillion
Population: 15 million

Number of colleges/
universities

Number of companies

Rank

PrefectureJapan

2,900,000

1

Tokyo

Singapore

384,557

2

Osaka

55

Kyushu280,000

3

Aichi

50

Hong Kong

120,000

4

Hokkaido

37

5

Hyogo

37

6

Fukuoka

34

Singapore

34

Hong Kong

22

Monthly rents by major city(*5,6)

5,498

Hong Kongto arrive at Kagoshima, the south end of the Kyushu

on the coast of the sea on the western side of Japan.

GDP: ¥22 trillion
Population: 5 million

GDP: ¥34 trillion
Population: 9 million

Colleges/Universities in Fukuoka (*7,8,9)

Country/Region

TohokuHokuriku

a major station in Fukuoka, in only ﬁve minutes bydomestically and internationally, is also the largest city

Companies in Kyushu (*2,3,4)

GDP: ¥20 trillion
Population: 5 million(*1)

Island, in about one hour and at Osaka in about

From Fukuoka city centre to Fukuoka Airport:
approx.

Fukuoka, a transport hub both domesticallyand internationally and the largest cityon the coast of the sea on the western sideof Japan

Hokkaido
Fukuoka boasts the
4th largest economy andpopulation after Japan s
three metropolitan areasand is the centre of Kyushu.

3,658

Singapore

2,674

Tokyo
Yokohama

1,917

Osaka

1,753

Nagoya1,426

Fukuoka1,340
02,000 4,000 6,000[Monthly rent (¥/m2)]

Reference

140

Household ﬁnancial assets in Kyushu(*10,11,12)Country/Region

Japan

Household ﬁnancial assets¥1,992 trillion (USD 18 trillion)

Singapore¥110 trillion (USD 1,002 bn)

Kyushu¥110 trillion (USD 1,002 bn)

Israel¥96 trillion (USD 877 bn)

Living and housing environment ranking (*13)
Rank

Prefecture

City

1
2
3
4
5

Fukuoka
ShimaneNaganoAichi
Yamanashi

Fukuoka
Izumo
MatsumotoToyota
Kofu

17

Aichi

Nagoya

59

Kyoto

Kyoto

* Osaka not ranked in top 59[Source]*1: Population Projections, Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Aﬀairs andCommunications, Mar. 2021
*2: Business Registry Statistics, ACRA, 2021
*3: Breakdown of the number of corporations and amount of income byprefecture, Annual Statistics Report, National Tax Agency, 2019*4: Companies Registries, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2019
*5: Business and Investment in Kyushu, Kyushu Bureau of Economy, Tradeand Industry, Mar. 2021
*6: Investment Cost Comparison, Information by Country/Region, JETRO,
2019-2021*7: Chapter 25 Education, Japan Statistical Yearbook, Statistics Bureau,
Ministry of Internal Aﬀairs and Communications, 2021
*8: Destination Guides Study in Singapore, Top Universities, browsed on
Sept. 22, 2021
*9: Universities in Hong Kong, UNIPAGE, browsed on Sept. 22, 2021
*10: Ranking by country and changes in ﬁnancial assets held by individuals,
Global Note, 2019*11: Flow of Funds in 2nd Quarter 2021 (Preliminary), Research and Statistics
Department of the Bank of Japan, Sept. 2021
*12: Results on income and household assets and debts, FY2019 Survey ofHousehold Budget Structure, Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Aﬀairs
and Communications, May 2021
*13: Japan Power Cities, Proﬁling Urban Attractiveness, Mori Memorial
Foundation, 2021

Information for Financial Institutions and FinTech Companies to Establish a Business Hub in Fukuoka

03

02

Space industry

Growth Industry
Image picture of the small QPS SAR (Synthetic
Aperture Radar) satellite projectIn Fukuoka Prefecture, there is a concentration of manufacturing companies having
excellent technologies, IT startups creating unique new services and many otherpotential companies in the space business. iQPS Inc. (Fukuoka City) succeeded indeveloping and launching a world-class small SAR satellite that can observe thesurface of the Earth regardless of night and day or weather. The company also
successfully captured world-class high-resolution images in May 2021. iQPS aims toestablish a system that enables it to observe the surface of the Earth in ten-minuteintervals in or after 2025 with a 36 satellite-constellation. In September 2020,
Japan s Cabinet Oﬃce chose Fukuoka Prefectural Government as the ﬁrst Local
Government Promoting Space Business Creation in Kyushu for the advantages that
only the prefecture has.

03

Concentration of Japan s leading-edge human resources and technologies
Establishing one of the country s main blockchain hubsthat supports the future of FUKUOKA
Fukuoka Prefecture is home to many universities and other advanced research institutions
as well as to manufacturing companies with excellent technologies.
It has an advantage over other prefectures in the areasof bioindustry, space industry, hydrogen energy and so on.
The prefectural government is focusing on encouraging companies

Blockchain

to enter and concentrate in such growth industries,
whose markets are expected to expand.

