Outline
Potential of Hamamatsu Area
The Greater Hamamatsu Area is located 240km southwest of Tokyo and is blessed with a balmy climate and much natural beauty. The area has a unique local cultural spirit referred to as 'Yaramaika' in Japanese, which means 'Go for it!' or 'Just do it!' in English. This spirit encourages people to tackle all challenges and it especially thrives in the technology sector. It is evident by the number of internationally renowned companies which have roots in Greater hamamatsu Area. The most notable successes are in the fields of transportation, machinery, and musical instruments. In addition to the global companies, these fields include numerous state-of-the-art business entities and R&D enterprises. In this area, academic research institutions including Shizuoka University (Faculties of Engineering and Information, the Research Institute of Electronics), the Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, The Hamamatsu Industrial Research Institute of Shizuoka Prefecture, various R&D companies possessing advanced technologies, and other public testing and research organizations, have been working together in order to develop new technologies and products. Local industry organizations such as the Hamamatsu Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the organization for Hamamatsu Technopolis are closely tied together to provide substantial support and increase cooperation between industry, universities and local government.
Toyohashi City is in the east Mikawa region of Aichi Prefecture and the University of Toyohashi serves as a core institute in this area. It is geographically close to the greater Hamamatsu area. Hamamatsu and Toyohashi are jointly promoting the Industrial Cluster Project.