2023-2024

Information and Communication Industry, Industry DX Support

Information and Communication Industry

Business Establishments Guide

Okinawa, the IT hub linking Asia and Japan

10-seater
Okinawan e-bus

Okinawa PrefectureAttractive OKINAWA - Overview
Basic information on Okinawa

Kunigami Village

Okinawa Prefecture, located in the southwest of Japan and thecenter of East Asia, is an island prefec ture formed by 48
i n h a b i t e d i s l a n d s i n c l u d i n g O k i n a w a I s l a n d a n d 112
uninhabited islands. With its warm climate, beautiful sea, andrich nature, Okinawa is surrounded by an at trac tive
environment that can only be found here in Japan.

1

Ie Island

Ohgimi Village
Higashi Village

Nakijin Village
Motobu Town

2
Nago City

Okinawa Expressway andNaha Airport motorway■ Total area: 2,281㎢■ Total population: 1.469 Million (Jan 2024 est.)

Ginoza Village

Onna Village

3■ Population density：643.3 /㎢ (Oct 2020)

Kin Town①Motobu Town【Churaumi Aquarium】

Yomitan Village
Uruma City
Kadena Town

Okinawa
City

Chatan Town
Ginowan City
Urasoe City
Naha Port③Onna Village【Cape Maeda】④Naha City【Shureimon】

Okinawa IT
Shinryo Park

Kitanakagusuku
Village
Nakagusuku Village

4

Nishihara Town
Naha City
Haebaru Town

Tomigusuku City

Yonabaru Town
Nanjo City

© OCVB

Naha Airport②Nago City【NAGO PINEAPPLE PARK】

Yaese Town

Industries in Okinawa

Itoman City

6

In Okinawa, 80% of the industries are in the service industry,
mainly tourism, and the information and communicationindustry, which are the major pillars supporting the economy.
I n a d d i t i o n , t h e a g r i c u l t u r e , f o r e s t r y, ﬁ s h e r i e s , a n dmanufac turing industries also produce many at trac tive
specialty products that take advantage of Okinawaʼs warm
climate and unique characteristics.

5

Miyakojima
City

Ishigaki City

Living Environment in Okinawa< Climate >⑤Iriomote Island⑥Miyakojima City【Irabu Bridge】

Naha City (statistical period 1991〜2020): Annual average temperature 23.3 ℃ Annual Precipitation 2161.0 mm
High temp (℃)

Ave. temp (℃)< Kariyushi-wear >

30

245.3

25

24.3

27
24.2

21.5
19.1

22.1

)

In order to spend the long summer in Okinawa
comfortably, the wearing of "Kariyushi-wear" hasbecome an established practice in business scenes
and at various tourist spots. The design featuresmotif s of Ok inawan culture and nature and ispopular among tourists.

284.4

20
15

19.8
17.3
14.9
101.6

10

< Child-rearing and educational environment >

20.2
17.5
15.1

21.9
19.1
16.7

29.8
27.2

Low temp (℃)
31.9
29.1
27

25.2

Precipitation (mm)

275.2
30.6
29
28.1
27.9
240
25.5
26.8
23.5
25.8

300

31.8

188.1

179.2

161

250
25
22.5
20.4

21.5

16.8

142.8
119.1

114.5

110

0

150
100
50

5

・Birth rate 1st in Japan・A lot of large parks for children to play.
・A lot of international schools.

200

19

Precipitation (mm)35

temp℃(

・T he climate is mild all year roun d w ith lit tle
temperature diﬀerence, making it comfortable tospend time here throughout the year.
・Less cedar pollen (allergy) and comfortable in early
spring compared with other cities in Japan.

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

0

Brimming With Energy, Okinawa is Japan's Youngest Prefecture■ Average age…………………………

43.5 （1st in Japan）■ Percentile of…………………

16.3 %（1st in Japan）

Youth Population■ Population

growth rate……………………………

−0.01%（Ranks 2nd nationwide after Tokyo）■ Average age of population by prefecture■ Ratio of youth population by prefecture（2022）

Haarii - Dragon Boat Race

■ Population growth rate by prefecture（2022）

Ranking

Prefecture

Age

Ranking

Prefecture

proportion（％）

Ranking

Prefecture

1
2
3

Okinawa
Tokyo
Aichi

43.5
45.3
45.6

1
2
3

Okinawa
Shiga / Saga
Kumamoto

16.3
13.2
13.0

1
2
3

Tokyo
Okinawa
Kanagawa

Source: Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
"National Tax Survey 2020"

1

Population 1.46 million（25th in Japan）

Source: Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
"Population Estimates（As of October 1, 2022）"

Rate of change（％）

0.2
-0.01
- 0.04

Source: Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
"Population Estimates（As of October 1, 2022）"

As one of Japan's top resort regions visited by large number of tourists from around
Japan and the world, Okinawa Boasts an Extensive Aviation Service Network andexcellent access also optimal for the business scene.
Excellent access enables you to
fully enjoy your days oﬀ work

Optimal Access to Asia's Major Cities
Naha Airport's domestic and international route networks areamong the best in Japan. Connect with Asia's major cities in 4
hours or less with ﬂights from Okinawa.
<As of Feb, 2024>
・Domestic ﬂights to 29 cities
・International ﬂight s to major
cities such as Beijing, Shanghai,
Hong Kong, Seoul, and Singapore.

・Excellent access to major sightseeing spots within Okinawa
・Number of landings by airport (Domestic) 2nd place
Approx. 40 "Tokyo-Okinawa" ﬂights, 25 "Kansai-Okinawa"
ﬂights, etc.
・Direct international ﬂights to and from 7 cities around theworld. ※As of Feb, 2024
Use your weekends to casually venture overseas!

Example: Number of ﬂights and travel time
between Okinawa and each major city
■ Beijing ………………… 2 ﬂights/week(

approx. 3.5h)■ Shanghai …………… 16 ﬂights/week(

approx. 2.0h)■ Hongkong ………… 21 ﬂights/week(

approx. 2.5h)■ Taipei ………………… 60 ﬂights/week(

approx. 1.5h)■ Seoul ………………… 35 ﬂights/week(

approx. 2.5h)■ Singapore …………… 3 ﬂights/week(

approx. 5.0h)■ Tokyo ………………… 40 ﬂights/day(

approx. 2.5h)■ Osaka ………………… 25 ﬂights/day(

approx. 2.0h)■ Fukuoka …………… 21 ﬂights/day(

approx. 1.5h)■ Trends in the number of tourists visiting Okinawa
unit（million）
1000■ Japanese tourists■ Overseas tourists

957

1,000

876

946

793

800

658

716

677

600

400

258
200

0

62

98

167

212

269

300

IT and Financial Industry Composition is Increasing in Okinawa

Comfortable Business Environment

327

249
0

0

20

（ʼ13）（ʼ14）（ʼ15）（ʼ16）（ʼ17）（ʼ18）（ʼ19）（ʼ20）（ʼ21）（ʼ22）※Source: Okinawa Prefecture “Tourist entry statistics”

Ideal for Workcations
Enjoy a "Resort" work station surrounded
by a rich natural environment
・Locations boasting blue skies and gorgeous beaches that spread
before your eyes
・Beautiful natural surroundings currently being considered forWorld Heritage designation

Ginoza Village IT Operation Park

Coworking Space■ Attractiveness Ranking by Prefecture（2022）
Ranking

Prefecture1

Hokkaido

2

Kyoto

3

Okinawa

4

Tokyo

5

Osaka

※Source: Regional Brand Survey 2022 (Brand Research Institute, Inc.)

Kanucharian Resort Office (Kanucha Resort)2

Beijing

Population of China
1.4 billion

DalianSeoul
NaritaQingdao

HanedaKansai Nagoya

Shanghai

Guangzhou
Hong Kong

Okinawa
XiamenTaipei

Hanoi
ManilaBangkok

Population of Japan
130 million

Ho Chi Minh City

Kuala Lumpur

Okinawa International Information
and Communications Network

Within a Four Hour
Flight from Okinawa

Singapore

Jakarta★ 4 Reasons to expand into Okinawa ★
❶ Geographical characteristics●Optimal access to Asiaʼs major cities

Naha Airport's domestic and international route networks are among the best in Japan.
Connect with Asia's major cities in 4 hours or less with ﬂights from Okinawa.

●Reducing the risk of simultaneous disasters

With the reduced risk of simultaneous disasters due to the prefecture's distance from mainland Japan,
Okinawa provides answers to business issues by serving as a base for dispersing development and data collection activities.

❷ Substantial IT Infrastructure●Public-private partnership cloud environment

With submarine ﬁber-optic cables directly connecting the Asia-Okinawa-Tokyo area and public-private cloud data centers,
an environment is in place to create two-way business between Asia and Japan.