School of Computer Science and Systems
Engineering at Kyushu Institute of Technology
leads blockchain research (Iizuka, Fukuoka)

04

Energy industry

Hibikinada Wind Power Plant (Kitakyushu, Fukuoka)

01

Bioindustry

Fukuoka Bio Innovation
Centre, which features
cutting-edge genome
editing robots and more
(Kurume, Fukuoka)

Fukuoka Prefecture recognised as the ﬁrst
Regional Bio Community
Accelerating eﬀorts to make it an advanced
biotechnology hub
In collaboration with Kurume Municipal Government since 2001, Fukuoka
Prefectural Government has been looking to achieve a concentration of
biotechnology-related companies, based on the Fukuoka Prefectural Bio
Industry Centre Promotion Conference, an industry-academia-governmentorganisation. As a result of the Promotion Conference s eﬀorts, the numberof biotechnology-related companies has increased from 32 at the
beginning to more than 230 companies. In Fukuoka, bio ventures who are
drawing attention inside and outside Japan are being established one
after another̶such as Bonac Corporation, which is attracting attention
due to its development of a remedy for COVID-19 based on the nucleic
acid medicine as the next generation of medicine, and EditForce, Inc.,
which has an advantage in its all-Japanese genome editing technology.
Such advantages of the prefecture have been highly thought of andFukuoka was recognised as a Regional Bio Community (four suchlocations have been chosen nationwide) by the Cabinet Oﬃce in June
2021 as the only such prefecture in western Japan.

Fukuoka Prefectural Government chosen as the ﬁrst Local
Government Promoting Space Business Creation in Kyushu
Taking up the space challenge with hardware and software
technologies from Fukuoka

Kyushu University
Hydrogen Station and
HyTReC, Japan s only
public hydrogenproduct testing
institution

05

Other industries

Blockchain, which was developed as a technology to manage crypto-assets, isreceiving attention for its traceability, ability to thwart data falsiﬁcation andresistance to malfunction. In addition to many blockchain startups and engineers
with advanced skills, the School of Computer Science and Systems Engineering at
Kyushu Institute of Technology as well as the Faculty of Humanity-Oriented Scienceand Engineering at Kindai University, which lead research in the blockchain ﬁeld andproduce excellent engineers, are located in Fukuoka Prefecture. To leverage thisadvantage for IT industry promotion, Fukuoka Prefectural Government started toactively support research and development into blockchain technology and relevant
human resource development in earnest in 2020, and the prefecture is becoming
a main blockchain hub in Japan.

Working to develop the hydrogen energy industry and create aconcentration of such companies and to introduce oﬀshore wind
power generation
Japan is endeavouring to make renewable energy its main power source, withthe aim of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Among other renewable energy sources,
oﬀshore wind power generation is expected to be an ideal choice for Japan, which
is surrounded by the sea on all sides. Fukuoka Prefectural Government is also
promoting the introduction of oﬀshore wind power generation as well as working
with industry, universities and government to create a concentration of wind power
generation companies. The prefectural government has also established the Fukuoka
Strategy Conference for Hydrogen Energy through collaboration among industry,
universities and government to create an environmentally conscious hydrogenenergy society. In addition to a wide range of research and development, productdevelopment and human resource development, from the manufacture, storage andtransport of hydrogen to its use, Fukuoka Prefectural Government has also beenworking to develop and create a concentration of hydrogen energy companies.

Main growth industries in Fukuoka and Kyushu
In Kyushu, the environment, agriculture, forestry and ﬁsheries and automotive
industries are successful, and are regarded as growth industries.

Environmental industry

In addition to recycling PET bottles and home appliances, the prefectural
government is actively working on initiatives to avoid wasting limited resources byrecycling rare metals used for lithium-ion batteries and the like.

Agriculture, forestry and ﬁsheries industry

In Kyushu, the agriculture, forestry and ﬁsheries industry is active, accounting for 20%
of all agricultural and marine products produced in the country. In Fukuoka
Prefecture, in particular, agricultural and marine products that receive high praise
inside and outside Japan̶such as Amaou strawberry and Yame tea̶are produced.
Fukuoka Prefectural Government is also focusing on smart agriculture, forestry andﬁsheries industry using AI and robots.

Automotive industry

The major automotive manufacturers, Nissan, Toyota and Daihatsu, have production
sites in northern Kyushu and their automotive production volume accounts for over
15% in the domestic market.

