Prefectures renew efforts to steal some of Nagoya's shine

BY MOTOYUKI MAEDA, THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

NAGOYA--Nagoya, the nation's fourth-largest city, is also an industrial hub whose economy is driven primarily by the automotive industry.

Now, this bustling metropolis is attracting attention from other prefectural governments, but not necessarily the sort that it, or Aichi Prefecture, really wants.

Municipalities from as far south as Okinawa Prefecture and Aomori Prefecture in the north are increasing their presence at representative offices here in the hope of drumming up interest in their own localities.

That is not all. They are also coming up with new tactics to try to convince firms based in Aichi Prefecture to shift production to their areas.

Currently, 18 prefectures have representative offices in Nagoya. Aomori, Akita, Yamagata, Gunma, Nagano, Shimane and Okinawa prefectures have all increased their office staff this spring, adding between one and six employees each.

Altogether, the number of employees at the seven offices jumped from 27 to 40. Meanwhile, some local governments, like that of Tottori Prefecture, bumped up part-time staff to full-time status.

Aomori Prefecture shares its Nagoya office with neighboring Akita and Iwate prefectures. Their joint office is on the 4th floor of a building in Nagoya's Naka Ward. Starting April 1, Aomori increased its staff from two to eight.

It also branched out by renting office space of its own on the 8th floor. The new Aomori-ken Nagoya Sangyo Ritchi Center specializes in attracting firms to Aomori Prefecture.

"Our work used to focus on tourism and local products. Now our focus is to attract companies," said center director Hiroshi Oyama.

Aichi-based companies such as Toyota Motor Corp. are of special interest to prefectural offices keen to lure them away to set up factories in their own prefectures.

Central Motor Co. is a Toyota-affiliated auto-assembling company based in Kanagawa Prefecture. It decided to move all its facilities, including its head office, to Miyagi Prefecture. Another Toyota affiliate, Tokai Rika Co., an auto parts maker based in Oguchi, Aichi Prefecture, established a technological development facility in Yamagata in January.

Kazuo Takeda, director of Yamagata Prefecture's Nagoya office, said: "Other companies are definitely contemplating a foray into the Tohoku region. It's our big chance (to sell Yamagata)."

Aomori Prefecture has plans to send three of six new staff members in its Nagoya office to automobile-related companies, including Toyota and Denso Corp., for one to two years of on-the-job training.

Staff will study cost-cutting and streamlining operations implemented in the private sector.

However, the true motive lies elsewhere.

An Aomori official confessed, "We want to build connections at these companies which will help lure businesses our way."

This move by Aomori Prefecture may well lead to more local governments following suit.

Even prefectures which had once "given up" are starting to change their mind. Miyagi Prefecture closed its Nagoya office in fiscal 2000 but officials are now "considering reopening" its base.

Under such spirited attacks from around the country, an official of the Aichi prefectural government commented, "We have to come up with measures to prevent an exodus of companies."(IHT/Asahi: May 14,2008)