●Okinawa IT Shinryo Park and other support facilities

The Okinawa IT Shinryo Park, a strategic base for resorts and IT, a bridge between Japan and Asia,and other facilities operated by municipalities have been established in various locations.

❸ Support system for your business●Tax incentives

Special tax incentives such as the highest rate of income tax deduction in Japan (up to 40%) and investment tax credit are available.

●Software development, human resource development, and employment support

These include subsidies for development costs related to overseas business expansion into Okinawa,
support for demonstration activities using IT technology, support for upgrading the skills of IT engineers, and subsidies for new hires.

❹ Resort Location
Surrounded by a warm climate and abundant nature, you can enjoy both your work and private life.

3

Approximately 900 companies
have accumulated in Okinawa〈 Number of businesses and employees by industry 〉
Industry

Number ofbusinesses

Number of
employees

Information Service Business

133

8,728

Call Centers

92

16,826

As a result, in FY2021, 912 Information and Communication

Contents Creation

210

2,996

related businesses (including 501 companies from outside theSoftware Development

336

9,957

prefecture) have accumulated in Okinawa, and approximately

Other

141

3,678

912

42,185

Okinawa Prefecture has focused its eﬀorts on promoting theInformation and Communication industry as a leading industry.

40,000 workers are engaged in the industry.

Total

Changes in the Number of the Information and Communication
related Businesses in Okinawa

Local business

Read this QR code for alist of businesses

Businesses established in the prefecture（companies）

IT and Financial Industry Composition is Increasing in Okinawa

Current Status of the Information andCommunication Industry in Okinawa

1000
900

902

894

448

424

427

454

470

2016

2017

2018

907

912

411

411

490

496

501

2019

2020

2021

846

800

720

762

700

426

419

600
500

916

374

376

400
300
200

346

386

2014

2015

100
0

(According to the survey results conducted by Okinawa Prefecture)

Future Business Attraction
Okinawa Prefecture is focusing on attracting companies with advanced technologies such as cutting-edge digital technology
and big data collection and analysis, companies that contribute to the promotion of DX in the prefecture's industries, andcompanies that work to resolve Okinawa's regional challenges and create innovation through advanced technologies.
In addition, we will strengthen the support system for companies after they start doing their businesses and promotecollaboration among companies by matching them with local companies. We will also provide detailed hands-on support tosolve common challenges faced by companies and promote their growth.

4

5

／
ResorTech EXPO

ResorTech Okinawa／
Initiatives for DX

ResorTech is a general term for initiatives which
promote social and economic DX while working
to achieve a digital society in Okinawa.

Promotion of industry DX

Supports the IT industry

Cooperation/
co-creation

Digitalization of management
and operations

Sharing successful model examples

Business model transformation

Provision of IT services

Development of DX professionals

Establishment of datautilization infrastructure

Development of highly
skilled IT professionals

Enhancement of digital literacy

Utilization of open data

Securing highly skilled professionals

Transportation
DX

Agriculture
DX

Construction
DX

SupportTourism DX

Digital technology

Logistics DX

DX consulting
Cross-industry
matching

Manufacturingindustry DX

Cooperation

Restaurant
industry DX

Related Web Sites
IT Bridge Okinawa
We assist with ﬁnding collaborative partners and providing
event information and information for those considering
doing their business in Okinawa.
We will also post useful information for businesses that havestarted doing business in Okinawa and local businesses.

ResorTech EXPO in Okinawa
ResorTech EXPO oﬃcial site. You can instantly get the latest
event information and you can also ﬁnd past archives.

ResorTech Okinawa
We support businesses in the prefecture by providing easya c c e s s t o DX- r e l a t e d i n f o r m a t i o n a n d b y p r o v i d i n g
information on introduction to IT, DX cases, various events,and support information for businesses in the prefecture
through our website.

Industlink is a matching service that connects each industry
with IT businesses in the prefecture, assists companies byintroducing IT tools by searching and comparing IT solutions
to help solve their challenges.

Agriculture

Medicine

Operators want to use
AI to manage harvest
seasons of crops

Operators want to use
RPA to automate medical
document processes

Construction

Manufacturing

Operators want toshare site photo dataon the cloud

Operators want to use
IoT to manage
Production

Tourism

Restaurants

Operators want to use
data to predict tourist
traﬃc and improveeﬃciency of operations

Operators want topredict customer traﬃc
to increase proﬁtability

Logistics

Oﬃces

Operators want to
optimize delivery routes
to improve eﬃciency

Operators want todigitalize and shift toremote working

IT companies, universities,
research institutes

Matching site
Industlink

Industlink connects
companies facing issues
with IT solutions
providers who can solve
them.

Provides IT solutions and suggests methods to solve issues

Industries
Searching for IT solutions and ways to solve issues

Cooperation

Raise awareness on business DX

Related Web Sites

Okinawa prefecture implements various measures and policies under ResorTech Okinawa.

Suggests solutions
to business issues

Suggests methods forsolving issues
Provides IT solutions

6

International Information and Communication
Hub Connecting Japan and Asia
Okinawa Prefecture maintains a government-private collaborative cloud environment as one package. It is comprised of the Okinawa
International Information and Communication Network (optical submarine cable), which directly connects the Tokyo Metropolitan area,
Okinawa, and Asia, the Okinawa Cloud Network, which interconnects major data centers within Okinawa; and publicly-built,
privately-operated cloud data centers. By providing this high-level information and communications infrastructure, Okinawa is providing
an environment that generates bidirectional business with Asia in addition to high added-value services applying practical-use
technologies such as cloud computing and big data.

Utilization image
Data backup
Operation base

Japan

Ｃｌ
ｏｕｄ

Okinawa Cloud Network

Okinawa Information andCommunication Center

AP

AP
AP

e
ic
se

rv

ac
B

y
er
el
iv
D

③

Transmission of images,
videos, games, etc.

ti

on

AP

ra
B

ic
rv
se

ac

ku

e

p

pe
O

③

D

el
iv

er

y

②

②

AP

Public-built private-operated
cloud data center

①

ku

pe
O
①

Okinawa

Asia

p

ra

ti

on

Major data centers in Okinawa,
Okinawa IT Shinryo Park,and other major facilities areconnected in a ring by
high-speed optical lines

Metropolitan
District

Hong Kong

Okinawa International Information
and Communications Network(Submarine Optical Cable)

Realization ofhigh-speed,large-volume,
low-cost
communications
networks

Singapore

What can be achieved using Okinawa's cloud environment○Use as a New Operations BaseBy basing business data management and system operations in Okinawa using data centers and the Okinawa Cloud Network,
operations on par with the Tokyo Metropolitan Area are possible.

○Provision of Remote Backup Services
In Okinawa, which is at low risk for simultaneous disasters, services supporting business data management can be provided as
DR (Disaster Restoration) hot sites from the perspective of DR and BCP (Business Continuity Plans).

○Provision of Content Delivery Services
The Tokyo Metropolitan area, Okinawa, and Asia are directly connected, making it possible to deliver large-volume data̶
images, videos, games, etc.̶bidirectionally between Okinawa and the Tokyo Metropolitan area/Asia.

7

The Okinawa International Information and Communication Network (optical submarine cable) is a broadband dedicated-line service connecting
Okinawa directly with Asia and the Tokyo Metropolitan area. It provides a high-speed, large-volume, low-cost communication network, achieving
a reduction in communication costs between Okinawa and the Tokyo Metropolitan area and Asia, which had been an issue.

Cost Plan（examples)※Application is required to use the network.

Okinawa International Information andCommunications (IT) Network

Okinawa International Information andCommunications (IT) Network（Submarine Optical Cable）（Submarine Optical Cable）

Major DC in Okinawa Prefecture

Hong Kong DC／Singapore DC

Tokyo DC

■Okinawa − Tokyo

Monthly fee (tax not included)

1Gbps：￥256,000

10Gbps：￥576,000■Okinawa − Hong Kong

Monthly fee (tax not included)

1Gbps：￥210,000

10Gbps：￥350,000■Okinawa − Singapore

Monthly fee (tax not included)

1Gbps：￥350,000

10Gbps：￥980,000※The above are references prices. For detailed information, please contact the address provided below.

Okinawa Information and Communication Center

Okinawa Cloud Network

Automatically switches data
centers in event of failure
AP

ＤＣ

AP

Well-equipped Infrastructures and Support Facilities

Okinawa International Information and Communications Network

ＤＣ

Redundancy
in Okinawa
Cloud Network

AP
AP
AP

Failureoccurrence
Normalcommunication path

The Okinawa Cloud Network is a network that connects
major data centers in Okinawa, and other informationindustry centers such as Okinawa IT Shinryo Park in aring-like fashion with high-speed lines.
It enables high-speeds and stable access to the data
centers from each base.

