KOTRA Establishes Export Platform for Japanese Local Governments' 'GovTech'

Japan Local Governments' DX Market Entry Strategy Briefing Held
Tokyo-to Shibuya-gu and 5 Other Japanese Local Governments Participate

KOTRA supports the entry of Korean 'GovTech' companies into the Japanese market. GovTech refers to technologies used to improve public services and digitize administrative procedures.

Exterior view of KOTRA headquarters in Yeomgok-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul. [Photo by KOTRA]

On the 10th, KOTRA announced that it held the 'Strategy Briefing Session for Entering the Japanese Local Government Digital Transformation (DX) Market' at its headquarters in Yeomgok-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul.

Since 2021, KOTRA has been supporting the participation of Korean companies in Japanese local government DX projects. This is the first time that a large number of Japanese local government officials have visited Korea to attend the event. Representatives from six Japanese local governments, including Shibuya Ward in Tokyo, Yokohama City, Okinawa Prefecture and the Okinawa IT Innovation Strategy Center (ISCO), Nagoya City, Kobe City, and Shizuoka Prefecture, attended the briefing to discuss GovTech cooperation plans with Korean companies.

The event consisted of ▲ a briefing on trends and entry strategies in the Japanese DX market ▲ presentations on promising projects by Japanese local governments ▲ one-on-one consultations with each Japanese local government. Along with presentations of successful cases by Korean companies participating in local government proof-of-concept (PoC) projects, Japanese local government officials introduced major DX projects.

The Japanese government is promoting the realization of a digital government centered on the Digital Agency, launched in September 2021. According to the Japanese think tank Fujikimera General Institute, the Japanese DX market is expected to grow 2.8 times from 2021 to 2030, reaching approximately 6.5195 trillion yen (about 61.15 trillion KRW).

KOTRA plans to hold the '2024 ICT Expo in Japan' in early November in Tokyo to support the Korean companies and Japanese local governments that participated in this event.

Jung Wooyoung, Head of KOTRA's Innovation Growth Division, said, "Now is the right time to quickly respond to the growth of the Japanese DX market and enter (Japan). We will strengthen support to grow Korea’s world-class digital platform government solutions into a new export-driven industry."