The EU-Japan Centre is currently calling for expert report proposals for its "About Japan" information website (https://www.eu-japan.eu/eubusinessinjapan). The deadline for submitting proposals is September 27, 2023.

The EU-Japan Centre launched in 2013 a reference website for all EU companies wishing to do business with Japan: “EU BUSINESS IN JAPAN” (https://www.eu-japan.eu/eubusinessinjapan).

The objective of this website is to provide practical information for EU businesses in need of clear guidelines on trade and investment opportunities in Japan, including practical information on Japanese business sectors (market surveys, etc.) and advice on overcoming various barriers to the Japanese market (i.e. corporate taxation, IPR, etc.)

In order to provide reliable and up-to-date information on as many different relevant sectors and issues as possible, the EU-Japan Centre is heavily reliant on reports and articles from external experts. 

With this new call, the EU-Japan Centre is preparing for the reports and online webinars to be released in 2024. These reports should follow a structure that looks similar to the example below.

As a not-for-profit body, the EU-Japan Centre is only able to offer a nominal payment to contributing authors. However, each Author will receive an online acknowledgment (his/her name, company name and field of expertise published on the website). Should the visitors of the « EU BUSINESS IN JAPAN » portal be satisfied with the quality of the information made available on the website for a specific subject, and should they need further support, they will be invited to contact the author of the publication for further (chargeable) services.

If you don’t want to miss this unique occasion to appear on the reference portal for all EU business activities in Japan, proposal should be sent by email to Sofia Smerzi (click here) at the latest on September 27, 2023.

Desirable Topics

The EU-Japan Centre is currently interested in receiving reports covering the following topics:

Specific markets in Japan: 

• 6G in Japan
• Japan's Green Transformation (GX) investment policies and what it means for EU companies
• Smart grid market and opportunities for EU SMEs
• Fishery and seafoods sectors in Japan
• Laboratory equipment market
• Foodtech sector in Japan
• Chemicals sector in Japan
• Dermatology - skin care treatments market in Japan (both pharmaceutical and medical devices)

Operational issues: 

• Networking opportunities/How to build a network in Japan

In addition, experts are invited to submit any ideas or suggestions of Japan-related topics in their domain of expertise and of interest for EU industry (especially EU SMEs).

These reports should contain the most up-to-date information currently available. The EU-Japan Centre will accept unpublished papers as well as recent reports (published no further back than 2020) duly updated in 2023. Submissions must already have been proofread in English.

Report Structure

The final draft of the approved report should consist of a minimum of 10.000 words, however for some high-tech topics as well as the export flowcharts a different word count may be appropriate.
  
With regards to the report structure, the following structure can serve as an example:

• Executive Summary / Abstract
• Description, Scope of Coverage
• Market Analysis (per product/service covered in this sector)
  • Product/service/technology  description covered by this analysis (in the case of more product/service/technology covered in this sector)
  • Market Size, Trends, Profitability
  • Main Players (Competitors, Suppliers, Producers, Customers etc.)
  • Key Success Factors, Main Challenges, Opportunities
  • Distribution Channels
  • Importers & Related Organizations, Important trade fairs or other events
• Regulation for export to and sale in Japan (Standards, Labelling, Packaging...)
• Tax matters: Tariffs & Taxes
• Overview of the opportunities for EU SMEs and Recommendations 
• Appendix A: Complete Bibliography
• Appendix B: Literature & Web links

Presentations

The expert will have the opportunity to present his/her work during a one-hour webinar (including a Q&A session) to be scheduled around 2 months after the report release*. Applicants should bear this in mind when submitting their proposals.

Proposals

Your proposal should be written in English and include the following elements:

• The expert:
  • Full contact details of each expert involved in the proposal
  • CV(s)
  • Proof of expertise
  • Proof of experience
  • List of publications by the Author(s)
• The work / deliverables:
  • Table of Content
  • Methodology to be used
  • Expected number of words
• The Fee
  • The amount of nominal payment expected to be paid at the final delivery.
• The Delivery
  • Planned date for the interim delivery
  • Planned date for the final delivery

* Exact date and webinar date will be fixed after selection

Depending on your range of expertise, offers can be submitted for several reports.

These reports are intended for open access online publication, and they will be made public.

Submission

Your proposal should be sent by email to Sofia Smerzi (click here) at the latest on September 27, 2023.

Selection results

Selection criteria will include the background of the Author(s), the quality of the contents and the price of the report. In addition, proposals for reports which could contain interactive elements (i.e. embedded videos, etc.) may be favorably considered by the selection committee.

The results of the selection process will be announced by October 2023. More technical specifications will be sent to successful candidate authors.

Key Dates

1. Deadline for proposals: 27th September 2023
2. Selection results release: Early October
3. Final report delivery period: during 2023/2024*
4. Webinars after final report delivery: around 2 months after report publication*

* Exact dates will be fixed with each expert after selection

Contact

For further information, feel free to contact Sofia Smerzi (click here).

We look forward to receiving your proposals!