ATR in Keihanna Science City and Kyoto Prefecture Sign a Letter of Intent
with ACCIÓ Tokyo - Catalonia Trade & Investment in Spain
～ Promote Cooperation in Technological Innovation, Industrial Research and Development ～

Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR) (Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto; President: Toru Asami; hereafter "ATR"), together with Kyoto Prefecture, has signed a letter of Intent with ACCIÓ Tokyo - Catalonia Trade & Investment in Spain (hereafter "ACCIÓ Tokyo").

Since 2016 October when Keihanna Research Complex project began, ATR, located in Keihanna Science City, has developed a collaboration network with innovation promotion institutions and individuals around the world, particularly in Barcelona, Spain, Israel, Canada, New York City, USA, and India. By effectively utilizing such network, ATR conducts a global startup acceleration program called “KGAP+” and open innovation business creation programs called “KOSAINN" and "KOSAINN+" which large Japanese enterprises and startup from Japan and abroad work jointly. These activities, as a result, have been contributing to establish a global innovation ecosystem at Keihanna Science City.

ATR has also started collaborating with ACCIÓ Tokyo since 2021, receiving Catalan startups nominated by ACCIÓ Tokyo for the 7th (May 10 - August 31, 2022) and 8th (October 11, 2022 - February 1, 2023) cohorts of KGAP+ to support their business expansion to Japan. Then, on October 6, ACCIÓ Tokyo, Kyoto Prefecture and ATR signed a Letter of Intent for cooperation in technological innovation, industrial research and development in Kyoto Prefecture and Catalonia.

Based on this Letter of Intent, Ms. Yuko Kijimoto, Director, ACCIÓ Tokyo as a core global partner of KGAP+, participated as a panelist at the "Kyoto Smart City Expo 2022" (October 6-7, 2022 at the Keihanna Open Innovation Center (KICK), organized by Organizing Committee of Kyoto Smart City Expo (members: Kyoto Prefecture, etc.). ATR and ACCIÓ will hold a joint event at the “Smart City Expo World Congress 2022” (Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, November 15-17, 2022) to showcase each other's innovation ecosystems and startups. In these ways, the three organizations will deepen their collaboration and corporate in innovation promotion activities that Kyoto Prefecture and Catalan government will pursue in the future.

ACCIÓ Tokyo is a government agency under the Catalan Government Agency for Business Competitiveness (ACCIÓ), which strengthens economic relations between Catalonia and the world, and supports innovation and the growth of the Catalan business fabric. The ACCIÓ currently has 40 offices worldwide, and the Tokyo office, which opened in 1988, was the Catalan Government’s first office abroad. Based on the experience and achievements accumulated over the past 30 years since its establishment, the ACCIÓ Tokyo provides a variety of services in Japanese for trade and investment between Japan and Catalonia, which attracts the largest number of Japanese companies in Spain and the entire Southern Europe.

We are very pleased to announce the signing of the Letter of Intent between Kyoto Prefecture, ATR, and ACCIÓ Tokyo, confirming our mutual intention to establish a broad-based cooperative relationship. It is also pleased to be able to take this opportunity to be part of the global ecosystem, centered on ATR. As Catalan companies gain access to Japan through KGAP+, we hope that Kyoto Prefecture and ATR companies will be able to gain access to Spain and Europe through the Catalan ecosystem.

Kyoto Prefecture has been strengthening its ties with Spain since the start of the Smart City Exchange with the City of Barcelona in 2014. Now, we have further strengthened those ties by signing the Letter of Intent with ACCIÓ Tokyo. We hope that this LOI will help build a cooperative relationship between companies in Kyoto and Catalonia and promote innovation on both sides.

ATR has been steadily building a cooperative relationship with ACCIÓ during the outbreak of the COVID-19, through such activities as presenting at virtual events hosted by ACCIÓ at the Smart City Expo World Congress and receiving startups nominated by ACCIÓ for KGAP+. As a result, we are very pleased to have reached the Letter of Intent with ACCIÓ Tokyo, together with Kyoto Prefecture. We look forward to further strengthening and expanding our collaborative activities in both directions through this LOI.

■ Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR)

Location: 2-2-2 Hikaridai Seika-cho, Sorakugun, Kyoto, Japan (Keihanna Science City)
President: Tohru Asami
Overview: ATR pursues world-leading, brilliant research achievements in computational neuroscience, deep interaction science, wireless communications, and life science as well as business developments, in collaboration between industry, academia and government
URL：https://www.atr.jp/index_e.html

■ Contact

Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR)
Strategic Planning and Publicity Division
TEL： 0774-95-1176　　　Email： pratr.jp