Third day of economic mission to Japan: focus on start-ups during visit to Tsukuba and meeting with Japan-Luxembourg Parliamentary Friendship League

The third day of the mission was mainly marked by an event dedicated to the start-up ecosystem, at which the Japanese start-up "Thermalytica", a spin-off from the Tsukuba-based National Institute for Materials Science, active in space technologies, officially announced the opening of an office in Luxembourg. The event was held in Tsukuba.

The day began with a breakfast meeting with the Japan-Luxembourg Parliamentary Friendship League, during which HRH the Hereditary Grand Duke, Xavier Bettel, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, and Lex Delles, Minister of the Economy, SMEs, Energy and Tourism, had a chance to exchange with its President, Yoshima Hayashi and several other members of the National Diet of Japan.

After having held several ministerial positions, including the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yoshima Hayashi, has been, since December 2023, Cabinet Chief Secretary of the Japanese Prime Minister's Office.

Visit of Tsukuba city

The participants then left Tokyo for the city of Tsukuba, Japan's research and innovation hub, around 1h30 from the capital, where they were welcomed with honors by the city's mayor, Tatsuo Igarashi, for a working lunch.

As a special city with greater autonomy, Tsukuba is home to 60 national research institutes and two national universities, grouped into five zones: higher education and training, construction research, physical science and engineering research, biological and agricultural research, and joint (public) facilities. These zones are surrounded by more than 240 private research institutes. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is headquartered here. Of the city's 245,000 inhabitants, 20,000 work in the research sector. The city is renowned for its strong support for start-ups.

The afternoon was punctuated by a visit to the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), one of Japan's largest national research institutes, which is characterized by a strong culture of cooperation with the industrial world and is home to an R&D center for quantum technologies. The visit was organized to establish initial contact and explore areas for future collaboration.

The delegation then visited the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) for a guided tour of the research laboratories. NIMS is a leading research institute in Japan, dedicated to advancing the field of materials science. The purpose of the visit was to take a close look at Japan's cutting-edge materials research, which forms one of the foundations of Japanese industry, and to explore opportunities for future collaboration in research and industrial applications.

The data economy and artificial intelligence were discussed on numerous occasions during these visits, which were also attended by the business delegation led by the Chamber of Commerce.

"Tsukuba-Luxembourg start-up night"

At the end of the day, an event dedicated to start-ups highlighted the strengths of both ecosystems, and four Luxembourg and Japanese start-ups presented their innovative and technological solutions in the form of pitches. Lex Delles, Minister of the Economy, SMEs, Energy and Tourism, gave the opening speech, in which he reiterated why Luxembourg is an attractive starting market for foreign companies wishing to enter the European market.

The event, organized jointly by Luxinnovation, the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce and Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), the Japanese agency responsible for promoting foreign trade, in line with the agreements signed between these institutions. It brought together some 94 companies: 43 on site and 51 online. As a reminder, in December 2022, Luxinnovation signed a memorandum of understanding with Tsukuba, with a view to cooperating to promote economic development and innovation and provide mutual support to innovative companies on both sides, and at the same time, the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce and Luxinnovation also signed a memorandum of understanding with JETRO to strengthen their cooperation.

During the seminar, Thermalytica announced the opening of a subsidiary in Luxembourg. A spin-off from NIMS, it offers cutting-edge solutions based on its patented TIISA® thermal insulation materials, for terrestrial and space applications. It took part in the ICT Spring trade fair in 2023, after which it applied for and was selected to take part in the Fit 4 Start acceleration program.

Lex Delles, Minister for the Economy, SMEs, Energy and Tourism, comments: "I'm delighted to have been able to visit Tsukuba today, to meet young entrepreneurs and researchers, and to discover technological innovations in a wide range of sectors. The example of Thermalytica, which decided to establish a long-term presence in the Grand Duchy by opening a subsidiary in record time, is very encouraging in terms of our country's attractiveness as a location for European companies. I hope this success story will inspire other Japanese start-ups to follow the same path."

To round off the day, Hajime Sawabe, Honorary Consul General of Luxembourg and former CEO of TDK in Luxembourg, hosted the official delegation for a courtesy dinner.

Press release by the Ministry of the Economy / Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade