"Your Base for New Innovation" - Introducing Tokyo's Special Zone for Asian Headquarters - Tokyo METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT

1. Contact Us
Asian Headquarters Special Zone Division, Headquarters of the Governor of Tokyo
E-mail : ml-office-ahq@section.metro.tokyo.jp
Website : http://www.chijihon.metro.tokyo.jp/ahq_project/index.html
Your Base for New Innovation
Introducing Tokyo’s Special Zone
for Asian Headquarters
Seoul Tokyo
Tokyo
Tokyo
Shanghai
Singapore
About 2 hours
About 3 hours
About 7 hours
Flight times to
major Asian cities
Flight time
major Asian c
g
New York
Tokyo
(Haneda Airport)
London
Paris
Singapore
Kuala Lumpur
Bangkok
Beijing Seoul
Hong Kong Taipei
Shanghai

2. Tokyo, the Business Portal of Asia
Tokyo, Japan’s capital, is the largest city in Japan and a key business hub in Asia.
Numerous companies in a range of industries have their headquarters in Tokyo, including global
companies. Tokyo has all the key enabling factors for successful business ‒ skilled human resources,
wealth of information, superior technologies and solutions, robust financial sector, vibrant market, and
one of the best infrastructures in the world.
Tokyo’s access to Asia and the world has dramatically improved with the introduction of regular
international flights to Haneda Airport, close to central Tokyo.
Aiming to transform Tokyo into the preferred and core hub of business headquarters and R&D centers in
the Asian region, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government launched the Special Zone for Asian Headquarters
as a new project to attract foreign companies to Tokyo.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the national government collaborate to implement preferential
tax treatment, as well as bold deregulation and a generous package of fiscal and financial assistance, to
foreign companies newly headquartered in this zone in central Tokyo.
2 3
Tokyo’s Strong Points
Tokyo has the highest number of
global company headquarters listed in
Fortune Global 500
Japan is the safest country in Asia
(Global Peace Index)
Tokyo has the least air pollutant emissions
per urban area
City
Tokyo
Beijing
Seoul
Shanghai
Hong Kong
Companies
48
44
11
6
4
Country
Japan
China
South Korea
China
China
City
Tokyo
Seoul
Singapore
Shanghai
Country
Japan
South Korea
Singapore
China
Source : 2012 Fortune Global 500
Tokyo has the highest number of hospital beds
per 1,000 population
Beds
14
9
3
2
Source : 2011 TMG survey
Rank
5
23
42
89
Score
1,326
1,521
1,734
2,061
Country
Japan
Singapore
South Korea
China
Source : Economist Intelligence Unit,“2012 Global Peace Index”
City
Tokyo
Singapore
Seoul
Hong Kong
Shanghai
Total emissions
1,484kg/ha
7,172kg/ha
7,541kg/ha
7,602kg/ha
11,703kg/ha
Country
Japan
Singapore
South Korea
China
China
Source : 2011 TMG survey
Huge
market
Market size Tokyo’s nominal gross product: US$ 910.9 billion (2009)
(Around the same level as the GDPs of South Korea and the Netherlands)
8.2 million (2005)
13.2 million (2010)
2,800 companies with capital >1 billion yen (48% national ratio) (2009)
Population employed
Population
Business hub
Business Hub of Global Companies
Safe & Reassuring Environment Environmentally Friendly
Highly Supportive Medical Environment
World’s
No.1

3. 4 5
What is the Special Zone for Asian Headquarters? Target Industries
This comprises areas mainly in central Tokyo where the Tokyo Metropolitan
a new project to attract foreign companies
It features a comprehensive set of bold deregulation and generous tax/fiscal/ financial support
By 2016, it is planned to have 500 or more foreign companies establish operat
foreign companies establish their Asian regional headquarters or R&D centers.
All industries:
IT, medical/chemical, electronics,
precision instruments, aviation,
finance/securities, content/creative,
etc.
Strategically Attract Companies Through a Combination of Tax Benefits, Dereg ulation, and Urban Development
●Living environment concierge service at Business
Development Center Tokyo
Support all living needs from real estate information,
shopping, healthcare, to education information
●Build up schools where education is conducted
in English
●Provide living information in multiple languages
Approaches / Business Exchange
Living Environment Development
Business Support
Business Environment to Secure BCP＊
●Provide highly functional office buildings that are quake-resistant
and have independent power generation systems for stable
electric power supply
●Provide multi-functional office buildings with advanced business
support functions, including service apartments and MICE＊＊
facilities
Special Zone
tax breaks
＋
TMG
proprietary
tax breaks
28.9％
Current
Effective
Tax Rate
38.0％
Special Zone for Asian Headquarters
＊BCP : Business Continuity Plan
＊＊MICE : Meeting,Incentive Travel,Convention and Event/Exhibition
Government is implementing
●“One-stop” business services provided by
Business Development Center Tokyo（www.bdc-tokyo.org）
English-speaking staff providing professional services will
support company operations, including company set-ups,
business start-ups, and business match-ups.
●Offer subsidies and low-interest financing
●Provide administrative information, etc.
in multiple languages
●Maximum exemption of local tax
(corporate enterprise tax, etc.)
Preferential tax treatment for foreign companies*
(Asian headquarters and R&D centers)
●Ease immigration and re-entry procedures
(deregulation)
●Collaboration with Japan External Trade
Organization (JETRO)
* Must fulfill certain conditions to receive the benefits.
ions here, including 50 or more

