A "Japanese Street" with a distinctive style of its own is steadily extending from the foot of the Lion's?/span> 瓱ountain as more and more Japanese enterprises take roots in the Suzhou High-Tech Development Zone. According to an official of the development zone, efforts have been made recently to further improve the investment environment and address the problems confronting Japanese investors in a bid to attract more Japanese companies to set up business in the zone. Among these measures is the establishment of a Japanese school to provide schooling for the children of the local Japanese community. Other steps include setting up a Japanese small and medium-sized enterprise support centre, an industrial park and a Japanese commercial street.
The Suzhou High-Tech Development Zone has established its lead among the 53 high-tech industrial development zones in the country since its opening in 1991. Today, it has evolved into a development zone with the highest concentration of Japanese investments. It now boasts more than 200 Japanese enterprises, including more than 20 Fortune 500 companies, such as Panasonic, Sony, Epson, Fuji, Sumitomo, Canon and Marubeni, with total investment exceeding US$3 billion.
