Japan Hosts Israeli High-Tech Delegation To Foster Innovation Across Its Industries

This article was first published by The Times of Israel and was re-posted with permission.

After running a successful hackathon in Israel in October, Toyota has decided that it wants more Israeli innovation – and this time it’s bringing that innovation to its home base.

This month, the company is holding an event during which members of an Israeli delegation are meeting some 50 representatives from the purchasing and R&D departments of the company.

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Toyota’s electric city car

The event is just one of several that the newly established Israel trade office in Osaka is setting up. The new branch, in one of the world’s leading financial centers, will open up new economic opportunities for Israeli companies, including Japan’s large automakers, said Amit Lang, director general of the Israeli Economy Ministry, who is in Osaka to inaugurate the new center as well as lead a delegation of Israeli automotive supply companies as part of his working visit to the country.

The goal of the Israeli delegation, organized with the Israel Export Institute, is to create business ties between Israeli companies and potential business partners in the field of auto services in an effort to increase exports to Japan, said Lang. It also aims at presenting Japanese companies with possibilities of investing in Israel.

“Over the past year, there has been a noted increase in the interest of Japanese companies in Israel in a variety of fields, evidenced by the arrival of Japanese companies to Israel and their willingness to host Israeli companies in Japan,” Lang said.

Israel isn’t the first place you’d think of when looking for companies that develop technology for the auto industry, but there are a number of local firms that do just that – providing manufacturers with ways to build quality cars for less money, helping salespeople to sell parts and services over the Internet, and even helping drivers drive more safely, using sensors that alert them when they get too close to the car ahead of them.

Nissan’s self-driving, zero-emissions car

Among the Israeli firms active in the auto business is Israeli startup Geomatrix, which developed in cooperation with the Israeli R&D center of Mckit Software Autoflat a system that is designed to help companies in the sheet metal industry save money.

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Photos: Takadanobaba Kurazawa