Biotech regions in Japan

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As Japan’s population ages more rapidly than that of any other developed country, the medical and healthcare markets in Japan are expected to expand significantly in the future. In response to the Japanese public’s increased awareness of health issues and the government’s implementation of supportive policies, the market is developing new fields that include preventive medicine with an emphasis on the prevention of age-related diseases.


The ever-changing and expanding medical and healthcare market in Japan has contributed to developing many new business opportunities; for example, in generics, over-the-counter drugs (OTCs), and health management services. In addition, novel drugs and medical devices, including biopharmaceuticals and nanomedicines, are under development. Companies from other industries are also entering the market, leading to dynamic business activities.

MedTech market

The Japanese medtech market ranks third in the world, following the U.S. and Germany. According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the market size is expected to increase drastically in the next two years. Japan is highly competitive in the market for diagnostic imaging systems, with half of all products being exported. The market for therapeutic instruments, on the other hand, largely depends on imports and therefore the presence of imported products is more conspicuous than in other markets. Progress has been seen in the development of next-generation drug delivery systems (DDS), combinations of drugs and medical devices, and molecular imaging in the field of nanomedicine. As Japan has highly advanced technologies such as electronics and IT, it is expected that novel medical devices will be developed by making full use of these technologies.

Pharma market

The Japanese pharma market ranks second in the world after the U.S. with cardiovascular drugs being the strongest therapeutic area, which is attributable to the aging society. The overall high growth of the pharma sector is expected to continue, also because more new anti-cancer drugs are to be approved in the near future. In the therapeutic areas of biotechnology-based antibodies and low-molecular-weight targeted agents, foreign-affiliated companies have been demonstrating outstanding performance. The OTC market, where also some non-prescription drugs containing the same active pharmaceutical ingredients as those in approved prescription drugs are sold, is also expected to grow strongly in the coming years. Thus, more foreign-affiliated companies that possess patents on many active ingredients of prescription drugs are expected to enter the non-prescription drug market. In the area of orphan drugs, including some vaccines that are less marketable despite high medical needs, the government is offering intensified assistance in developing these drugs. There are also high expectations for foreign companies to play an active role in this area, including partnership agreements with Japanese companies.
Materials provided by eLSi help European companies to tap into this potential by providing market insight and business culture training, necessary to build up a good working relationship with Japanese partners.

Opportunities for European SMEs

Innovative European biotechnology and medtech companies are strategically taking advantage of the strong and increasingly open Japanese life science market. Japan offers interesting opportunities for collaborations in various scientific fields, e.g. in protein and stem cell research. The Japanese pharma industry shows an active interest in cooperations, licensing deals, M&A, opening up more and more to international partners. In addition, Japan has one of the most attractive healthcare markets worldwide. European life science SMEs with their innovative products and services are highly valued in Japan and benefit from a fast and sustained profitability on the Japanese market.