EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation
The EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation is a unique collaboration
between the European Commission and the Japanese government, established on
15 May 1987.
The founding bodies were the European Commission's Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry, now succeeded by DG GROW, and Japan’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry, which was reformed into the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Upon its founding, it was initially called the EC-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation.
With the entry into force of the Japan–European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and Strategic Partnership Agreement in February 2019—marking a new phase in bilateral relations and encompassing around 40% of global trade—the partnership further deepened through the EU-Japan Green Alliance and Digital Partnership. In light of this evolving relationship, the EU-Japan Centre, which had been operating since 1987, became an independent corporate entity under Japanese law on 1 July 2020, having previously acted as an affiliate of the IIST/CIEC.
The EU-Japan Centre is headquartered in Tokyo, with its European office, opened in 1996, located in Brussels. It is led by two General Managers—one European and one Japanese—and has a total staff of approximately 30 people.
Mission
The mission of the EU-Japan Centre, a non-profit organisation, is to enhance all forms of industrial, trade, and investment cooperation between Japan and the EU, thereby strengthening the technological capabilities and competitiveness of both the European and Japanese industrial sectors.Activities
The Centre’s objective is to promote all forms of industrial, trade, science & technology or R&D cooperation between the EU and Japan, as well as to improve EU and Japanese companies’ competitiveness by facilitating exchanges of expertise and experience through a full range of support services. Notably, the ‘’ programme allows EU companies to host a highly skilled Japanese engineering/science student, while,, and other trainings and sectorial missions prepare EU companies to establish or expand their business in Japan.The is a yearly meeting between industry leaders, with the main objectives to submit recommendations to the Japanese and European Authorities so as to help develop trade and investment between the EU and Japan, and to encourage industrial cooperation. Several other business services, including intelligence gathering and policy updates, have proven to be a success in developing the partnership between the two economies.
A full overview of current activities can be found at .
History
The EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation has increasingly broadened its scope and activities since its establishment in 1987. Since then, the Centre has played an important role in consolidating the links between the European Union and Japan. Here is a timeline of major developments.| 1987 |
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| 2024 | Cluster missions were reintroduced as business missions, and in that frame, the Centre launched new sectoral missions:
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Achievements
- 2.000 Executives participating in business & training missions to Japan
- Over 1.200 EU participants in Lean/Kaizen/WCM-related missions in Japan or Europe
- 25.000 EU and Japanese participants in 300 policy seminars
- Over 1.250 EU and Japanese engineering students participating in the Vulcanus programme
- Over 100 cross-cultural and sectoral workshops
- Over 500 business, policy, cultural reports and webinars/videos
- 5 regular newsletters reaching a total of ca 15.000 recipients
- Over 100 partnership agreements signed thanks to the Enterprise Europe Network
- 150 EU and Japanese experts participating in Alternative Energy missions