Completed in 2015 as a backup and risk-dispersion base for information
assets, this facility is Okinawaʼs newest public-built private-operated could
data center. Located 41.4m above sea level, the center provides a staple
power supply through: duel-system (redundant routing substations),
electrify receipt, UPS redundancy, and emergency-use power generationequipment (60 hours of operation with reserve fuel 200 hours ofoperation with additional fuel). the facilityʼs quake-absorbing structure,
which reduces the impact on buildings when an earthquake occurs
guaranteeing a high level of safety.

《Major data centers in the prefecture》

FRT Data Centers

Ginoza Server Farm

Nago Mirai No.2

First Riding Technology

NTT Business Solutions Co., Ltd.
Quarry Site Technologies

Quarry Site Technologies【Contact】【Okinawa International Information and Communications Network】
NTT Communications Corporation
SoftBank Corp.

【Okinawa Cloud Network】

OCH Co., Ltd.

【Okinawa Information and Communication Center】

E-mail nttcom-okinawa-ase@ntt.com
URL https://www.ntt.com/business/lp/ognet.html
E-mail SBTMGRP−OKINAWA-ASE＠g.softbank.co.jp
URL https://www.softbank.jp/biz/nw/global/in̲lease̲line/okinawa/
E-maileigyo@och.co.jp

OCC CORPORATIONURL https://www.occ.co.jp/soft/idc.html

Okinawa Information and Communication Center (DC) Management and Operation Consortium

TEL.+81-98-860-0203（main）
TEL.+81-98-876-1171（main）
TEL.+81-98-982-6677

8

Bridging Japan and Asia

Okinawa IT Shinryo Park

Okinawa IT Shinryo Park is a big project with the aim of having Okinawa become an important hub of informationand communication-related industries both at home and abroad. Shinryo means bridge between Asia.

11

10

12

8

9

7

Convenient Facility(Hotel, Nursery facility, etc.)

6

4
3

2

5
1

①Core Function Support Facility②Center for Promotion ofBusiness Establishment③Asia IT Training Center■A-Bldg. Opened in June 2009
■B-Bldg. Opened in September 2010
■Floor Space/㎡ A-Bldg. 3,054㎡ B-Bldg. 5,930㎡■Rent ￥1,400/㎡/month■Opened in September 2010
■Floor Space/㎡ 2,805㎡■Rent ￥1,720/㎡/month■Opened in April 2013
■Floor Space/㎡ 1,936㎡■Rent ￥2,500/㎡/month■Opened in September 2013
■Floor Space/㎡ 2,435㎡■Rent ￥1,770/㎡/month⑤Industry Composition Facility No.1

⑥Industry Composition Facility No.2

⑦Industry Composition Facility No.3

⑧Industry Composition Facility No.4

■Opened in June 2012
■Floor Space/㎡ 2,890㎡■Rent ￥5,360,244/month（￥1,842/㎡/month）■Opened in August 2014
■Floor Space/㎡ 3,043㎡■Rent ￥6,154,558/month（￥2,023/㎡/month）■Opened in April 2015
■Floor Space/㎡ 2,980㎡■Rent ￥5,620,280/month（￥1,886/㎡/month）■Opened in June 2018
■Floor Space/㎡ 3,246㎡■Rent ￥6,098,059/month（￥1,879/㎡/month）⑨Industry Composition Facility No.5

⑩Industry Composition Facility No.6

■Opened in March 2019
■Floor Space/㎡ 3,068㎡■Rent ￥6,057,523/month（￥1,974/㎡/month）■Opened in March 2020
■Floor Space/㎡ approx. 3,097㎡■Rent ￥6,668,100/month（￥2,151/㎡/month）【Contact】Management Oﬃce/ Okinawa IT Shinryo Park

⑪Asia IT Business Center■Opened in January 2021
■Floor Space/㎡ approx. 3,042㎡■Rent ￥2,240/㎡/monthTap Hospitality Lab Okinawa (THL), the ﬁrst hotel DX demonstration facility in Japan,
conducts a demonstration experiment to solve various challenges such as productivity
improvement of lodging facilities, labor shortage in the lodging industry, which is a leadingindustry in Okinawa and the key to tourism, and improvement of customer convenience byutilizing ever-evolving technology. There are 38 demonstration experimental guest rooms,
as well as co-working facilities, seminar rooms and a café.
【Contact】Tap Hospitality Lab Okinawa⑫Industry Composition Facility No.7

■Opened in July 2021
■Floor Space/㎡ approx. 3,190㎡■Rent ￥7,736,690/month（￥2,425/㎡/month）

14-17 Suzaki, Uruma City, Okinawa 904-2234 TEL.+81-98-989-0153

Hotel DX demonstration facility opened in Okinawa IT Shinryo Park!

9④Base Facility for Verification ofInformation Communication Devices

E-mail info-thl@tap-ic.co.jp

Municipal support facilities● Nago Multi-Media Center● Nago Industry Support Center● Ginoza Village IT Operation Park

Mirai Building No.1-5

Uruma City
● Ishikawa Area activation Center Butenkan● Ichui Gushikawa Jinbunkan● Uruma City IT Business Support Center● Kadena Town Multimedia

Center● Mihama Media Station,

Chatan Town

● Okinawa IT Shinryo Park

(Okinawa Prefecture)

Okinawa Expressway● Ginowan Bayside Information

Center (Gwave)● Okinawa City IT Work Plaza● Okinawa City Employment● Urasoe City Industry Promotion

Promotion Facility(BC Koza)

Center “Yuinomachi”● Naha Business Incubation Oﬃce

Naha Industry Support Center(MECAL45)● Okinawa Industry Support

Naha Port● Miyakojima City IT Industry Center

Naha Airport

Well-equipped Infrastructures and Support Facilities

Within the prefecture, there are 26 support facilities managed by each municipality. In accordance with the application
procedures of each municipality, it is possible to apply for the use of or to move into facilities such as meeting rooms.

CenterYou can check the availability of some of the IT Shinryo Parkand municipal support facilities at "IT Bridge Okinawa".

https://it-bridge.okinawa/english/facility/

Rental Office / Coworking Space
Major Portal Sites for Rental Oﬃces and Coworking Spaces in Japan
Si te

url

https://it-bridge.okinawa/english/facility/※Site focused on facilities in Okinawa※English site available
Okinawa Resort Workca�on Facility
GuideList

WORKCATION FACILITY

https://workcation.ocvb.or.jp/en/facility/※Site focused on facilities in Okinawa※English site available

www.rental-o.com
Okinawa：https://www.rental-o.com/pref-47

Rental Oﬃce Searchrentaloﬃce-search.jp
Okinawa：https://rentaloﬃce-search.jp/search/zenkoku/kyushu-okinawa/okinawa/

workspace-japan.com

Okinawa：https://workspace-japan.com/en/okinawa/※English site available* If you sign up for a rental oﬃce that oﬀers virtual oﬃce services, you can register your company at that address.

The YuinchiHotel Nanjo”Observation lounge“

Working space 1knot（OnnaVillage）

MUGI (Miyako Island）

10Support for Launching a Business in Okinawa
Okinawa Investment Support Center
We provide information about business environment and economic situation of Okinawa as
well as consultation services for incorporation of a business. We also introduce hubs ofinternational distribution and provide information and support about various incentives forbusiness. In addition, for those who wish to visit and observe companies in Okinawa before
you deploy investment or other speciﬁc plans, we coordinate and accompany your visit.

【 Steps to establish a company in Okinawa 】
Establishment ofCompany

Special Economic
Zone

Freight Services

Opening a
Financial Account

Residence
qualiﬁcation

Oﬃce / Residence /Land Purchase

Financial loan

Contact Okinawa
Prefecture

Judicial Scrivener or
Administrative Scrivener

Businesses inFreight Services

Financial
Institutions

Real EstateContact to each institution

Okinawa Investment Support Center is characterized by its ability to provide one-stop services.
We can provide consultation and support as a single point of contact for all your needs.

