PoliTO Japan Hub: supporting Italian Companies in Japan
Politecnico di Torino serves as a gateway for Italian enterprises seeking to enter the Japanese market – a complex yet highly promising environment that requires careful and strategic engagement. Since 2023, the Hub’s office, hosted at the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Japan, has provided a solid platform to pursue this goal.
The idea for the PoliTO Japan Hub was conceived in 2022, leading to the opening of its first office in Kyoto in 2023, making Politecnico di Torino the first Italian university with a presence in Japan. More recently, the Hub relocated to Tokyo, where its new offices, hosted at the Italian Chamber of Commerce, were officially inaugurated on September 29 with a ceremony at the Italian Embassy. From Tokyo, the Hub actively works to strengthen academic, industrial, and technological relations between Italy and Japan.
“Our office serves as a representative hub to foster relationships between Politecnico and Japan – explains Giuseppe Quaglia, Director of the Japan Hub – Currently, we collaborate with around twenty partner universities and have signed six new agreements in the past year. We welcome any Italian company interested in operating in Japan. Tokyo is at the heart of our network, but we also work closely with Kyoto, Osaka, and other regions. Japanese companies are showing great interest in our activities, as seen during recent events attended by firms such as Kawasaki, Panasonic, Ricoh, and JTEKT”.
The PoliTO Japan Hub thus acts as a “mediator” between the worlds of research and business in Italy and Japan. For Italian companies, establishing direct contact with Japanese counterparts can be challenging; collaboration through a research institution like Politecnico, often partnered with a Japanese university, can provide a more effective path. Conversely, Japanese companies, particularly those with European branches and connected with Politecnico, may be interested in connecting with Italian businesses.
The Hub pays special attention to SMEs and startups. “Our I3P Incubator was recognised as the World’s Best Public Incubator by the World Rankings of Business Incubators and Accelerators 2019-2020 – says Professor Quaglia – We are developing a joint initiative between I3P and the Japan Hub to support SMEs and startups in approaching the Japanese market. It represents a new way of envisioning Politecnico’s presence in Japan”. This approach also extends to students and researchers, whose academic and professional mobility can serve as a valuable link between companies and Japan.
The Hub’s initiatives cover a wide range of scientific and technological fields, including engineering, architecture, design, energy, health and aging technologies, robotics, territorial resilience, urban planning, cultural heritage enhancement, and aerospace. The latter was central to the Politecnico’s participation in Expo Osaka 2025, with the multimedia exhibition “Flying: Where Dreams Meet Technology” and two conferences: “Scientific Pathways from Turin to Osaka: A Cross-Cultural Collaboration Series” and a meeting dedicated to research in the fields of Advanced Air Mobility and the New Space Economy.
The PoliTO Japan Hub operates across four key areas: advancing research, promoting technology transfer, developing educational collaborations, and strengthening the international reputation of both Politecnico and the Italian industrial system in Japan.
“Japan has a strong interest in Italy, not only in its culture but also in its technological excellence. However, Italian companies must remember that the Japanese context is unique: it demands patience, respect, and a long-term perspective – remarks Stefania Specchia, Board Member of the Japan Hub – It represents not only a scientific and technological exchange, but also a cultural one, fostering the mobility of people through reciprocal programs that welcome Japanese students and technicians to Italian companies, and vice versa. The PoliTO Japan Hub truly serves as a bridge between these two worlds”.
