Industrial Complex and Innovative SME in the Osaka Metropolitan Region

Since WWII, the Japanese central and local governments have supported private enterprise and built public facilities and infrastructure. Thereby private enterprises have been favored their internal economy. Also, central and local governments guided grouping the enterprises concerned to industrial estate and complex. In the Osaka metropolitan region, there are three types of industrial complex and estates: Type A is Bay-area Conbinate (Sakai-Semboku Conbinate) Type B is an industrial estate supported by municipal government Type C is an “independent” industrial estate. Type A, Sakai-Semboku Conbinate, is located in the Osaka Bay area of Sakai City and Takaishi City. It consists of about 200 big businesses, mainly electric and gas generation, oil refineries, and iron and steel manufacturing plants. Type B, Techno-stage Izumi located in the Izumi Hills to the south of Osaka. Enterprises located in Techno-stage Izumi have access to a full range of technical support services through the Research Results Application Plaza and the Technology Research Institute of Osaka Prefecture, which is located adjacent to them. Enterprises located in Techno-stage Izumi consist mainly of innovative SME (small- and medium-sized enterprises). Type C, “independent” industrial estate does not receive support from the municipal government. Naniwa Kigyo Danchi is located in the Taisho Ward in western Osaka City. All enterprises located in this industrial estate are SME. They are actively connected with each other by means of the Internetdepartmental bulletin pape