Israel Holding Two Business Conferences in Japan

Two major business conferences being held in Japan this week by the Economy Ministry’s Foreign Investments and Industrial Cooperation Authority, along with Industry and the Economic Trade Mission in Japan, will focus on which investment opportunities can enhance areas of advanced manufacturing and life sciences in Israel. The conferences are being held in cooperation with Nikkei Business, the foremost business magazine in Japan, and they will host senior officials from Japanese industry.

The two conferences will be held on Wednesday and Thursday in Osaka and Tokyo, respectively. The objective of the conferences is to attract investments to bolster production and industry in Israel, especially to peripheral areas, in order to create high-level employment opportunities, the Ministry said. Japan is an important trading partner for Israel; Israeli exports to Japan reached about $770 million in 2015, while imports from Japan were about $1.3 billion for the year.

According to Ohad Cohen, Head of the Foreign Trade Administration at the Ministry of Economy and Industry, life sciences is a key sector for Japan’s economy. Japanese families have an average of 1.4 children per family, making for a negative birth rate, as well as one of the highest life expectancy rates in the world. As a result, the population is rapidly aging, and the government has embarked on an ambitious campaign to increase investments in the health care sector.

With the Israeli life science sector considered among the most advanced in the world, the Japanese government has been particularly encouraging ties between the two countries, said Cohen, adding that “conferences such as the one sponsored by the Ministry together with the activity of the Israeli trade mission in Tokyo throughout the year promote cooperation between Israeli and Japanese companies.”