A workshop on "Policies on Assisting European Small & Medium Businesses Expanding into Japan" was held by the joint sponsorship of JETRO and YNU at the JETRO headquarters on January 27, 2011.

Since two years ago , the European Commission has been conducting studies on seven countries into which European small and medium businesses have been expanding their operations with respect to their "Policies on Assistance to European Small & Medium Businesses Expanding Abroad." The workshop was held as the culmination of its Japan study. Professor Itsutomo Mitsui (Graduate School and Research Institute of Environment and Information Sciences, YNU) and YNU Center for Corporate Strategy and Economic Growth (Director: Taro Akiyama, Professor of Economics) jointly conducted the study/research on Japan, one of the seven countries, by using interview techniques.

A number of people attended the workshop representing the organizations/companies that were interviewed and other related organizations. Also present were, from the European side, representatives from the Delegation of the European Union to Japan, the British Embassy, the Austrian Embassy, EU-Japan Center for Industrial Cooperation, European Business Council in Japan, German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan, and European small and medium businesses operating in Japan, and, from the Japan side, representatives from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Trade Policy Bureau, Kanto Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI-KANTO), Small and Medium Enterprise Agency, Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation (SMRJ) and Japan Small Business Research Institute (JSBRI). EIM Business & Policy Research (EIM BV) of the Netherlands, who was commissioned by the European Commission to put together the seven-nation research that includes Japan, was also represented in the workshop, contributing to a variety of heated discussions.