こんにちは
HELLO

HEL LO您好

Available in Japanese,
Chinese and English《Contact》

Available via telephone
and EmailAvailable for face-to-faceconsultation

Okinawa Investment Support Center
Overseas and Business Support Division, Okinawa Industry Promotion Public Corporation

TEL.+81-98-894-6288

FAX.+81-98-859-6233

Email: business̲s@okinawa-ric.or.jp

Web: invest-okinawa.biz/en/※Business Hours : Monday - Friday JST 9:00-17:00 (Closed on Saturday, Sunday and Holidays)

11

Setting up
a business *1

Obtaining visas

Setting up
an oﬃce

Human Resources

Setting up
a place to live

Research

Appointing a
representative in Japan

Temporary oﬃce

Hiring Staﬀ

Staying at a hotel orother

Setting up
a permanent oﬃce
Company registration

Tax notices

Certiﬁcate of eligibility/Visa application

Setting up permanent
housing

Opening a bankaccount *2

Social insurance
noticesStart of business operations
Reference: JETRO Website - Setting up Business

Establishing a Company and Life in Okinawa■ Steps of setting up business in Japan

https://www.jetro.go.jp/en/invest/setting̲up/

Okinawa Investment Support Center will provide support for the above procedures as necessary.

*1 General ﬂow of procedures for establishing a company (case of joint-stock corporation)
1. Advance preparations□ Determination of proﬁle of joint-stock corporation to be established□ Examination at the Legal Aﬀairs Bureau of identical corporate names□ Preparation of joint-stock corporation's articles of incorporation□ Acquisition of registration certiﬁcates, etc. for the parent company, and preparation of aﬃdavits regarding the
proﬁle of the parent company and aﬃdavits regarding signatures of the representatives of the parent company

2. Application for establishment□ Notarization of joint-stock corporation's articles of incorporation by a Japanese notary□ Remittance of joint-stock corporation capital to the account of the incorporator, or representative director, or
director at incorporation□ Appointment of directors and other oﬃcers, such as representative directors and auditors□ Examination by directors and auditors of the legality of establishment procedures□ Application at the Legal Aﬀairs Bureau for registration of joint-stock corporation establishment and theregistration of company seal at the Legal Aﬀairs Bureau

3. Procedures after application□ The acquisition of a certiﬁcate on registered information and a company seal impression certiﬁcate□ Opening of a bank account under the company name *2□ The notiﬁcation of stock acquisition to the Bank of Japan
Reference: JETRO Website - Procedures for registering establishment

https://www.jetro.go.jp/en/invest/setting̲up/section1/page3/*2. Opening a bank account under company name
In general, the following items are required to open a corporate account. Please contact your bank to be corresponded
for more details as each bank may have diﬀerent procedures.
● Landline phone number● Materials that show your business, such as websites● Business card

● Certiﬁed copy of the corporate register● Contracts with business partners, etc.

● Certiﬁcate of seal impression of the corporation● Passport● Articles of Incorporation● Residence card

● Copy of the tax oﬃce report● Corporate seal

12With its many attractive features,
Okinawa is a pleasant place to live and to do business■ Medical Care in Okinawa

Advanced Medical Facilities for Your Security and Peace of Mind
The prefecture operates ﬁve hospitals covering the northern, central, and southern (includingNaha) parts of the main island, as well as the Miyako and Yaeyama islands, respectively. As well as,
another 16 clinics associated with those hospitals.
There are emergency hospitals in every part of the prefecture with staﬀ who can handle foreign
languages as well, So even in one in a million emergency situations those who do not speak
Japanese can have peace of mind.

Emergency Hospitals with Foreign Language-Speaking Staﬀ（as of March 2021）

EN

EnglishCN

ChineseKR

Korean

Northern Okinawa Medical Center
E N TEL: +81-980-54-1111／Nago City

Chubu Tokushukai Hospital
EN CN KRTEL: +81-98-932-1110／Kitanakagusuku Village

Urasoe General Hospital
EN CN KRTEL: +81-98-878-0231／Urasoe City

Okinawa Kyodo Hospital
E N TEL: +81-98-853-1200／Naha City

Makiminato Central Hospital
E N C N TEL: +81-98-877-0575／Urasoe City

Okinawa Central Hospital
E N TEL:+81-98-854-5511／Naha City

University of the Ryukyus Hospital
E N TEL: +81-98-895-3331／Nishihara Town

Nanbu Tokushukai Hospital
EN CN KRTEL: +81-98-998-3221／Yaese Town

Adventist Medical Center
E N TEL: +81-98-946-2833／Nishihara Town

Nanbu Medical Center & Nanbu Child Medical Center
EN CN KRTEL: +81-98-888-0123／Haebaru Town

《A Useful Site in times of Medical Need》

Source: Japan Tourism Agency, "Guide to Medical Institutions"

In the case that one should need medical attention in Japan, this helpful website provides easy to understand directions
in English, Chinese, and Korean on where one should go base on current symptoms.
https://www.jnto.go.jp/emergency/eng/mi̲guide.html■ Education in Okinawa

Inclusive Education Information Catering to the International Community
Hoping to create a place where foreign residents can rest easy when it comes to living in Okinawa
prefecture, we provide multilingual guidance for the education system and educational
enrollment. The local government conducts information sessions about student life, and holds
orientation sessions on its systems for helping student enrollment. With the eﬀorts for thepromotion of information about the education with those who are non-Japanese in mind,
anyone relocating to Okinawa with school age children has no need to worry.

International Schools in Okinawa

Japanese Classes + Japanese Language Vocational School

Okinawa Amicus International （Kindergarten, Elementary and Junior High School）
TEL: +81-98-979-4711／Uruma City
https://www.amicus.ed.jp/en/

Okinawa International Exchange & Human Resources Development Foundation
TEL: +81-98-942-9215／Ginowan City
https://kokusai.oihf.or.jp/en/

Okinawa Christian School International
TEL: +81-98-958-3000／Yomitan Village
http://ocsi.org

ICLC Okinawa Japanese Language School
TEL: +81-98-859-3881／Naha City
https://www.iclcjapan.com/

New Life Academy
TEL: +81-98-870-3893／Nakagusuku Village
https://www.newlifeacademy.com/

SAELU Gakuin
TEL: +81-98-943-3297／Naha City
https://saelu.net/

Example of Technology Education:Okinawa Amicus,
competed in an international competition, a robotics competition for students.
On August 26 and 27, 2023, a junior high school team from the Amicus Robot Club won the “WRO
(World Robot Olympiad) 2023 Japan Finals” held in Tokyo, became the ﬁrst team from Okinawa to win
the national championship, and represented Japan in the international competition held in the Republicof Panama in November.
■Results of domestic competition
Senior category: 4th place in the nation and won the presentation award / Junior category: won the ﬁrst placein the nation ※for the ﬁrst time from Okinawa / Elementary student category: 6th place in the nation■Result of international competition: 13th place overall※Reference: Amicus HP https://www.amicus.ed.jp/news/32671/

13

Even though the rent fee for housing in Okinawa is only about
60% of that in Tokyo, the compact urban design allows for a
fulﬁlling lifestyle close to the city, the ocean, and nature.

Rent Comparison - Okinawa vs Tokyo
1 bedroom（1K /1DK）JPY 54,000

JPY 71,000

JPY 115,000

Tokyo

JPY 83,000

JPY 136,000

JPY 205,000

Reference: Yahoo! Japan Real-estate as of Feb 2024 realestate.yahoo.co.jp/rent/price/
Viet Num 2,339

Taiwan 879

Total
23,019 Foreigners
in Okinawa

U.S. 2,692

3 bedrooms（2LDK /3K /3DK）

Okinawa
China 2,743
Other 3,873

2 bedrooms（1LDK /2K /2DK）

S. Korea 1,395

Historically, Okinawa has had a lot of exchange with foreigncountries, and many foreigners are already living in Okinawa
today. Therefore, it has been developed as an environment
where foreigners can live comfortably.

Philippines 2,377

Myanmar 421
Indonesia 1,854

Brazil 840
Nepal 3,606
Source: Immigration Service Agency of Japan
eStat Foreign Residents by Nationality ‒ Okinawa Pref. as of June 2023

■ Safety and Disaster Prevention in Okinawa

Establishing a Company and Life in Okinawa■ Living Conditions in Okinawa

Japan is known as a country that is peaceful and orderly. According to the 2023 Global Peace Index (produced by the Economist
magazine from the U.K.), Japan is the 9th most peaceful country in the world.

《Useful Websites in the Event of Disaster》
Most local governments in Okinawa have prepared local community disaster prevention guide maps and evacuation
center maps in multiple languages for foreign residents in the event that a typhoon, earthquake, or some other disasteroccurs. The Okinawa Disaster Prevention Information Portal also provides information about typhoons, earthquakes,
tsunami, advisories, and warnings in English, Chinese (Simpliﬁed and Traditional), and Korean.
https://bousai-okinawa.my.salesforce-sites.com/《In the Event of Emergency》
Fire, injury, or sudden illness TEL 119
direct to call for a ﬁre truck or ambulance.

Accidents and crimes TEL 110
direct to call the police.

