The just released report by Paul van der Plas on “Post -pandemic industries – Opportunities for EU & Japanese businesses in adapting together to a post-Covid world” with the support from the Centre’s MINERVA^[1] Market & Policy Intelligence action, analyses how the pandemic has caused an incredible disruption in the global economy, with its aftermath being felt in every corner of the world and in every industry. Our scrambling to adjust, gave way to a whole range of technological but also social changes, many of which expected to have long lasting effects. One of them is the accelerated transition from physical to digital. While this development has been in progress since long before the pandemic came around, the pandemic turned it into a means of survival. It made the digitalisation process a revolution, rather than the evolution it was before.

For the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial cooperation, digitalisation (of the business support) is a key element for the future, not only to help SMEs with internationalisation, but also provide better opportunities to more EU SMEs - internationalising in a cheaper, faster, greener, more global and flexible ways, and delivering higher productivity compared to the ‘usual’, physical practice. The challenge, however, remains on how to best articulate the assets of digitalisation with the ones of the physical presence which bring relationships and trust.

A second key element is the EU-Japan business cooperation in third countries, whereby Japan is, beyond its own market, increasingly considered by European businesses as a strategic hub to access third markets, by partnering with Japanese businesses. Hence, the need to develop stronger connections with stakeholders in the third countries, such EEN members and European chambers of commerce & industry.

A third element for the future is developing further joint actions, mobilising the EU and its Member States’ Trade Promotion Organisations in a ‘Team Europe’ mindset by co-organising better business missions with an integrated approach with strong institutional, political and business ties, including industrial clusters and on a regional dimension. Therefore, the need to make stronger connection between ECCP, EEN, ETPOA and EBOWWN.

These elements of change, i.e. the digitalisation, EU and Japan acting together on the global scene, and a “Team Europe” approach, will build on elements of continuity of the EU-Japan Centre:  

• Trust - although an intangible added value, the trust that has been built by the Centre over 3 decades of cooperation with Japan is crucial for doing business, mobilising relevant stakeholders and delivering results in this country more than others;
• EPA, SPA and Connectivity Partnership - the Centre will continue to proceed and be in line with these 3 main EU-Japan Agreements, to which the recent EU-Japan Green Alliance is being added, and
• Economic diplomacy - the Centre will continue to deliver a coherent ‘package’ whilst integrating various tools, providing support and a range of business-related services.

It is our belief that the coherence, complementarity and synergies of these different actions and support services that constitute on the ground ‘EU economic diplomacy’ and lead to the effectiveness and success of the overall support provided to SMEs.

Dr. Philippe de Taxis du Poët
Managing Director (EU-side), EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation
Minister Counsellor, Delegation of the EU to Japan

^[1]MINERVA is a 6-month in-house research scheme in Japan, designed to support research and policy analysis of EU-Japan economic and industrial issues. More info and previous reports on for example “EU-Japan business-cooperation in third-markets – focus on digital economy” (Florence Arnu, 2020), “Japan’s circularity” (Helene Bangert, 2020) are available here. Two reports are in the pipeline at the moment: “Local and regional decarbonisation initiatives in Japan” by Emma Saraff, and “Digital transformation of Japanese firms and the opportunities for EU SMEs in Japan” by Lena Broeckaert.