Hitachi mulls Israel R&D center

Visiting Hitachi executive Yoshiro Kuwata notes local firms make great efforts to enter US markets, but are barely felt in Japan.

12 December 07 20:06, Shmulik Shelah

"Israelis invest a lot of effort in entering the US, both through listings on Nasdaq and business transactions, but they are hardly noticeable in Japan. I want to change this," said Hitachi Medical chairman and CEO Yoshiro Kuwata during a visit by to Israel this week by a Japanese delegation. Kuwata is one of the leading figures in the Japanese electronics industry.

Kuwata made special note of Hitachi Medical's need for R&D professionals for nanotechnology research, and the development of applications for medical imaging technologies such as MRI and CT. He believes that such professionals can be found in Israel.

Hitachi Medical feels it will be easier to interest Israelis in R&D activity based in Singapore, but would like, in the long-term, to see them at a local R&D center. "We may open factories in Israel," added Kuwata. "I am proposing that we open an R&D center here in the future to promote collaboration."

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on December 12, 2007

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