Kankouju or ‘Public Agency Orders’ relates to the budget of public procurement spending reserved specifically for SMEs. This earmarked budget is regulated by the Act on Ensuring Receipt of Orders from the Government and Other Public Agencies by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises established in 1966.
In fact, more than half of the tenders are reserved for SMEs. The Japanese government sets a target for each year, in FY 2013. 56% of the total expected demand of €61.7 billion was reserved for SMEs.