■ Business Support Organizations in Okinawa

IT Innovation and Strategy Center Okinawa (ISCO)

Okinawa Prefecture Certiﬁed Administrative Procedures Legal
Specialists Association

isc-okinawa.org
An industry support organization fostering the developmentof Okinawaʼs economy.
We create opportunities to bring in innovation and utilizationof data and digital technology to promote the generation of
new value and solutions for challenges that all industries have.

Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate
University (OIST)
www.oist.jp
OIST contributes to science and technology worldwide,
attracts leading researchers from Japan and abroad to conduct
high - qualit y res earch, a d v an ce th e d evel o p m ent o f aworld-class research hub, and nucleate a knowledge clusterthat will catalyze technology transfer and industrial innovationin Okinawa.

■ Okinawa

okigyo.jp
Administrative scriveners as experts provide consultation in matterssuch as residency qualiﬁcations and approval procedures for business.

Okinawa Prefecture Judicial Scriveners Associationwww.okinawa-shiho-shoshi.net/
Judicial scriveners consult as an expert in registration procedures.

Okinawa Bar Associationwww.okiben.org
Legal organization that all lawyers with law oﬃces in Okinawa belong to.

s Useful Websites in English
EnglishChineseOkinawa Pref. Oﬃcial Web Site

Site

www.pref.okinawa.lg.jp

Link

●

●

Okinawanderer

www.okinawanderer.com●

̶

Okinawa Island Guide

www.oki-islandguide.com●

̶

Okinawa Traveler

www.okinawatraveler.net/en

●

●

14

Tax System Special Measures
Location Map of ICT Zones/ICT Special Zones/Special Economic and Financial Zone
Designated Information and Communications
Industry Development Zones (Total of 24 municipalities)
Designated Special Information and Communications
Industry Development Zones (5 cities/villages)
Kunigami Village

Designated Special Economic and Financial Zone (1 city)

Ogimi Village
Ie Village

Higashi Village

Nakijin Village
Motobu Town

Nago City

Okinawa Expressway
and Naha Airport Motorway

Ginoza Village

Special Economic Zones
Exclusive to Okinawa

Onna Village
Kin Town

Yomitan Village

IT businesses in Okinawa can use various
systems based on the Act on Special Measures
for the Promotion and Development of
Okinawa. You can utilize income deduction(up to 40%) which is the highest in Japan,
investment tax credit, and special measures
on ﬁxed asset tax.

Uruma City

Kadena Town

Okinawa City

Chatan Town

Nakagusuku Bay

Kitanakagusuku Village
Ginowan City

Naha Airport

Nakagusuku Village

Urasoe City

Naha Port

Nishihara Town
Naha City

Haebaru Town
Tomigusuku City

Yonabaru Town
Nanjo City
Ishigaki City

Yaese Town

Miyakojima City

Itoman City

Example Cases of Tax Deduction Utilizing Corporate Income Tax (CIT)Special Information andCommunications Industry Development Zones(Company A)《If you utilize income deduction》●Income Amount：￥12,000,000●Amount of CIT：￥2,880,000

Special Economic and Financial Zone
(Company A)*Calculating the CIT rate (national tax + local tax) as 32%*Assuming the CIT rate to be 24%●the number of workers: 8●the number of workers in the special zone: 5●Amount of Income Deduction：￥12,000,000 × 40% ＝ ￥4,800,000*Assuming that other requirements are met⇒Amount of CIT after tax deduction in place: Approx. ￥1,730,000（（￥12,000,000 − ￥4,800,000）×24％）●Amount of Income Deduction：￥3,000,000（￥12,000,000 × 40% × 5/8）

⇒Amount of CIT after tax deduction in place： Approx. ￥2,880,000（（￥12,000,000 − ￥3,000,000）×32％）⇒￥960,000 of taxes saved!!

⇒￥1,150,000 of taxes saved!!
Amount of Tax
Deduction￥1,150,000

Amount of CIT￥2,880,000《If you utilize income deduction》●Income Amount：￥12,000,000●Amount of CIT：￥3,840,000

Income deduction

Saved￥1,150,000!

￥3,000,000

Income￥12,000,000

IncomeAmount of CIT￥1,730,000

Amount of CIT￥3,840,000

If tax deduction is not in place15

If tax deduction is in place

Saved￥960,000!

If tax deduction is not in place￥9,000,000

Amount of tax deduction￥960,000

Amount of CIT￥2,880,000

If tax deduction is in place

Information and Communications Industry Development Zones
Special Information andCommunications Industry Development Zones

Purpose of
SystemEligibleBusinesses(1) Corporate
Income Tax(Income deduction)

Accumulation and enhancement of
information and communication-relatedindustries

Accumulation of speciﬁc information andcommunication businesses that will play aleading role in the accumulation of
information and communication-relatedindustries

Accumulation of “Finance Businesses”
and “industries that will be fundamental
to the actual economy” in order torevitalize the economy and ﬁnances.

Telecommunication businesses,
Software developers, Information processing
businesses and service providers, Service
businesses associated with the internet

Data Centers, Outsourced development
software providers, Information systemdevelopers, System integration service
businesses, Embedded softwaredevelopers, Packaged softwaredevelopers, IT device mutual connection
veriﬁcation businesses, Database service
providers, Backup centers, Security Data
centers, Application service providers,Information security service businesses

Finance related industry, IT relatedindustry, tourism related industry,
agriculture and ﬁshery cultivationindustry, manufacturing industry,
management consultant businesses

Add the “Corporate Income from therelevant IT businesses in the ICT Special
Zones×40%” to the ﬁnancial loss(*1) Add the “Corporate Income×40%×the
number of full-time workers in the Special
Economic and Financial Zone / the numberof full-time workers of the business” to theﬁnancial loss.

―*for 10 years after thefounding(2) Corporate
Income Tax(Investment tax
credit)Special Economic andFinancial Zone

National Tax

In eligible areas, Blue tax return ﬁling
businesses with new or additional
depreciable assets used in an eligible
industry of any of the following scales

In the eligible area, Blue tax return ﬁling
businesses with new or additional
depreciable assets used in an eligible
industry of any of the following scales (*1)

①In cases that buildings cost in excess of￥10,000,000 are newly built or expanded,
8% of the acquisition cost is deducted fromthe cooperate tax amount.
②In cases that machinery/device and speciﬁc
tools/equipment cost in excess of￥1,000,000 are newly installed or
expanded, 15% of the acquisition cost is
deducted from the corporate income tax
amount.

①In cases that buildings cost in excess of￥5,000,000 are newly built or
expanded, 8% of the acquisition cost is
deducted from the cooperate tax
amount.
②In cases that machinery/device andspeciﬁc tools/equipment cost in excessof ￥500,000 are newly installed or
expanded, 15% of the acquisition costis deducted from the corporate income
tax amount.

―Preferential Tax Treatment, Support Systems, Subsidies

Outline of the Special Zones and System

In the eligible area, Blue tax return ﬁling
businesses with new or additional
depreciable assets used in an eligible
industry of any of the following scales (*1)

(3) Corporate
Income Tax(Special
depreciation)(4) Income Tax(Angel Tax System)

Prefectural Tax

Business
Tax

Municipal Tax

Local tax

―

―

―

―

Special measures for individuals who
invested speciﬁc businesses designatedby the governor.

―

A corporation that has installed or
expanded depreciable assets that cost inexcess of ￥5,000,000 for the use of theeligible industry will be exempt frombusiness tax related to theinstallation/expansion (Up to 5 years)―

exempt from real estate acquisition tax.

A corporation that has acquired land or
buildings that cost in excess of ￥5,000,000
for the use of the eligible industry will be
exempt from real estate acquisition tax.

