Concentration of Diverse Industries and a Huge Market
The Kansai region includes the unique cities of Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto and is a massive market with a population of 24.65 million people and a GDP of approximately 100.05 trillion yen. It equals the metropolitan area centered on Tokyo as a site for business and plays the central role in the economy of Western Japan.
Osaka Prefecture is the geographical and economic center of the Kansai region. It has a population of around 8.85 million people and the total production within the prefecture reaches around 38.99 trillion yen. There are approximately 440,000 places of business in Osaka prefecture and approximately 200,000 within Osaka City. There are 433 stock exchange listed companies that have their headquarters in Osaka Prefecture.
Osaka provides an ideal location for international companies seeking to invest with experienced local partners. It is home to a range of skilled manufacturers in the electronics, pharmaceutical, machinery, device, chemical, food, and construction industries. Also well represented are members of the distribution industry — including major trading houses, specialized trading companies and department stores — as well as finance and other service industries. Rounding out this diverse economy are high-tech industries such as biotechnology, new materials, and information & communications. Unique businesses in the sports industry and game content sectors also add variety to the economy. In addition, the city has companies ranging from big enterprises that are globally famous to many small and medium-sized enterprises that have their own unique technologies and take a large share of the global market for their specific fields.
The Kansai region, including Osaka, has a huge market which is equivalent to an advanced country and has a huge amount of business chances.
Source:
＜Population＞ Population Census, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (FY2019)
＜GDP, Total production within Osaka Prefecture＞ Cabinet Office, Prefectural Accounts (FY2016)
＜Number of places of business＞ Economic Census Activity Survey (FY2016)
1. Industrial structure (Gross prefectural product classified by economic activity)
2. Exports/Imports
| Osaka | Tokyo | Japan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exports （Unit: billion yen）*1 | 16,265*2 | 16,911*3 | 76,932 |
| Imports （Unit: billion yen）*1 | 14,719*2 | 26,476*3 | 78,600 |
*2 Values given for imports and exports are for the Kinki (Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Nara, Wakayama, Shiga) region.
*3 Values given for imports and exports are under Tokyo customs jurisdiction.
3. Kansai businesses operating around the world
Kansai is home to top global companies from the electric equipment, chemical, food, pharmaceutical, and finance industries. Of the 52Japanese companies on Fortune Magazine's 2018 list of top 500 companies by revenue, 7 companies are based in Osaka.
| Headquarters | Company | Business |
|---|---|---|
| Osaka City | ★Itochu Corp. ★Nippon Life Insurance ★Sumitomo Life Insurance ★Daiwa House Suntory Asahi Kasei Takeda Pharmaceutical ★Sumitomo Electric Industries Sharp Keyence ★Kansai Electric Power |
Commerce Insurance Insurance Home Construction Food Chemical Pharmaceutical Nonferrous Metals Electric Equipment Electric Equipment Energy |
| Osaka Pref. | ★Panasonic | Electric Equipment |
| Kyoto Pref. | Nintendo Omron Kyocera |
Home Leisure Equipment Electric Equipment Electric Equipment |
| Hyogo Pref. | Kobe Steel Procter and Gamble Japan Eli Lilly Japan Nestle Japan |
Steel Chemical Pharmaceutical Food |
4. Economic data for Osaka
GDP - A comparison of the nominal GDP of Kansai and the major countries of the world
The total production in the Kansai region reaches 913.6 billion dollars (FY2016) and is therefore comparable to the economy of an entire developed country.
Comparison of GDP with major countries
* The Kansai refers to the prefectures of Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Nara, Wakayama, Shiga , Mie, Tokushima Tottori, and Fukuri.
*US＄1＝￥110
Comparison of GDP within Japan
Population - Osaka Prefecture has a population of approximately 8.82 million people in approximately 4.3 million households.
This massive market increases the business opportunities.
Comparison of populations (upper lines) and numbers of households (lower lines)
Source: 2019 Report by Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on the population, population movement and number of households based on the basic resident registers
Trade - Osaka can make full use of the Hanshin Port, which boasts one of the greatest volumes of container handling in Japan.
The container handling capacity of the Hanshin Port is at the top level among the major ports of Japan, both for domestic and foreign trade, and it has excellent harbor functions.
Comparison of container handling volumes (Upper lines: foreign trade containers, Lower lines: domestic trade containers)
Note: The Hanshin Port value is the total value for Osaka Port, Kobe Port, Amagasaki-Nishinomiya-Ashiya Port and Sakai Senboku Port.
Pamphlets introducing Osaka and Kansai
Related links
Research results from Osaka Research Center for Industry and Economy (Japanese Only)