ICT sector in Japan
Female working on her laptop
Market overview
The Big Data market is growing rapidly, reaching GBP1.2 billion in 2011 and is forecast to expand to GBP4.2 billion in 2017, a report by Yano Research showed. Japan’s vendors are looking at specialisation as a way to gain competitive advantage, for Big Data management and analysis. This market consists of Servers, Storage, Networks, Software and Services.
The M2M (Machine to Machine) market will see 15 million wireless connections in 2014 and 28 million wireless connections by 2017, as reported by Techno Systems Research. The core fields include remote control, infrastructure, security, field management, location management for automotive, credit transaction management and healthcare solutions.
In the Cyber Security industry, the internet, which has become a social infrastructure, has not only made clear the necessity of international regulation of cyberspace, but has exposed a variety of challenges. The severity of damage from cyber-attacks has worsened and the need for protection measures of personal information is an area of concern for Japanese companies.
The Home Energy Management System (HEMS) and Building Energy Management System (BEMS) markets were valued at GBP 600 million in 2011. They are expected to grow to GBP 1 billion in 2020. The key areas are mainly in energy saving monitoring and security management.
Key opportunities
The key opportunities for UK companies in Japan are around the following industries:
Big Data
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Advanced wireless communication technologies
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Cloud services and social services
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M2M communication
Smart Technologies
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Energy efficient medical/healthcare relating devices
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Low power devices and software/IP for surveillance, security and monitoring
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Distribution management software
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Software and hardware of small cell network
Cyber Security
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Internet security appliances
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Cyber security and embedded control systems
Energy Management
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Security: information security for consumer device
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Surveillance: camera, monitoring, image processing
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Control software: transaction management
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High speed wireless: video transfer
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Battery management: low consumption
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Energy management: generation-distribution-storage
Open Source software
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Software as a Service (SaaS)
Latest export opportunities in the ICT sector
Latest export opportunities in Japan
Getting into the market
It is hard to remotely manage Japanese business and finding a right partner to eliminate barriers of culture, language, customer support and physical distance is the key to success. It tends to take time to gain business compared to other markets and a long term relationship and vision is crucial.
There are several ways to do business:
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Product selling
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IP licence
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OEM
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Joint development
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Joint marketing and selling worldwide from Japan
More about doing business in Japan
Contacts
Market intelligence is critical when doing business overseas, and UKTI can provide bespoke market research and support during overseas visits though our chargeable Overseas Market Introduction Service (OMIS).
To commission research or for general advice about the market, get in touch with our specialists in country – or contact your local international trade team.
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Hirokuni Miyamatsu, British Consulate General Osaka; Tel: + 81 (0) 66120 5600; Email: hirokuni.miyamatsu@fco.gov.uk
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Etsuo Watanabe, British Consulate General Osaka; Tel: +81 (0) 3 5122 1151Email: etsuo.watanabe@fco.gov.uk
UKTI Events
UKTI runs a range of events for exporters, including seminars in the UK, trade missions to overseas markets and support for attendance at overseas trade shows.
Major Events
Ad-Tech Digital Marketing
18-19 September 2013
Smart Network Expo
25-27 September 2013
http://sma-net.jp/english/index.html
CEATEC – largest exhibition for IT & Electronics
1-5 October 2013
www.ceatec.com/2013/en/application/index.html
ITpro Expo including Smart Phone, Big data and Security
9-11 October 2013
http://expo.nikkeibp.co.jp/itpexpo/2013/english/
International Smart Grid Expo
26-28 February 2014
www.smartgridexpo.jp/en/About/Outline/
Useful links
More about OMIS and other UKTI services for exporters
Countries: Japan