(Israel Ministry of Economy)
The vice president of Japan's Hitachi Corporation, Mr. Yutaka Saito, arrived in Israel on October ;14, 2015 for a two-day visit sponsored and organized by the Israeli Ministry of Economy and the Israel Export Institute in order to examine possibilities for strategic cooperation with Israeli cyber companies in the national infrastructure sector and the Internet of Things (IOT).
Hitachi is a Japanese electronics corporation dealing in various sectors, from infrastructure, medical and industrial equipment to communications systems and defense equipment. Hitachi is one of the world's leading companies in the field of building critical infrastructures and is on the lookout for cyber solutions to secure these installations.
During the visit, organized by the Foreign Trade Administration in the Israeli Ministry of Economy and the Israel Export Institute, Mr. Saito met with representatives of 11 Israeli companies, including: Cyberbit Ltd., Israeli Aerospace Industries, RAFAEL, Verint and Check Point. Mr. Saito's delegation, which includes three additional senior officials from Hitachi, also met the Chief Scientist at the Israeli Ministry of Economy, senior officials from the Israel Export Institute and the head of the National Cyber Bureau at the Prime Minister's Office.
Prior to the visit, Achiad Eltar, Director of the Cyber Department at the Israel Export Institute, said: "Israeli cyber companies are renowned for their capabilities and the novel technologies they offer. During the visit, the vice president of Hitachi will meet with a diverse selection of cyber companies, from budding startups to well-based companies. What these companies share are innovative, focused technological solutions for the protecting critical infrastructure. I see this visit as an extraordinary business opportunity for Israeli companies to expand the range of their business activity to Japan."
Noa Asher, Trade Representative in Tokyo for Israel’s Foreign Trade Administration, said: "The President of Hitachi was very impressed with the Israeli cyber-security industry and is seeking to promote cooperation between Hitachi and Israeli companies. Recently, the Israeli trade mission in Tokyo has been processing several requests from leading Japanese companies in different sectors which are scouting for innovative technologies in Israel. The Japanese companies today speak more and more about 'open innovation' and see Israel as a source of advanced technology. In addition, five Japanese companies recently signed on to the Chief Scientist’s corporate program, and a call for submissions within the framework of the Israel-Japan joint R&D Agreement is open until October 20th."
According to the Foreign Trade Administration, the Israeli Ministry of Economy has defined Japan as a target country for promoting bilateral trade and investments and is working to strengthening relations with the country. Overall Israeli-Japanese trade reached $2.3 billion in 2014, of which exports to Japan constituted $800 million and imports reached $1.5 billion.
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On October 21, 2015 the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Fraunhofer SIT, Germany's leading institute for applied cybersecurity research, will sign an agreement to jointly create a Fraunhofer Project Center for Cybersecurity at the Hebrew University - the first Fraunhofer research center in Israel. The Memorandum of Understanding will be signed in the presence of the President of the Bundesrat and Minister-President of the State of Hessen, Mr. Volker Bouffier.
The planned center will become the leading institution for applied cybersecurity research in Israel, and an international innovation hub at the core of a network of excellence in the area of cybersecurity.