Shiga is one of Japan's leading industrial manufacturing hubs contributing significantly to the national GDP, with a population of approximately 1.4 million and total exports reaching approximately USD 10.5 billion. Home to Lake Biwa, the nation's largest freshwater resource, Shiga has pioneered the implementation of some of the strictest environmental standards in Japan. The unique combination of abundant clean water resources and stringent ecological protection policies has transformed Shiga into an ideal destination for high-tech engineering industries. Consequently, the prefecture has shaped a clean and robust economic structure led by flagship sectors, including electronic equipment manufacturing, semiconductor microcircuits, precision machinery, eco-friendly chemicals, and biopharmaceuticals.
Overview of the working session between the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee delegation and the Shiga Prefectural Government.
- Photo: Sai Gon Giai Phong
Over more than a decade, cooperation between the two localities has yielded highly practical and deep results. In the economic and trade sectors, the most prominent highlight is the strategic alliance agreement between the Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) Management Board and the Department of Commerce, Industry, Tourism and Labor of Shiga Prefecture, creating a powerful corridor to attract FDI from Shiga's high-tech enterprises into Ho Chi Minh City. In urban management, Shiga has actively supported Ho Chi Minh City through programs transferring environmental engineering solutions, wastewater treatment system optimization, and ecosystem conservation models. Concurrently, people-to-people and academic diplomacy have flourished through cultural forums, combined with annual scholar and student exchange programs between the major university networks of both sides.
Looking toward the future, particularly within the framework of the 3rd Ho Chi Minh City Friendship Dialogue in 2026 (FD 2026), the City is widening its corridors to attract direct investment and foster strategic alliances with partners from Shiga Prefecture in five key sectors:
1. Environmental Infrastructure and Water Management: Attracting Shiga's technology and digital solutions into industrial wastewater treatment systems, water resource conservation, and sustainable green eco-urban development.
2. High-Tech Industries and Semiconductors: Encouraging engineering enterprises from Shiga to invest in manufacturing plants and connect electronic component, microcircuit, and automation equipment supply chains within the Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP).
3. Green Transition and Circular Industries: Partnering in the technology transfer of low-emission manufacturing, smart recycling solutions, and the application of clean energy in production.
4. Educational, Academic, and Human Resource Cooperation: Expanding the scale of joint training programs for engineers and specialized research fellow exchanges in core technologies and environmental governance.
5. Cultural Exchanges and Eco-Tourism: Enhancing connectivity to promote tourism destinations and boosting people-to-people diplomacy through periodic signature cultural festivals.