NEWS

2021 News Release

Select Year

Global Business Matching Program
Mitsui Fudosan Launches X-NIHONBASHI Global Hub Together with JAXA
—First Collaborative Project with NASA’s Ames Research Center—

February 15, 2021
Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.

Tokyo, Japan, February 15, 2021 - Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd., a leading global real estate company headquartered in Tokyo, will launch X-NIHONBASHI Global Hub, a global business matching program that seeks to promote collaboration in the aerospace field between Japanese and overseas companies and entry into the aerospace field from outside fields, through collaboration and cooperation with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (“JAXA”).

This program is Mitsui Fudosan’s first project to provide opportunities for business matching as part of co-creation activities in the JAXA Space Innovation through Partnership and Co-creation Program (“J-SPARC”; announced in the release dated February 15, 2021). For Mitsui Fudosan, the program will serve as the foothold of the X-NIHONBASHI project to promote business revitalization in aerospace-related fields through neighborhood creation.

Conceptual outline of X-NIHONBASHI Global Hub

For activities in 2021, Mitsui Fudosan will co-create programs throughout the year in cooperation with NASA’s world-renowned Ames Research Center (“NASA Ames”).

NASA Ames, JAXA, and X-NIHONBASHI (Mitsui Fudosan) will co-host an in-person business matching event between Japanese and US companies at NASA Ames’s California base (scheduled to be held in August 2021) in conjunction with the Space Symposium, the world’s largest business conference for the aerospace industry, held in Colorado, USA. In addition, by arranging events before and after as a series of programs in Nihonbashi throughout the year, the three parties will co-create high-quality and effective opportunities, and offer a business matching program extending a bridge to the world from Nihonbashi, which was the starting point of the Five Main National Roads during the Edo period (1603-1868)

X-NIHONBASHI Global Hub ’21 promotional artwork

■X-NIHONBASHI Global Hub ’21 Program Overview

1st event　B2B Forum for space innovation Kickoff Session
Date	March 5, 2021 9:00-11:00
Venue	Online (Simultaneous English to Japanese interpretation available)
Details	This program, which features “The Future of US-Japan Collaboration in the Aerospace Industry” as its main theme, will include an input session by a Japanese global analyst on the current status of the Japanese and US markets in the aerospace industry and the potential of global partnerships. We will welcome speakers from Japanese and US companies with experience in Japan-US collaboration and speakers from NASA Ames and JAXA who have extensive international experience to give presentations and hold discussions. These speakers will offer deep insight from the perspective of seasoned veterans, including examples of their successes and struggles, the concrete process to concluding deals, and points they have learned along the way, as well as their outlook for future collaborative development between Japan and the US, and will provide content to understand the current state of Japan-US aerospace collaboration.
URL to apply	https://www.x-nihonbashi.com/event-info/b2b-forum-for-space-innovation-kickoff-session

2nd event Global Partnerships
Date	April 16, 2021 18:00-21:00
Venue	In-person, face-to-face event in Nihonbashi
Location	COREDO Muromachi Terrace 3F, Muromachi Mitsui Hall & Conference
Details	We will hold a discussion on the latest key issues in the aerospace industry concerning the current state of global partnerships, with a primary focus on the US, geared toward Japanese companies that are considering aerospace development or participation in the aerospace industry, including overseas markets. We will invite guests including NASA, JAXA, and leading Japanese venture companies that are already advancing into the US, and provide content that will serve as a significant aid toward new entry into the aerospace industry and overseas markets. In-person networking is also scheduled to take place.

3rd event　　B2B Forum for space innovation
Date	August 2021 (planned)
Venue	In-person, face-to-face event at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California, USA
Details	An exclusive in-person, face-to-face event for Japanese and US companies will be held at NASA Ames’s California base in conjunction with the Space Symposium, the world’s largest business conference for the aerospace industry. We will provide an opportunity to match with key overseas players in the aerospace industry.

4th event　 Global Partnerships Success Stories
Date	December 2021 (planned)
Venue	In-person, face-to-face event in Nihonbashi (Muromachi Mitsui Hall & Conference)
Details	We will focus on companies that have made new entries into the aerospace industry or have succeeded in global business matching, and discuss the key factors behind their achievements. In addition, we will provide content to gain a comprehensive view of the aerospace industry in 2021 through a summary of the in-person, face-to-face event at NASA Ames and the Space Symposium which will take place in August. In-person networking is also scheduled to take place.

* All programs reflect current schedules. Details and times may change due to the impact of COVID-19.

■X-NIHONBASHI

X-NIHONBASHI is a series of projects that will drive innovation not only in space but on Earth by promoting co-creation activities among the diverse players who will gather in the area from the industrial, academic, and government sectors, and contribute to the expansion of business in aerospace-related fields by providing places and creating opportunities in the Nihonbashi area as promoted by Mitsui Fudosan.
Mitsui Fudosan is pushing ahead with initiatives in the aerospace field, a strategic category in the third stage of the Nihonbashi Revitalization Plan. Amid these initiatives, it opened X-NIHONBASHI TOWER at Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower in December 2020 to serve as a new place to promote the aerospace industry and as a base for co-creation and providing information, thereby officially launching X-NIHONBASHI. In addition, Mitsui Fudosan will position the X-NIHONBASHI Global Hub program as a part of X-NIHONBASHI, and promote it as a business that symbolizes creating opportunities.

Schematic diagram of the X-NIHONBASHI project

■JAXA Space Innovation through Partnership and Co-creation Program (J-SPARC)

J-SPARC is a program which began from talks between private businesses targeting the aerospace industry and JAXA. Having established a mutual commitment toward business development, the two parties will jointly examine business concepts and conduct exit-oriented technological development and demonstrations, creating new businesses. JAXA launched this program in May 2018, and is now advancing approximately 20 projects including activities that will help promote business development, such as activities for new market creation and providing a forum for cross-field collaboration.
J-SPARC official website: https://aerospacebiz.jaxa.jp/en/

■Mitsui Fudosan Group’s Contribution to SDGs　

The Mitsui Fudosan Group aims for a society that enriches both people and the planet under the principles of coexist in harmony with society, link diverse values and achieve a sustainable society, and advances business with an awareness of the environment (E), society (S) and governance (G), thus promoting ESG management. By further accelerating its ESG management, the Group will realize Society 5.0, which the Japanese government has been advocating, and contribute significantly to achieving the SDGs.

* The initiatives covered in this press release are contributing to two of the UN’s SDGs
https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/english/corporate/esg_csr/