​(Communicated by the Ministry of Economy & Industry Spokesperson)

Two investor conferences in Japan, initiated by the Foreign Investments & Industrial Cooperation Authority of the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry will be taking place on March 8th-9th. The first event will take place in Osaka, the second in Tokyo. The conferences will focus on the many investment opportunities in the field of advanced manufacturing in Israel, specifically in the life sciences sector. The conferences are held in cooperation with Nikkei Business, the foremost business magazine in Japan. Senior officials from Japanese industry will be in attendance.
 
At the conference in Tokyo, Mr. Hiroyuki Yashiro, President of TDK Lambda Global, will present the success story of TDK Lambda in Israel. Mr. Noam Zilbershtain, GM of Digital CZT Detectors CoE, GE Healthcare in Israel, will speak at the conference in Osaka with representatives of Japanese multinationals about the success of GE Healthcare in Israel. Mr. Gilad Peleg, founding-partner in Corundum Open Innovation, will describe the flourishing life sciences and medical equipment ecosystem in Israel to Japanese investors.
 
A number of Israeli Biomed startups will take part in the conferences, including: Insightec, Persys Medical, Vayaar and Sensible Medical. Each of these trailblazing companies offers groundbreaking solutions that can transform medical research and treatment as we know it.
 
The goal of the Foreign Investments & Industrial Cooperation Authority is to draw quality foreign investment to the State of Israel to bolster industry and production and to create high-level employment opportunities in the periphery.
 
Ziva Eger, Director of the Authority, said that “In Israel, there is a unique ecosystem that enables innovation, including in manufacturing. There is great interest from the Japanese business world in Israeli innovation in the field of medical equipment, which comes from a real demand in the Japanese population. We aim to encourage investors to invest in Israeli Biomed companies specifically, and in Israeli industry in general.”
 
Ohad Cohen, Head of the Foreign Trade Administration at the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry, said that “In light of the challenges facing the Japanese economy, the life sciences sector in Japan is a key target of the Israeli trade mission.” Japan is experiencing negative population growth due to a negative birthrate (1.4 children per family on average) and an exceptionally high life expectancy. The Japanese government is investing approximately 9.3% of GDP on the healthcare system and is working assiduously to revitalize it. To this end, the Japanese government is encouraging cooperation with entities outside Japan and between academia and industry. Cohen added that “Conferences such as the one sponsored by the ministry together with the activity of the Israeli trade mission in Tokyo throughout the year promote cooperation between Israeli and Japanese companies.”
 
Japan is an important trade partner for Israel. In 2015, Israeli exports to Japan reached c. $770 million, with imports from Japan to Israel reaching $1.3 billion. In addition, following the strengthening of relations between the two countries, the Israeli government made a decision on January 4th, 2015 regarding an overall economic plan directing all relevant government ministries to further strengthen ties between the two countries.