Kansai has numerous enterprises that focus on research and development, and the region continues to produce cutting-edge technologies. In 2007, active research and development and production projects continued in a climate with favorable business earnings. In particular, projects for huge factories related to flat-panel televisions were a hot topic as global demand continued to grow. In the first half of fiscal 2007, commercial facilities and research facilities occupied the highest proportions of new large-scale projects. In the future, diverse research and development efforts are expected to advance in biotechnology, medicine and other fields.

In Kansai, various projects are advancing through cooperation among industry, academia and government. One of these is Kansai Science City, a national project with 15,000 hectares in 12 scientific research clusters that is being planned with the cooperation of businesses, academic institutions, and government agencies to achieve the formation of a next-generation base for scholarship, research and development. The Advance Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR), the Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (RITE) and other research organizations and universities that are focused on artificial intelligence, telecommunications, the environment and biotechnology have already located here and are actively conducting research activities. In addition, Harima Science Garden City in Hyogo Prefecture, SPring-8, one of the highest performance large-scale synchrotron radiation facilities in the world, is the subject of great expectations in Japan and abroad.

Kansai culture scientific study city (C)Kansai Research Institute.	SPring-8 (C)Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute.