Interview with companies expanded
into Okinawa from Overseas

Company FILE.01
Okinawa Hi-Think Corporation

 

Company information

Dalian Hi-Think Computer Technology, Coup.
Location	High and New Technology Industrial Park, Dalian, China
Industry	Software development, Information services
Web	http://www.dhc.com.cn/

 

 

Okinawa Hi-Think Corporation
Location	14-29 Suzaki, Uruma City, Okinawa Prefecture
Industry	Software development, Information services
Web	http://www.ohcc.co.jp/

 

Details of business in Okinawa

With strong support from Okinawa Prefecture, our company was established in 2015 at the Okinawa IT Shinryo Park as the near-shore business base of the DHC Group in Japan and is now in its sixth year. We are mainly commissioned by major IT companies in the Tokyo area to provide development, maintenance, and verification services for business and embedded software, system monitoring and operation, and BPO services.

How and why did you locate or start your business in Okinawa?

The DHC Group, based in Dalian, China, has more than 20 years of experience in offshore development for Japan and has accumulated know-how in the IT industry, which requires high technology and quality. In recent years, against the backdrop of the growing near-shore needs of our customers, mainly system development for government offices, we opened a near-shore development base in Okinawa with the aim of maximizing the cost-benefit, after considering various efforts by Okinawa Prefecture such as well-developed IT infrastructure including Data Centers and IT human resources development.

What are the advantages of locating in Okinawa?

Since Okinawa Prefecture has been very active in promoting the IT/ICT industry from a global perspective, we received strong support from the prefecture from the beginning, including location support and human resource development training. Now in our sixth year, we moved to a new office in the brand-new building at IT Shinryo Park, and we are satisfied with the environment.

Future business development and prospects

Recently, due to the impact of the COVID-19 disaster, the global situation, market needs, technology trends, and work environments in the IT industry have been changing dramatically, and Japanese companies have been accelerating their DX activities. We see this as a chance in a million. We are planning to increase the number of employees to 300 by 2025, and we will contribute to the development of the information industry in Okinawa by providing high-value IT services by bringing together the accumulated know-how of the DHC Group in Okinawa.

Company FILE.02
FPT OKINAWA R&D CO., LTD.

 

Company information

 

FPT Software Co., Ltd.
Location	Hanoi, Vietnam
Industry	Software development
Web	https://www.fpt-software.jp/

《Okinawa Base》

FPT Okinawa R&D Co., Ltd.
Location	2-8-1 Kumoji, Naha City, Okinawa 6th floor of JEI Naha Building
Industry	IT (software development, consulting, Integration, operation and maintenance, and temporary staffing)
Web	https://www.fpt-software.jp/fpt-okinawa/

Details of business in Okinawa

FPT Okinawa R&D Co., Ltd. was established in 2017 as a near-shore base for FPT Japan Holdings, the Japanese subsidiary of Vietnam's largest ICT company FPT Software. First, we opened the First center in Kumoji, Naha City, and as our business expands, we opened the second Center in May 2020. Our main business is near-shore development and verification work with top Japanese companies, and we aim to realize a development system with 500 employees by 2023.

How and why did you locate or start your business in Okinawa?

Okinawa is geographically located in the center of East Asia, can access not only Japan, but also major cities in the huge Asian market of about 2 billion people, such as Taipei, Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Manila, and Hanoi, in about 4 hours. In addition, the climate is very similar to Vietnam, so it is a comfortable environment for Vietnamese engineers to work. Furthermore, because there are relatively few earthquakes and they are moderately distant from each other in the Tokyo metropolitan area, we can also reduce the risk of simultaneous disasters, which is an advantageous location in terms of corporate BCP. In establishing Okinawa R&D, we researched various cities in Japan, and as a result, we decided that Okinawa was the most suitable location overall.

What are the advantages of locating in Okinawa?

FPT Okinawa R & D is able to meet not only the purpose of cost reduction in business but also the needs of information security for the customers who cannot take data to overseas (off-shore). This will enable us to offer a wider range of options to existing and new customers, and it greatly contributes to the expansion of the FPT Group's overall business. We are also very satisfied with the fact that our clients and our engineers can move around flexibly because of the good accessibility by air flights from various cities in Japan.

Future business development and prospects

In the future, we intend to provide more support for the digital transformation (DX) that many companies are facing issues, with our "Near-shore (Okinawa) + Off-shore (Overseas)" system. Therefore, we plan to build an Okinawa-based training environment in order to enhance engineer’s resources who are familiar with cutting-edge technology. Through this, we hope to attract many talented IT personnel from Vietnam to come to Japan and strongly contribute to the development of the "IT Ecosystem in Okinawa" that combines human resources from Okinawa and Vietnam.

 

Interview with companies expanded
into Okinawa from Mainland Japan

Company FILE.03
AXIOHELIX Co. Ltd.

 

Company information

 

AXIOHELIX Co. Ltd.
Head Office	Location	2-16-3 Nishi, Naha City, Okinawa, Japan Yashima-gumi Head Office Building 2nd Floor
	Industry	Systems development, consulting
	Web	https://www.axiohelix.com/
Tokyo Branch Office	Location	1-12-17 Kanda Izumi-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Kubota Building 8F

 

Details of business in Okinawa

IT: Building systems using AI and Deep Learning
Life Sciences: Statistical Analysis, and Genome Analysis of Biology Using Databases
Energy: Home energy storage business, monitoring systems
Our company is headquartered in Okinawa, with a satellite office in Tokyo and a development base in Sri Lanka, and we are actively developing client-centered business (You Are the IDEA) to meet the needs of each client.

How and why did you locate or start your business in Okinawa?

Our company applied for Business attraction projects by Okinawa Prefecture and was selected in 2005, and we expanded our gene function system business in Okinawa. At that time, it was difficult to get support for gene function analysis because there was a great deal of concern about risk. In such a situation, while recognizing the risks, Okinawa Prefecture provided us with various support in addition to direct subsidies. It is a Prefecture that accepts challenges. Unfortunately, the business was not very successful, but the fact that they wanted us to stay in Okinawa and do our best is still a great support for us as a company that started in Okinawa Prefecture.

What are the advantages of locating in Okinawa?

Generous support from Hands-on Managers at the Okinawa Prefecture and Okinawa Industry Support Center. Especially, company matching, accompany the business, and business subsidy support without regard to risks. The Okinawa Prefectural Enterprise Fund, The Okinawa Development Finance Corporation and the investment system are also possible for SMEs (there is little competition as in big cities). Also, since some of our employees are from warm regions such as Sri Lanka, Okinawa was also a good place to live.

Future business development and prospects

We have considered and implemented the Okinawa Monozukuri(manufacturing) Platform several times in the past, but have not been able to successfully realized.
I believe that the future will develop not only through the pursuit of convenience and financial abundance, but also through eco-distribution, renewable energy, and agriculture based on the SDGs. Since Okinawa Prefecture, where our company is based, is a hub between Japan and Asia, we would like to develop business efficiency solutions using manufacturing and IT that are conscious of the SDGs.

Company FILE.04
Sony Business Operations Inc.

 

Company information

Sony Business Operations Inc.
Head Office	Location	807 Oozato Aza Nakama, Nanjo City, Okinawa Prefecture
	Industry	Office work consignment, Business Process Outsourcing
	Web	https://www.sonybo.co.jp/

Details of business in Okinawa

Outsourcing of office work from Sony Group companies
(Administrative work related to manufacturing, purchasing, product/parts logistics, product/parts import/export, production control, invoicing, product ordering, accounting/finance support, general affairs support, employee relocation support, etc.)

How and why did you locate or start your business in Okinawa?

2011 Established Sony Business Operations Inc.
Established through the merger of Sony Marketing Inc. (Sales operation section), Sony Supply Chain Solutions, Inc. (Okinawa Administrative Center) , and Sony Customer Service Inc. (Okinawa Administrative Center).

What are the advantages of locating in Okinawa?

Based on Sony's philosophy of "free and open-mindedness" and "spirit of challenge," the company encourages business improvement activities while providing work styles that suit each employee's lifestyle. With small awareness, employees are promoting business improvement across organizations from the bottom up. Not only do things in a certain way, and we speak out freely and discuss what we think, and we change our work processes. We feel that this corporate culture of Sony Business Operations Inc. is made possible by its location in Okinawa.

Future business development and prospects

From here in Okinawa, we will support Sony's business in the area of operations. Each employee enjoys work in his or her own way. Growth as an individual leads to the growth of the team, and the company. This corporate culture of Sony Business Operations is great strength in conducting operations of office work. We would like to take advantage of this strength to contribute to the community and develop the company.