4. 6 7
Shinjuku area Tokyo station
Tokyo station area
Tokyo Big Sight
Odaiba
Rainbow Bridge
Front of Shibuya station
Shinagawa’s redevelopment area
Haneda Airport
Tenkubashi Haneda Airport
Shinjuku
Shibuya
Toyosu
Ariake
Ueno
S
T
AAAAAAA
Roppongi
rt
The Areas of the Special Zone for Asian Headquarters: Districts Aiming to Strategically Attract Foreign Companies
Imperial Palace
Tokyo
Metropolitan
Government
Ginza
Yoyogi Park
Ueno Park
Sumidagawa River
Central Tokyo / Waterfront AreaArea around Shinjuku station
Area around Shibuya station
Vacant site formerly used
by Haneda Airport
Area around Shinagawa / Tamachi stations
H
Haneda Airport
(Tokyo International Airport)
Tokyo
Marunouchi
Nihombashi
Asakusa
Shimbashi
Shinagawa
areaarea
Tokyo Big Sight
（Tokyo International Exhibition Center）
Roppongi area
Odaiba area
Rainbow Bridge
: Major Roads
: Shinkansen
: Train
Rainb
Roppongi area
Tokyo Big Sight
（（Tokyo International Exhibition CenterTokyo International Exhibition Center））
Odaiba area
Shinagawa’s redevelopment area

5. Tokyo Outer Loop Road (Expressway)
Trans Tokyo bay Expressway
Chiba
Tokyo
Shinjuku
Shibuya
Shinagawa
Ikebukuro
Ueno
Yokohama
8 9
Q.1
A.1
Doesn’t Japan impose a high tax on corporations?
Q.2
A.2
Can business continue in the event of a natural disaster?
There is a growing number of office buildings that will not be affected by power failures
because they have their own gas co-generation systems. In the Special Zone areas, many
urban renaissance projects are underway or in the planning stage, providing an
increasing supply of high-function office buildings that can ensure business
continuity.
Q.3
A.3
Low English proficiency and cumbersome administrative procedures are
said to make business difficult in Japan.
Q.4
A.4
If English is not well understood in Japan,
will life be difficult for accompanying family members?
To major destinations in central Tokyo
16 min to Shinagawa (by train), 30 min to Tokyo station (by train)
20 min to Odaiba (by car), 40 min to Shibuya (by car)
45 min to Akasaka/Roppongi (by car), 50 min to Shinjuku (by car)
From Haneda Airport (close to central Tokyo)
To major destinations in central Tokyo
36 min to Nippori (by train),
60 min to Tokyo station (by direct train)
75 min to Tokyo (by car), 80 min to Akasaka/Roppongi (by car)
From Narita Airport
*Estimated travel times
Greater International Access to Haneda Airport
・Expansion of international terminal (Scheduled for FY2013)
・Extension of Haneda Airport’s C runway (Scheduled for FY2014)
・Arriving and departing international regular flights increase to
90,000 (Scheduled for FY2013)
Present Future
Frequently Asked Questions Access to Tokyo
Nippori
10mile5mile
Central
Tokyo
wawawa
ori
Narita International Airport
Haneda Airport
(Tokyo International Airport)
The current effective corporate tax rate is 38.0%. However, preferential tax treatment will
apply to foreign companies in the Special Zone for Asian Headquarters, cutting the
effective corporate tax rate to 28.9%.
(Preferential tax treatment will apply to companies that establish their Asian regional
headquarters or R&D centers in the areas of the Special Zone for Asian Headquarters.
Companies must fulfill certain conditions to receive the benefits.)
The business environment has become increasingly English-friendly. A variety of measures
will be available to support the smooth conduct of businesses.
・Business Development Center Tokyo
A “one-stop” business support service in which highly skilled English-speaking personnel will support company
operations, including company set-ups, business start-ups, and business match-ups.
・Information dissemination in multiple languages, including administrative information
Full support will be provided to family members to live comfortably in Japan, similar to their
home countries, including an expanded range of English services and information
dissemination.
・Living environment concierge service at Business Development Center Tokyo
A “one-stop” service for all of your living needs, including real estate information, shopping, healthcare, and
education information.
・Provision of education conducted in English
・Build up Schools where education is conducted in English
・Provide living information in multiple languages
・Haneda Airport’s fourth runway (D runway) opened October 2010
・International terminal opened October 2010
・Regular flights to 16 world cities, incl. London, Paris, Singapore, Seoul,
Shanghai, and Hong Kong (60,000 arriving and departing international
regular flights) (As of February 2013)

