Kansai Canada Business Association
Kansai Canada Business Association
The Kansai Area
Geography
The Kansai area is located in west Japan and is known as the cultural and culinary capital of the country as well as a traditional center of commerce and industry. The Kansai area is made up of the following 9 prefectures: Fukui, Hyogo, Kyoto, Mie, Nara, Okayama, Osaka, Shiga and Wakayama. The three main cities of the Kansai are Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe.
Osaka City lies at the heart of the Kansai region and is Japan’s second major metropolis after Tokyo. With a GDP of Yen 23 trillion and a population size of 2.6 million people, Osaka is an economic powerhouse rivaled by few other cities in Asia. Many of the world’s manufacturers of common electronic household appliances (Panasonic, Sharp, Sanyo, etc.) were founded and are headquartered in the Osaka area.
Kyoto, the nation’s former capital and seat of political power, not only remains as the tourist center of the country but is also the home to many of Japan’s world famous beating corporations such as Nintendo, Kyocera Corporation and Murata Machinery.
The City of Kobe is a modern metropolis boasting both a new airport and a word class seaport. It is also a major hub for steel works and ship building facilities.
The Kansai district has developed as a center of commerce through out the ages. With its Gross Regional Product roughly equivalent to that of an advanced industrial nation, Kansai is one of Japan’s leading business centers. The area features a wide array of industries such as electronics - it is one of the global supply centers for LCD and plasma TVs – and pharmaceuticals. These industries are supported by a high concentration of unique small and medium sized enterprises acting as just-in-time vertically integrated suppliers for larger industry. The Kansai area is also a world-wide leader in the cutting edge industries of robotics, nanotechnology, state of the art solar power technology, biotechnology and the life sciences.
| Kansai Area | Japan | % of Kansai | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Area (km2) 2007 | 37,068 | 377,926 | 9.8% |
| Population (thousand) (2007) | 23,605 | 127,760 | 18.5% |
| GDP (US$ billion) (2004) | 848 | 4,585 | 18.5% |
Osaka Area Facilities
The Osaka area boasts modern and well-developed infrastructure. Osaka Port facilities have been designated as a “Super Gateway Port” with its strategic value defined by its proximity to China and, therefore serving as a base for the logistics and distribution of goods from the Chinese market. A new terminal is under construction, a 16 meter deep, 400 meter long berth, to further develop the already strong distribution network with China. In addition, Kansai International Airport has just completed construction on its second runway making it the first 24 hour airport in the nation. There is also vast network of highways and train lines throughout the region including the bullet train that now runs at 2 hours and 30 minutes to Tokyo (previously 3 hours).
Redevelopment Of Osaka
More recently, a massive urban redevelopment plan is being implemented with projects throughout the city:
- The Osaka Station North District: redevelopment of 24 hectares in the downtown core – construction of multiple office towers, shopping centers and residential complexes.
- Nakanoshima Area: Construction of a new subway line cutting through the downtown area east to west with new office towers and university satellite campuses built above ground.
- Nanba-Tennoji Area: Redevelopment of the commercial district on the banks of the Dotombori river. In addition, the tallest skyscraper in Japan is scheduled for completion in 2014 in the Tennoji area. A 300 m high rise with over 100,000 m2 of floor space that will include offices, shopping and a luxury hotel.