A corporation ﬁling the bule tax return thathas depreciable assets that cost in excess of￥10,000,000 for the use of the eligible
industry, or which has newly installedmachinery, devices, tools, or equipment thatcost in excess of ￥1,000,000 for the use of
the eligible industry, will be exempt fromproperty tax on land, buildings,
machinery/devices included in the relevant
assets (Up to 5 years）―

A corporation ﬁling the bule tax returnthat has depreciable assets that cost inexcess of ￥5,000,000 for the use of theeligible industry, or which has newly
installed machinery, devices, tools, or
equipment that cost in excess of ￥500,000
for the use of the eligible industry, will be
exempt from property tax on land,buildings, machinery/devices included in
the relevant assets (Up to 5 years)

A corporation that has installed or expanded
depreciable assets that cost in excess of￥10,000,000 for the use of the eligible industry
will be exempt from business tax related to theinstallation/expansion (Up to 5 years）
A corporation that has acquired land or

buildings that cost in excess of ￥10,000,000
Real Estate
Acquisition Tax for the use of the eligible industry will be

FixedAsset Tax

Oﬃce Tax(Naha City only)①In cases that buildings cost in excess of￥5,000,000 are newly built or
expanded, 25% of the acquisition cost
will be deducted as Special depreciation②In cases that speciﬁc tools/equipment
cost in excess of ￥500,000 are newly
installed or expanded, 50% of theacquisition cost will be deducted asSpecial depreciation

A corporation that newly constructs buildings for the use of the eligible industry at a costexceeding ￥100,000,000 with machinery that costs in excess of ￥10,000,000 will havetheir business oﬃce tax halved for the relevant ﬂoor area (for 5 years）―*1: Any of the National Taxes (1)˜(3) for the Special Economic and Financial Zone can be applied in a single ﬁscal year

16Business Support and Subsidy
Exchange with Overseas IT Professionals and Development Program
In order to create new businesses through cooperation with overseas IT businesses and expansion of Okinawan IT businesses overseas, we
support continuously building the network connecting Okinawa and overseas.
Eligible activity

Number of
supported individuals

Support Details

Inviting overseas
IT business executives to Okinawa

７

Support expenses for inviting overseas executives to Okinawa to promoteexchanges with local businesses in Okinawa for business expansions.

Inviting overseas
IT business engineers2

Support expenses for inviting overseas engineers to Okinawa to be able tosmoothly transfer business with overseas businesses.

Dispatching Okinawan
IT business executives to overseas

8

Support travel expenses, etc. to meet with IT businesses, industry organizations
abroad, including Asia, for business expansion and local expansion of its products.

Dispatching Okinawan businessengineers to overseas

1

Support travel expenses, etc. regarding preliminary preparation prior to receiving
or placing business contracts to strengthen its business.

【Application Method】【ITGlobalOkinawa】

Please read the QR code and download theguidelines and application forms that you
would like to utilize. Please apply via email.

This is an online business community site connecting Okinawan
IT businesses with overseas IT businesses. Businesses that havesigned up can mutually receive or place orders.

Okinawa Demonstration Experiments Support Platform
Okinawa Prefecture is working on creating a testbed island, which proactively conducts demonstration experiments of new technologies
and social experiments. “Okinawa Demonstration Experiments Support Platform” was established.
《Eligible Projects》
Projects must be demonstration experiments that will be held in Okinawa and will lead to solutions to social challenges by utilizing
cutting-edge technologies such as AI, Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, and big data.
《Support Details》(1) Provision and mediation of demonstration experimentﬁelds, such as public facilities(2) Support for recruitment of participants for demonstration
experiments, local coordination regarding theimplementation of demonstration experiments.
(3) Consultation regarding the regulation response(4) Support for the promotion of demonstration experiments(5) Other necessary support for the implementation of thedemonstration experiment

Businesses/Private Organizations, etc.
Consultation for implementationin Okinawa

Individual consultation

Okinawa Demonstration Experiments Support Platform
Department of Commerce,
Industry and Labor,
Okinawa Prefecture
Department of Planning,
Okinawa Prefecture

Economy, Trade and Industry Department,
Okinawa General Bureau,
Cabinet Office

Municipalities

Financial Institutions/
Private businesses, etc.

Local employment Development Subsidy (Please conﬁrm with the Okinawa Subsidy Center for the details of eligible expenses, etc.）
1 Regional Employment Development Course (Equipment Assistance)

For business operators who preliminarily submit their plan, install and maintain oﬃces in designated employment development
promotion areas, or in underpopulated areas that have been designated as employment improvement areas (costing ￥200,000 or more
per item, ￥3,000,000 or more in total), and continuously employ three or more jobseekers (two or more in the case of business installation)
who live in Okinawa as of the date of employment, and are hired through Hello Work, etc., as workers, incentives are provided for up to a
maximum of 3 years (3 times) in accordance with installation and maintenance costs, and the number of workers hired (there are otherapplicable conditions).
(1) Granted aid amount: ￥500,000 to ￥8,000,000 (￥1,000,000 to ￥16,000,000 in the case of installation, for ﬁrst payment)(2) Subsidy period: Once per year, a maximum of three years
2 Okinawa Youth Employment Promotion Course (Wage Assistance)

For business operators who install and maintain business in Okinawa Prefecture (costing ￥200,000 or more per contract, ￥3,000,000 or
more in total (for Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) operators, ￥1,000,000 or more) and continuously employ three or moreyoung jobseekers under the age of 35 years who are residents of Okinawa Prefecture and encourage their retention, wages paid to such
workers will be partially subsidized. In cases that SME operators employ three or more eligible young workers after the fourth employee,
new school graduates will also be eligible for wage assistance.
(1) Subsidy amount: Organizations will be entitled to a subsidy for applicable employees of one-third (SMEs) or
one-fourth (large corporations) of the employeesʼ salary, as deﬁned by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
(2) Subsidy period: Twice a year, for one year (two years in the case of business operators with good worker retention)(3) Maximum subsidy: ￥1,200,000/year/worker

17

IT Innovation and Strategy Center Okinawa
Creating opportunities to bring in innovation and utilization of data and digital technology as
an industry support organization fostering the development of Okinawaʼs economy
to promote the generation of new value and solutions for challenges that all industries have.
As a neutral industry support organization, we will connect Okinawan industrial circles with the IT industry to
formulate innovative platforms that enable various players to cooperate and co-create.
Support DX of various industries in Okinawa and lead productivity improvement, creation of new businesses,
and resolution of various social challenges.
Propose growth strategies for promoting overall industries in Okinawa, including IT-related industries by utilizing
cutting-edge IT technology.

ISCO supports development of Okinawaʼs IT industry and innovation

Crossing the DX river

ISCOʼs role

Establishment of DX
support system“Okinawa’s DX strategy”

Goal

Towards sustainable development

Promoting structure transformationof the IT industry

Transformation of the entire society

Digital Innovation

Interorganizational cooperations

Building data utilization infrastructure

Digital Transformation
Environment improvement
for generating innovation

Transformation of the entire organization

Digitalization

Optimization of individual operations

Digitization

Same Industries
in Okinawa

Development of DX professionals

Startups

Supportthrough 5
collaborations

Industry
Academia
Government

Raising awareness on DX

Different
Industries
in Okinawa

Other
prefectures
Overseas

Start

18

Startups

Development of professionals

Business Matching

We promote sustainable development of Okinawa
by assisting establishment of startup systems
in Okinawa and revitalize the economy
with innovations in various ﬁelds.

We support development of IT professionals
through seminars, events, and IT personnel
exchanges with overseas.

We connect businesses which have challenges
with solutions and services
that IT companies oﬀer.

Data Driven

Proposing Strategies

DX support

We provide consistent support from how toanalyze data, funda mental knowledge, such asprocessing data,to hypothesis veriﬁcation throughdata collection and analysis,
as well as the utilization ofopen data.

We support Okinawaʼs industries and ICT(Information and Communication Technology)/DX related policies through conducting research,
proposals, and formulating visions and plans, etc.

We assist with the promotion of digitalizationthat leads to resolutions of business andadministrative challenges
by dispatching experts, etc.

ISCO was established through a public-private
joint investment as an organization that
contributes to societ y through the IT
innovation in 2018.
Okinawa Prefecture, Naha City, the three majordomestic carriers, local telecom companies,
national vendors, energy, ﬁnance, and manyother organizations support ISCO.

Field

Okinawa Local

Local governments,
Public organizations

Okinawa Prefecture, Naha
City, IIA(Information Industry
Association of Okinawa)
Okinawa Cellular

Mobile carrier

Mainland Japan

SoftBank. NTT docomo
NEC, NTT WEST, HITACHISI
EnergyThe Okinawa Electric Power
Company

FinanceBank of The Ryukyus
The Bank of Okinawa
THE OKINAWA KAIHO BANK

■ Cooperation with overseas organizations
ISCO will work with various organizations outside of the prefecture and overseas to introduce and create IT solutions
to solve issues facing Okinawa.

Taiwan
IAPS Center of Industry Accelerator and Patent
Strategy, National Chiao Tung University

Hong Kong
CIH

City Innovation Hub

China

TCA Taipei Computer Association
GO SMART Global Organization of Smart Cities
CISA Information Service Industry Associationof R.O.C.
STS Startup Terrace Linkou

SBDA Shenzhen Big Data Research andDevelopment Association
SSIA Shenzhen Software Industry Association
CSIA China Software Industry Association

TTIA Taiwan Telematics Industry Association
TXA TXA Private Board
GLORIA National Tsing Hua University Global
Research & Industry Alliance

IT Innovation and Strategy Center Okinawa■ Supporting Companies

VietnamVJC Vietnam-Japan IT Cooperation Committee
VNITO Viet Nam ITO Alliance

Europe

Korea
KOTRA

Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency

LIAA Investment and Development Agency ofLatviaJCCEI

The Center for Creative Economic
Innovation , Jeju

STACC Software Technology and Applications
Competence Center《 Examples of collaboration with organizations signed MOUs 》
Inviting to the Startup Festa hosted by ISCO
Participating in various events such as Startup Pitches organized by MOU partners● Cooperating in company matching● Conducting seminars abroad●●■ Okinawa Venture Friendly Declaration
With the aim of making Okinawa a leading location for creative innovation,
ISCO serves as the secretariat for the "Okinawa Venture Friendly Declaration",
which was announced by 39 large companies and organizations. This will
create an environment that facilitates collaboration and cooperation between
start-ups and large companies and promote utilizing cutting-edge technologies
and services.

