Can foreign companies participate in tenders in Japan? Public tenders in Japan are an attractive but too often overlooked opportunity for EU companies. Moreover, as an EU company, public tenders in Japan are more accessible to EU companies due to the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). However, winning such a tender as a foreign company requires thorough preparation. Luckily, EU-funded project GOOSE, under the leadership of Flanders Investment & Trade (FIT) office in Japan, is organizing a physical trade mission to Japan, together with 3 other project partners: ACCIÓ - Agency for Business Competitiveness, Croatian Employers` Association and Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

23 companies have already signed up to participate in this mission from Estonia, Belgium (Flanders), Spain (Catalonia) and Croatia. These companies offer innovative solutions for ICT, smart cities, smart health, and green economy fields.

Even if the Japanese public procurement offers are open to non-Japanese companies, the reality is that it is difficult to participate in the tenders without local partners. During the mission, EU companies will have the chance to meet potential local partners, and public institutions, and learn about public procurement procedures from various experts. The mission takes place on 16-18 April 2024 in Tokyo.

GOOSE is the sole European project to test how much EU’s FTA public procurement chapters are opening them up to European companies, whilst also developing a sound strategy to boost European companies bidding successfully.

Source: Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry