Israel Japan | Business Guide | 2018

Israel-Japan > Business Guide > 2018 020 > General Information > Investments A lthough Japan is the world’s third- largest economy,Israel had very little trade with Japan until recently.While official Israel-Japan relations date back to the early 1950's, the newly awakened Japanese interest in Israel (dubbed as the Start-up Nation after the book by the same name) should not be seen as much of a surprise. Over the last ten years there has been a gradual increase in bilateral trade,and only recently has Japan become one of Israel’s largest Asian markets. These developments are in no small part a result of increased government-led intervention. The visits by the two Prime Ministers to the others’countries have generated numerous meetings between governmental and trade delegations,resulting in several agreements. These include a call for increased investments and joint activity in the cyber security sector with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in sight and a bilateral investment agreement that ensures investors receive equitable treatment in line with that received by local and third party investors. Major Acquisitions have Taken Place ‏ These efforts have borne fruit in the private sector.Recent major M&A transactions include Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp.’s acquisition in 2017 of Israeli drug-maker Neuroderm for US$ 1.1 billion, the purchase by Japanese conglomerate Orix of 22% of the geothermal energy major Ormat,the Altair Semiconductor acquisition by Sony Corp in early 2016 for US$ 212 million, to name just a few. In addition, Israel Innovation Authority have a dedicated Global Enterprise Collaboration Program that now boasts numerous Japanese multinationals. The newly awakened Japanese interest in Israel (dubbed as the Start-up Nation after the book by the same name) should not be seen as much of a surprise.From seed-stage to revenue-growth,Israel's position as global leader in many of the coveted sectors in the global start-up industry is already widely recognized,whether it is cyber, defense, IOT, AI, machine learning, autonomous vehicle technology or others. Increased Israeli Appetite From the Israeli side, Israeli companies have realized the benefits of trading with such a huge market and the potential benefits for Israeli companies to have Japan as a trading partner. Several Israeli companies have successfully bridged the culture gap and have been successful in selling their products in the Japanese market and this has sparked a lot of interest in the Israeli business community. Japan-Israel: Investing in the Future Adv. Peter Sugarman and Adv. Eliran Furman The cultural and language barriers that have limited Israel’s exports to Japan until now are being overcome as more and more Israeli products and services are entering Japan. An interesting side-effect of this is that Israeli tourism to Japan has increased exponentially in recent years.Israeli companies are seeking investors and export opportunities, while Japanese companies and venture capital funds are looking for investment opportunities along with R&D collaborations and new, cutting- edge technology.