On Wednesday, January 25, Governor Koike attended the Invest Tokyo Seminar 2017 Winter.

The seminar is held with the aim to attract foreign companies and encourage the formation of relationships between foreign companies and Tokyo businesses.

The governor said that she hopes to leverage Tokyo’s potential in the form of its accumulation of four essential components—people, goods, money and information—and make it a city full of appeal. She then went on to introduce the “FIRST Strategy,” contained in the action plan formulated at the end of last year, which outlines the path to sustainable growth for Tokyo beyond 2020. FIRST is an acronym formed by the five strategy pillars—Finance, Innovation, Rise, Success, and Technology. “In promoting the FIRST Strategy, we will advance innovative bold strategies, focusing on international finance and thorough use of the National Strategic Special Zone system, and effectively utilize Tokyo’s potential,” said the governor, who also explained initiatives to make Tokyo Asia’s number one international financial center and attract foreign companies at a faster pace.

In closing, the governor said, “The Tokyo of the future, having reestablished its position as a global financial and economic hub, will remain the center of the global economy by attracting people, goods, money and information like a magnet and generating new added value. So this does not end merely a pipe dream, we must create a Tokyo that offers hope and dynamism, where anyone can live with peace of mind; a sustainable Tokyo that continues to produce growth; a Tokyo that shines throughout the world as the engine that drives Japan’s growth. I look forward to developing policies to create this ‘new Tokyo’ and steadily and speedily implementing them.”

The seminar then presented Tokyo Metropolitan Government initiatives aimed at attracting foreign companies, the attraction of the special zones from the perspective of foreign companies, and examples of successful pairings of foreign companies with small and medium-sized enterprises in Tokyo.

After the seminar, Governor Koike toured the Tokyo One-Stop Business Establishment Center, Tokyo Employment Consultation Center, and Business Development Center TOKYO.

Tokyo One-Stop Business Establishment Center

Unifies the procedures that foreign companies and start-ups need to complete to establish a business. A first for Japan.

Tokyo Employment Consultation Center

Assists foreign companies and companies that have just started doing business in Tokyo with accurately understanding Japanese employment rules, supporting the smooth development of business.

Business Development Center TOKYO

Bilingual consultants help match foreign companies seeking to expand their business into Tokyo with business partners and respond to inquiries on life in Tokyo.