About Kumamoto Prefecture
Kumamoto Prefecture is
in the center of Kyushu in the southwestern part of Japan.
Kyushu
is the gateway to East Asian countries and their major cities such as Shanghai,
Seoul, Taipei, Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo, which are all located within a distance
of 2000 km from Kyushu. And Kumamoto is truly located in the center.

(Indication of lives in
Kumamoto 100 FY2015)
Area
|
7,409.32
km²
(2,860 square miles)
|
1st
nationwide
|
Population
|
1,794,091
|
23nd
nationwide
|
Annual
average temperature
|
17.2℃
|
8th
nationwide
|
Prefectural
Gross Products
|
5,640,000,000,000
yen
|
25th
nationwide
|
Agricultural
output
|
328,300,000,000
yen
|
5th
nationwide
|
Industries of Kumamoto Prefecture
Kyushu has been called
‘Silicon Island’ or ‘Car Island’ since there are many semiconductor and
car-related enterprises. Many of them are located in Kumamoto Prefecture and
they are industry leaders.
Thanks to the development of highways, food distribution
companies and enterprises dealing with logisitics have been increasing.
◆Main enterprises in Kumamoto Prefecture
Semiconductor:
Tokyo
Electron Kyushu Co., Ltd., Sony Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation, FUJIFILM
Kyushu Co., Ltd.
Automobiles:
Aishin Kyushu Co., Ltd., Hitachi Zosen
Corporation Ariake Plant, Honda Motor Co., Ltd Kumamoto Plant
Food:
Suntory Beer Co., Ltd. Kyushu Kumamoto Plant
Service:
Accenture Kumamoto BPO Center
Advantages of Kumamoto Prefecture as a location for establishing enterprises
①Abundant
high quality water resource
In
Kumamoto City and its surrounding area, almost 100 % of daily life water for
the whole population of one million is provided by groundwater and the
groundwater is also used for the as the water source for the food and
semi-conductor industries. This is the key element for many industries that build
their plants in Kumamoto.

② An excellent treasure
house of human resources with science and technology backgrounds
There are 10
universities, 3 junior colleges and 1 technical college in Kumamoto Prefecture.
With many science and
technology departments, a distinctive feature of the schools, about 6,000
students with science and technology backgrounds graduate every year. Compared with
prefectures with a similar population as Kumamoto, the number of science and
technology students accounts for a higher percentage in fresh graduates in our
prefecture.
Technical high schools
and technical colleges are enthusiastic to push students to obtain all national
certifications and license examinations and in producing top-flight human
resources, these students are the driving force for enterprises and are highly
evaluated by many companies.
◆The
number of graduates (graduated in March 2016)

◆The
number of qualified person in 2015 for Junior Meister Award Program
Order
|
Name
of prefecture
|
The
number of qualified person
(total
of gold and silver)
|
First
|
Kumamoto
Pref.
|
776
|
Second
|
Aichi
Pref.
|
672
|
Third
|
Kagoshima
Pref.
|
657
|
Fourth
|
Fukuoka
Pref.
|
545
|
Fifth
|
Nagasaki
Pref.
|
542
|
※ What is the Junior Meister
Award Program?
This is an award program for students of technical high schools in which
the knowledge, techniques and abilities of those students obtained through qualifications
are evaluated and, with the points given in accordance with qualifications and
the result of competitions, students with higher total points are recognized
with this award.
◆Wage

③ Easy access to Asia, all prefectures in Kyushu
Kumamoto Prefecture, being
in the center of Kyushu and very close to East Asia, is well-connected to
transportation networks. It offers easy access to other prefectures in Kyushu
as well as metropolitan cities such as Tokyo and Osaka.
It is
possible to conduct global business from Kumamoto since the main cities in Korea,
Taiwan and China are easily accessible either directly from Kumamoto or via
Fukuoka.

④Support
with substantial incentive programs
Kumamoto Prefecture offers substantial incentives to support the
operation after the establishment in Kumamoto.
We offer a subsidy of 5 billion yen, the largest amount among the Kyushu
prefectures. For companies whose foreign capital participation is more than 50
%, the subsidy requirement is reduced and it is easy to utilize the subsidy. In
accordance with municipalities of the targeted site, it is possible to access
additional incentives such as subsidiary aid and tax reduction.
We will support those companies doing business in Kumamoto with enhanced
support that includes introductions to local companies, assistance in
recruitment as well as real estate information.
◆Subsidies

◆The
mascot character of Kumamoto Prefecture, ‘Kumamon’
©2010 kumamoto pref. kumamon