【Contact】IT Innovation and Strategy Center Okinawa（ISCO）
Naha Business Incubation Oﬃce 4F, 2-3-6 Mekaru, Naha City, Okinawa 900-0004

URL https://isc-okinawa.org/

19

Interviewing companies that have expanded
into Okinawa from Overseas

Company

FILE.01

China
Okinawa Hi-Think Corporation
Interviewee
Wang Yue, President, Hi-Think Technology, Corp.
Okinawa Hi-Think Corporation
Company information●Hi-Think Technology, Corp.
■Location︓High and New Technology
Industrial Park, Dalian, China■Industry︓Software development, Information services■Web︓http://www.dhc.com.cn/●Okinawa Hi-Think Corporation

Wang Yue, President,
Okinawa Hi-Think Corporation■Location︓14-29 Suzaki, Uruma City, Okinawa Prefecture■Industry︓Software development, Information services■Web︓http://www.ohcc.co.jp/■ Details of business activities in Okinawa
With strong support from Okinawa Prefecture, our company was established in 2015 at the Okinawa IT Shinryo Park as thenear-shore business base of the DHC Group in Japan and is now in its ninth year. We are mainly commissioned by major IT
companies in the Tokyo area to provide development, maintenance, and veriﬁcation services for business and embedded software,system monitoring and operation, and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services.

■ Why did you decide to do business in Okinawa and how did you conduct business?
The DHC Group, based in Dalian, China, has more than 20 years of experience in oﬀshore development for Japan and has
accumulated know-how in the IT industry, which requires high technology and quality. In recent years, against the backdrop of thegrowing near-shore needs of our customers, mainly system development for government oﬃces, we opened a near-shoredevelopment base in Okinawa with the aim of maximizing the cost-beneﬁt, after considering various eﬀorts by Okinawa Prefecturesuch as well-developed IT infrastructure including Data Centers and IT human resources development.

■ What are the advantages of doing business in Okinawa?
Since Okinawa Prefecture has been very active in promoting the IT/ICT industry from a global perspective, we received strong
support from the prefecture from the beginning, including location support and human resource development training. Now in
our ninth year, we keep expanding our business at our new oﬃce in the brand-new building at IT Shinryo Park, and we are satisﬁedwith the environment.

■ Future business development and prospects
Recently, the global situation, market needs, technology trends, andwork environments in the IT industry have been changing dramatically,and Japanese companies have been accelerating their DX activities.
This will further increase the demand for IT and DX professionals. We
see this as a chance in a million. We are planning to increase thenumber of employees to approximately 300 by 2026, and we willcontribute to the development of the information industry in Okinawa
by providing high-value IT services by bringing together theaccumulated know-how of the DHC Group in Okinawa.

20

FILE.02

VietnamFPT NEARSHORE JAPAN CO., LTD.
Interviewee
FPT NEARSHORE JAPAN CO., LTD.
President Luong Hong Hai
Company information●FPT Software Co., Ltd.
■Location︓Hanoi, Vietnam■Industry︓Software development■Web (Japanese subsidiary)︓https://www.fpt-software.jp/《Okinawa Base》●FPT NEARSHORE JAPAN CO., LTD.

Luong Hong Hai,
President, FPT NEARSHORE JAPAN CO., LTD.

■Location︓【First Development Center (HQ)】
2-8-1 Kumoji, Naha City, Okinawa
6th ﬂoor of JEI Naha Building■Industry︓Software development, Information
system consulting, Integration, operation andmaintenance, and temporary staﬃng■Web︓https://fptsoftware.jp/about-us/fpt-nearshore-japan

E xa m ple s o f E x p a nsio n in t o O k inawa a n d In t e r v iews

Company■ Details of business activities in Okinawa
FPT Okinawa R&D Co., was established in 2017 as a near-shore base for FPT Japan Holdings, the Japanese subsidiary of Vietnamʼslargest ICT company FPT Software. First, we opened the First center in Kumoji, Naha City, and as our business expands, we opened
the second Center in May 2020. Our main business is near-shore development and veriﬁcation work with top Japanesecompanies, and we aim to realize a development system with 2,000 employees by 2025 nationwide including in Okinawa.

■ Why did you decide to do business in Okinawa and how did you conduct business?
Okinawa is geographically located in the center of East Asia, can access not only Japan, but also major cities in the huge Asianmarket of about 2 billion people, such as Taipei, Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Manila, and Hanoi in about 4 hours. In addition,
the climate is very similar to Vietnam, so it is a comfortable environment for Vietnamese engineers to work. Furthermore, because
there are relatively few earthquakes and they are moderately distant from each other in the Tokyo metropolitan area, we can also
reduce the risk of simultaneous disasters, which is an advantageous location in terms of corporate BCP. In establishing FPTNEARSHORE JAPAN CO., LTD. (then FPT Okinawa R&D), we researched various cities in Japan, and as a result, we decided that
Okinawa was the most suitable location overall.

■ What are the advantages of doing business in Okinawa?
FPT NEARSHORE JAPAN CO., LTD. is able to meet not only the purpose of cost reduction in business but also the needs of information
security for the customers who cannot take data to overseas (oﬀ-shore). This will enable us to oﬀer a wider range of options toexisting and new customers, and it greatly contributes to the expansion of the FPTʼs Groupʼs overall business. We are also verysatisﬁed with the fact that our clients and our engineers can move around ﬂexibly because of the good accessibility by air ﬂights fromvarious cities in Japan.

■ Future business development and prospects
In the future, we intend to provide more support for the digitaltransformation (DX) that many companies are facing issues, with
our “Near-shore (Okinawa) + Oﬀ-shore (Overseas)” system.
Therefore, we plan to build an Okinawa-based training
environment in order to enhance engineerʼs resources who arefamiliar with cutting-edge technology. Through this, we hope toattract many talented IT personnel from Vietnam to come to
Japan and strongly contribute to the development of the “IT
Ecosystem in Okinawa” that combines human resources from
Okinawa and Vietnam.

21

Interviewing companies that have expanded
into Okinawa from Overseas

Company

FILE.03Japan
AXIOHELIX Co. Ltd.
Interviewee
AXIOHELIX Co. Ltd.
President, Sivasundaram Suharnan
Company information●AXIOHELIX Co. Ltd.
《Head Oﬃce》■Location︓2-16-3 Nishi, Naha City, Okinawa, Japan
Yashima-gumi Head Oﬃce Building 2nd Floor■Industry︓Systems development, consulting■Web︓https://www.axiohelix.com/《Tokyo Branch Oﬃce》

Sivasundaram Suharnan,
President, AXIOHELIX Co. Ltd.

■Location︓1-12-17 Kanda Izumi-cho,
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Kubota Building 8F■ Details of business activities in Okinawa
IT: Building systems using AI and Deep LearningLife Sciences: Statistical Analysis, and Genome Analysis of Biology Using Databases
Energy: Home energy storage business, monitoring systems
Our company is headquartered in Okinawa, with a satellite oﬃce in Tokyo and a development base in Sri Lanka, and we are actively
developing client-centered business (You Are the IDEA) to meet the needs of each client. We have focused on developing newtechnology over the past few years.

■ Why did you decide to do business in Okinawa and how did you conduct business?
Our company applied for Business attraction projects by Okinawa Prefecture and was selected in 2005, and we expanded our genefunction system business in Okinawa. At that time, it was diﬃcult to get support for gene function analysis because there was agreat deal of concern about risk. In such a situation, while recognizing the risks, Okinawa Prefecture provided us with various
support in addition to direct subsidies. It is a Prefecture that accepts challenges. Unfortunately, the business was not very
successful, but the fact that they wanted us to stay in Okinawa and do our best is still a great support for us as a company thatstarted in Okinawa Prefecture.

