          
          
             REGIONAL OUTLOOK OUTSIDE THE TOKYO AREA
          
          Osaka and the Kansai:  The Kansai is the region centered 
          around the cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe.  It boasts a 
          population of 22 million.  The six prefectures comprising 
          the area -- Osaka, Shiga, Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, and Hyogo 
          -- account for almost 20 percent of Japan's total economic 
          output.  The Kansai's GNP exceeds $410 billion, which is a 
          figure that represents approximately 3 percent of the 
          world's output.  If classified as a country, the Kansai 
          would rank above Canada as number seven among the world's 
          largest economies.  Osaka, the largest city in the Kansai 
          with a population of approximately 4 million, serves as the 
          commercial hub for the entire region.  The Kansai area, and 
          specifically Osaka, is Japan's historical business center.  
          Several major industries in Japan, including 
          pharmaceuticals, textiles and apparel, sporting goods, and 
          chemicals, are concentrated in the Kansai.
          
          The Kansai is also the center for a number of major 
          construction projects.  A recent survey conducted by the 
          Kansai Revitalization Center (KIRC) lists 822 major 
          projects in the Kansai area valued at over 35 trillion yen 
          (approximately $250 billion).  This major project 
          development represents tremendous opportunities for U.S. 
          companies.  These opportunities range from design and 
          construction services to supply of building materials and 
          resort and leisure equipment.
          
          Businesses in the Kansai benefit from lower operating 
          costs, and a lower cost of living, than those in Tokyo.  
          For example, the monthly rent for a three-room office in 
          Osaka is $670 compared to $2,300 in Tokyo.  A typical 
          condominium in Osaka rents for $800 a month compared with 
          $4,000 in Tokyo.  Osaka is less than three hours to Tokyo 
          by bullet train.
          
          The U.S. Department of Commerce has an office in Osaka and 
          is available to counsel U.S. companies on business 
          opportunities in the region.  The American Chamber of 
          Commerce in Japan has a Kansai chapter, which has over 300 
          members.  In addition, other groups such as the 
          International Business Association provide strong 
          networking opportunities.
          
          Nagoya and the Chubu Region:  The Chubu region is located 
          in central Japan and includes the prefectures of Aichi, 
          Gifu, and Mie.  Nagoya, located in the Aichi prefecture, is 
          the largest city in the Chubu area and has a population of 
          over 2 million.  The GDP of the Nagoya area alone is as 
          large as the Republic of Korea's.  The Chubu region is the 
          home of such industrial companies as Toyota, Noritake, 
          Brother, Makita Power Tools, and Nippon Denso.  This region 
          is currently attracting a significant amount of attention 
          both domestically and internationally.  Plans for a new 
          24-hour international airport have begun, and the airport 
          is expected to be operational by the year 2005.  
          Developments in the auto, aerospace, and new materials  
          industries are also bringing attention to this area.  A 
          number of U.S. aerospace companies have been making 
          significant investments in the Nagoya area.  Moreover, 
          automobile parts suppliers and other high technology 
          companies view Nagoya as an excellent base for research and 
          development centers.
          
          American business people in Nagoya recently created the 
          American Business Community of Nagoya. This group is 
          similar to the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) 
          and seeks to provide self-help for U.S. firms doing 
          business in this region.  To date, the group has nearly 30 
          members, and representatives of such U.S. firms as General 
          Dynamics, United Technologies, and Coca-Cola.  The U.S. 
          Department of Commerce recently established a new office in 
          Nagoya to assist U.S. companies interested in investing in 
          the area and seeking possible business opportunities in the 
          region.
          
          Fukuoka and the Kyushu-Yamaguchi Region:  The 
          Kyushu-Yamaguchi region, lying 700 miles west of Tokyo, has 
          a land area the size of Switzerland and an economy 1.5 
          times that of the Netherlands and 2.6 times that of Taiwan.  
          Local business leaders call Kyushu Japan's "Silicon Island" 
          because of the semiconductor industry there which accounts 
          for 42 percent of Japan's total chip output.  In addition, 
          a recent movement of the Toyota group to Kyushu, along with 
          expansion by Nissan, will bring an estimated 10 percent of 
          Japan's car production to this island within the next five 
          years.
          
          Regional business and political leaders have sought to 
          stimulate economic growth through a wide variety of 
          innovative development projects, including high-technology 
          research, waterfront redevelopment, and elaborate resort 
          projects.  Public works projects in the Kyushu-Yamaguchi 
          area will amount to approximately $36 billion over the 
          coming decade, and the Fukuoka area resort projects are 
          estimated to be worth $14 billion.  Plans are being made to 
          obtain funding from the national government to start 
          construction of a major new international airport within 
          the next ten years to serve as a new hub for western Japan 
          as well as for nearby Asian countries.
          
          Particularly good business prospects in the 
          Kyushu-Yamaguchi region may be found in the areas of 
          electronics and computers, architecture, design and 
          construction, and medical equipment and technology.  
          Exhibitions and seminars are organized by the U.S. 
          Department of Commerce's Fukuoka office in each of these 
          areas during the course of the year.
          
          Sapporo and Northern Japan:  Northern Japan, consisting of 
          Honshu's four northeast prefectures and the island of 
          Hokkaido, has a gross regional product larger than $275 
          billion.  This industry-centered region imports heavily 
          from other parts of Japan, but U.S. products can be 
          extremely competitive.  The secondary and processing 
          sectors need lower priced American materials and services 
          to survive.  Establishing distribution in this region is 
          much cheaper than in Tokyo. Sapporo, in Hokkaido, lying 700 
          miles north of Tokyo, is also an important center of 
          commercial activity.
          
          The best sales prospects in northern Japan are home 
          building materials, major project construction and building 
          materials, food processing machinery and supplies, 
          agricultural machinery and supplies, and tourism.  
          Exporters of coal, logs, wood pulp, processed lumber, fish, 
          fish products, feed grains, and all other agricultural 
          inputs should pay particular attention to the increasing 
          demand for domestic product substitutes.  Hokkaido is a 
          good test market for recreational and consumer goods and 
          direct mail sales.  The U.S. Department of Commerce office 
          in Sapporo can provide consultative and facilitative 
          services, temporary work space, simple office services, and 
          exhibition and seminar space in its display area for 
          American products.
          
          