04

FUKUOKA: The Nexus of Inspiration and Innovation

Information for Financial Institutions and FinTech Companies to Establish a Business Hub in Fukuoka

05

02

GFC staﬀ who are familiar with the ﬁnancial industry and speak English, Chinese andother languages provide one-stop support services for international ﬁnancial
institutions and other businesses that are considering expanding into Fukuoka withregard to the establishment of business hubs. You will be introduced to experts andrelated institutions depending on the details of your inquiry.

TEAM FUKUOKA
where industry, academia and government are united

03

more ﬁnancial institutions and others from outside the country announced in 2020,
TEAM FUKUOKA, a partnership among industry, academia and government
has also been established.

INVEST FUKUOKA(Fukuoka Foreign Investment Promotion Centre)
INVEST FUKUOKA staﬀ who speak English, Korean and other languages provide
one-stop support services for international companies considering expanding into
Fukuoka with regard to the establishment of business hubs, including introductions
to property (land and oﬃces) and of experts and related institutions, depending on
the details of their inquiry.

In response to the Japanese government s policy on attracting

aiming to attract international ﬁnancial functions

Global Finance Centre (GFC, One-stop support service)04

Collaboration with Fintech Association of Japan
Fukuoka Prefectural Government has signed a collaboration agreement with the Fintech
Association of Japan, which consists of many FinTech member companies in Japan.
FinTech is a new trend in the ﬁnancial industry, and Fukuoka Prefectural
Government together with Fintech Association of Japan jointly develops andpromotes the FinTech industry and is creating a concentration of such companies bymatching with local ﬁnancial institutions, holding study sessions and so on.

05

Fukuoka Stock Exchange and regional banks
Fukuoka Stock Exchange (FSE) plays a direct ﬁnancial market role, which is essential
for the development of the Kyushu economy. FSE also operates a foreign stocklisting system. Five regional banks, including Fukuoka Financial Group, Inc. andNishi-Nippon Financial Holdings, Inc., have their headquarters in Fukuoka.

06

Fukuoka Venture Market (FVM)
FVM supports small- to medium-sized ventures by holding a monthly market, a matching
event to connect SME ventures and business partners and helping them in raisingfunds, expanding sales channels, developing human resources, and more.

07

Financial incentives
The Fukuoka Prefectural Government and cities, towns and villages provide ﬁnancial support for businesses to open businesshubs without any problems. See the Incentive Plan on the back cover for details. (*The following shows an example of the plan.)
Company to be supported
Companies who will newly
establish or transfer its
headquarters functions*01

Support category● Subsidy for purchasing buildings and equipment● Subsidy for renting oﬃces, company houses and equipment● Subsidy for the cost of acquiring and repairing company accommodation● Subsidy according to the number of prefectural citizens hired

Tax reduction● Special depreciation/tax credit according to the acquisition cost of buildings, etc. for oﬃces

Press meeting of companies who have expanded into Fukuoka in April 2021

Items subject to this treatment: Buildings, equipment attached to buildings, structures● Tax credit according to the number of people hired

Items subject to this treatment: People newly hired as regular employees (excluding
contract employees and part-timers), transferees

TEAM FUKUOKA, a partnership among industry,
academia and government to promote attracting ﬁnancial functions to Fukuoka

TEAM FUKUOKA is a joint local industry, academia andgovernment partnership of the Kyushu Economic
Federation, the Fukuoka Prefectural Government, theFukuoka Municipal Government, Kyushu University, andothers aiming to attract international ﬁnancial functions.
Each of the TEAM members is working to attract
international ﬁnancial institutions and personnel bytaking advantage of its characteristics.
The TEAM is focused on attracting the asset
management and FinTech industries as well as supportfor BCP at ﬁnancial institutions as key industry andbusiness categories.

Support details

Subsidy● Preferential treatment for real estate acquisition tax and business tax involved in facilities

with headquarters functions
Items subject to this treatment: Buildings, land (part pertaining to the relevant buildingonly), machines, etc.

Companies who will newly
establish a data centre

Subsidy● Subsidy for the cost of acquiring buildings and equipment● Subsidy according to the number of prefectural citizens newly hired

Foreign companies(including those who havealready expanded into
Japan)

Subsidy● Subsidy for the cost of registration as a corporation● Subsidy for the cost of considering business expansion

Items subject to this treatment: Travel expenses, lodging expenses● Subsidy for the cost of establishing oﬃces

Items subject to this treatment: Cost of market surveys, registration as a corporation,
hiring people, etc.
● Subsidy for oﬃce rent
● Subsidy for the cost of acquiring land and buildings● Subsidy according to the number of regular employees at the commencement of operations* Headquarters functions: An oﬃce, research and development facility, training facility, etc. with an investigation and planning division, international
business division, etc. This does not include sales oﬃces and factories with jurisdiction over the region.

06

FUKUOKA: The Nexus of Inspiration and Innovation

Information for Financial Institutions and FinTech Companies to Establish a Business Hub in Fukuoka

07