■ What are the advantages of doing business in Okinawa?
Generous support from Hands-on Managers at the Okinawa Prefecture and Okinawa Industry Support Center. Especially, company
matching, accompany the business, and business subsidy support without regard to risks. The Okinawa Prefectural Enterprise Fund,the Policy Finance Corporation Loan, and the investment system are also possible for SMEs (there is little competition as in big
cities). Also, since some of our employees are from warm regions such as Sri Lanka, Okinawa was also a good place to live.
As we expand our business targeting not only in Japan, but also Asia, we feel that Okinawa is highly convenient as it has direct
ﬂights to each country.

■ Future business development and prospects
We have considered and implemented the Okinawa Monozukuri(manufacturing)
Platform several times in the past, but have not been able to successfully realized. I
believe that the future will develop not only through the pursuit of convenience andﬁnancial abundance, but also through remote eco-distribution, renewable energy, andagriculture based on the SDGs. Since Okinawa Prefecture, where our company is based,
is a hub between Japan and Asia, we would like to develop business eﬃciency
solutions using manufacturing and IT that are conscious of the SDGs.
We would like to expand our business by exporting our know-how and technologythat we have developed in Okinawa.

22

FILE.04

Korea
kaﬂixcloud Co., Ltd.
Interviewee
kaﬂixcloud Co., Ltd.
CEO Shin Jeongmin /ROY
Company information●kaﬂixcloud Co., Ltd.
《Okinawa HQ》■Location︓501 Goujin Naha Matsuyama Building
2-1-12 Matsuyama Naha, Okinawa■Industry︓Car Rental Infrastructure Mobility Technology■Web︓https://www.kaﬂixcloud.co.jp/《Tokyo Branch》

CEO Shin Jeongmin /ROY

■Location︓5th ﬂoor Kasumigaseki Building
3-2-5 Kasumigaseki Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

E xa m ple s o f E x p a nsio n in t o O k inawa a n d In t e r v iews

Company■ Details of business activities in Okinawa
In order to achieve full digital transformation of the entire car rental market, we mainly conduct digital transformation (DX)projects for car rental providers and GDS (Global Distribution System) environmental establishment projects for OTA (Over-the-air)and travel agencies. Strengthening the cooperation between OTA and Cloud ERP (Enterprise Resources Planning) system, which
utilizes the ﬁrst “Property Management System (PMS)” introduced in Japan allows us to automate car reservation operations.
A user can directly book a car via a reservation application or website in real-time. When renting a car, a user can complete theprocess from check-in to payment with Kiosk devices using face recognition functions. We also have a car scanning project forwhen returning a rented car, and in the next year, we are going to launch the connected car project combining keyless and an
OBD (On-Board Diagnostics device).

■ Why did you decide to do business in Okinawa and how did you conduct business?
While I was engaged in the travel industry, I focused on the stagnant car rental business during the pandemic and realized that it
is a very analog operation. I strongly felt the need for DX to address the labor shortage. We have developed our service by adding
our unique know-how to the reservation system technology which utilizes Kiosk device and has already succeeded in Korea.
When we considered expanding our business in Japan, we deemed that it is favorable to start our service in Okinawa, where thetourism and car rental industry is ﬂourishing. We established a corporation in Okinawa in 2022.

■ What are the advantages of doing business in Okinawa?
Our success in Okinawa, where the market is large, has been shared with great conviction when we expand our business in the
car rental industry nationwide. In addition, as most of the car rental providers are directly managed by their headquarters, wewere able to easily approach their headquarters. There is also good start-up support and DX-related subsidies which enable us tocoordinate with municipalities smoothly. These supports and subsidies are great merits for us.
I believe that not many prefectures oﬀer such supports when starting a business and expanding services. I recommend examining
each municipalityʼs initiatives and characteristics, and not only those in
the Tokyo metropolitan area, before considering locations that matchyour business.

■ Future business development and prospects
Although we have been able to promote manpower reduction(approximately 1/10 of the current ﬁgure) of the car rental industry, we
will continue to expand our service until there is full automation. Not only
will we facilitate DX and improve convenience in the industry, but we also
want to achieve DX throughout the tourism industry.

23

Flight Routes
Seoul

As of Feb 2024

Beijing Oﬃce

35flights/week

BeijingSeoul Oﬃce

Beijing

Required Travel Time 2:20（1,260km）

2flights/week

Seoul

Required Travel Time 3:40（1,852km）

Osaka Oﬃce
Busan

Shanghai 16flights/week

Osaka

Nanjing

60flights/week

Required Travel Time 1:25（ 640km）

HangzhouChongqing

Tokyo Oﬃce
Tokyo

Shanghai Oﬃce

Required Travel Time 2:00（ 806km）

Taipei

Nagoya Information Center

NagoyaFukuokaShanghaiKagoshima

Kaohsiung 10flights/week
Required Travel Time 1:45（ 843km）

Taipei Oﬃce

Hong Kong 21flights/week
Required Travel Time 2:35（1,440km）

Singapore

Hong Kong

3flights/week

Taichung

Taipei

Kaohsiung

Hong Kong Oﬃce

Required Travel Time 5:10（3,760km）

Bangkok

Singapore Oﬃce

Tokyo

Naha

40flig h t s /day

Required Travel Time 2:20（1,687km）

Ishigaki

HanedaNarita1flight/day○Shin Chitose○Sendai○Niigata○Ibaraki○Komatsu○Okayama○Hiroshima○Iwakuni○Matsuyama○Takamatsu○Miyazaki○Kumamoto○Amami Island○Yoron Island○Okinoerabu

Singapore

Nagoya35flights/day
5flights/day

13fli g h t s/day

Required Travel Time 2:05（1,483km）

Kansai25flig h t s/day

Required Travel Time 1:50（1,261km）
Kansai
Itami
Kobe

Fukuoka

13flights/day
5flights/day
7flights/day

21flig h t s/day

Required Travel Time 1:30（1,008km）

Kagoshima

2flig h t s/day

Required Travel Time 1:15（ 758km）※Although COVID-19 has caused some flights to be reduced or suspended, some of these routes have already resumed operations.
※As of December 2019, there were domestic flights to Shizuoka, Kitakyushu, and Nagasaki, as well as international flights to Busan, Nanjing, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Taichung, and Bangkok.

Okinawa Prefectural Oﬃces Located Outside the Prefecture● Tokyo Oﬃce

Okinawa Prefectural Overseas Oﬃces● Beijing Oﬃce

Todofuken Kaikan, 10th Floor, 2-6-3 Hirakawa-Cho,
Chiyoda-Ward, Tokyo 102-0093
TEL +81-3-5212-9087 FAX +81-3-5212-9086

Room 1701, Block B, Lucky Tower,
No. 3, North Dongsanhuan Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing
TEL +86-10-6466-8679 FAX +86-10-6466-6693● Shanghai Oﬃce

● Osaka Oﬃce
Osaka Ekimae Bldg. 3, 21st Floor South,
1-1-3-2100 Umeda, Kita-Ward, Osaka 530-0001
TEL +81-6-6344-6828 FAX +81-6-6346-1784● Nagoya Information Center
Chunichi Bldg. 5th Floor, 4-1-1 Sakae Naka-ku,
Nagoya City, Aichi 460-0008
TEL +81-52-263-3618 FAX +81-52-263-3619

Room 1603B Huasheng Bldg.,398Hankou Road, Shanghai
TEL +86-21-6351-0231 FAX +86-21-6350-7369● Hong Kong Oﬃce
Unit 1211,12/F,Prosperity Millennia Plaza,663 Kingʼs Road,
North Point,Hong Kong
TEL +852-2968-1006 FAX +852-2968-1003● Taipei Oﬃce
Room E, 4th Floor no. 148m Songjiang Rd,Taipei 104, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
TEL +886-2-2521-0376 FAX +886-2-2542-7075● Singapore Oﬃce

Oﬃcial Social Media for Business Attraction

1 North Bridge Road #06-22 High Street Centre, Singapore 179094
TEL +65- 6694-6408 FAX +65-6694-5442● Seoul Oﬃce
04520 6F, The Exchange Seoul Building 21,
Mugyo-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
TEL +82-2-318-6330 FAX +82-2-753-8751

Department of Commerce, Industry and Labor Okinawa Prefecture
1-2-2, Izumizaki, Naha City, Okinawa 900-8570

IT Innovation Promotion Division
TEL.+81-98-866-2503

FAX.+81-98-866-2455

https://www.pref.okinawa.jp/kensei/kencho/1000011/1017705/1017716.html

http://it-bridge.okinawa/Industrial Site Promotion Division

Support Oﬃce for Foreign Enterprise「Okinawa Investment Support Center」

TEL.+81-98-866-2770

FAX.+81-98-866-2846

https://www.pref.okinawa.jp/kensei/kencho/1000011/1017705/1017714.html

http://invest-okinawa.biz/

2024.03