6. Tokyo, Japan’s capital, is the political, economic,
and cultural center of Japan.
Appreciate the 400-year history and culture handed down
from old Edo to modern Tokyo through this glimpse into
the ever-evolving city of Tokyo.
Tokyo Sky Tree (opens 2012)
(World’s tallest free-standing
broadcasting tower)
Tokyo’s oldest temple,
Sensoji Temple, is
symbolic of the shitamachi
(old town) culture
Akihabara,
a district at the forefront of
Japan’s anime culture
Summer’s delights,
Bon Odori dance
and fireworks
Japan’s traditional national sport,
sumo
Cherry blossoms at the famous
Chidorigafuchi
Ogasawara Islands,
“Galapagos Islands of the East”
Inscribed on the UNESCO World
Heritage list in 2011
Japan’s most well-known food culture,
sushi and sake
Mt. Takao,
a popular spot
with foreign tourists
the ever evolving city of Tokyo.
Imperial Palace Marunouchi
(Area around Tokyo station)
Nihombashi bridge Image of Nihombashi’s
redevelopment
Marunouchi is located between the Imperial Palace and the massive
transport terminal, Tokyo station. The name originates from its location
within the outer moat of the Edo Castle in the Edo Period (1603-1868).
Today, this area, including neighboring Otemachi, is a business district
where Japan’s leading companies are headquartered.
Shinjuku’s skyscrapers
and Mt. Fuji
Tokyo’s leading landmark, the
Tokyo Metropolitan Government
buildings Shibuya Hikarie
Odaiba Tokyo Big Sight
A waterfront area with plenty of shopping,
restaurants, and entertainment. It is also
the site of Japan’s largest international
exhibition center, Tokyo Big Sight.
where Japan s leading companies are headquartered.
Ginza Tsukiji Market Shiodome after redevelopment
and Hama-rikyu Gardens Image of Shimbashi /
Toranomon’s redevelopment
Toranomon
The Attractions
of Tokyo
Roppongi
Tokyo Tower
(333m-high broadcasting tower)
Tokyo Midtown
10 11
Marunouchi and Nihombashi
Ginza, Shimbashi, Toranomon
Roppongi
Shinjuku and Shibuya
Odaiba
Nihombashi flourished as a commercial center from the Edo Period, and is
an area where one can find traditional old shops in harmony with
state-of-the-art buildings. Today, with Japan’s central bank - the Bank of
Japan - and the Tokyo Stock Exchange, among other organizations,
headquartered here, Nihombashi serves as the center of Japan’s finance.
In Shinjuku, the east and west sides pose an interesting contrast: the west
side has the Tokyo Metropolitan Government buildings and rows of other
majestic skyscrapers such as office buildings and hotels, while the east
side has one of Tokyo’s most lively atmospheres, notably Kabukicho, a
major entertainment district. It is an area with a variety of “faces” and filled
with energy.
Shibuya is at the forefront of young people’s fashion and culture and is
bustling with many young people. It is a growing hub of the creative
contents industry.
The name for Ginza originates from the fact that the agency in charge of
minting silver coins was located here during the Edo Period. With streets
lined with department stores and high-end boutiques, Ginza is
well-known as one of the world’s leading shopping districts, drawing
tourists from all over the world.
In the Shimbashi and Toranomon area, a new symbolic street, Ring Road
No.2, is under construction. In parallel with this road development, a
project is now underway to redevelop the surrounding area.
Roppongi is a popular area, which in recent years has seen the construction
of megacomplexes like Roppongi Hills and Tokyo Midtown, complete with
shopping centers, hotels, museums, and other facilities. This is Tokyo’s
rapidly changing, trendsetting district. A highly cosmopolitan flavor is also
present due to the numerous foreign embassies, government establishments,
and companies in and around the area.
A popular fashion building
with young women,
“SHIBUYA109”
It’s all here
The National Art Center,Tokyo