Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara announced Friday he will set up an office in Silicon Valley in the United States to offer information about Tokyo's small and midsize enterprises to investors and venture capitals.
The metropolitan government is hoping such information will help elicit investor interest there for a planned junk bond market Ishihara pledged to create during his election campaign as a way to activate the ailing economy.
In cooperation with Yoshitaro Kumagai, a 51-year-old Internet entrepreneur based in the valley, the metro government plans to publicize high-level and unique technologies owned by Tokyo's smaller companies, Ishihara said.
The information service will start as soon as a database of the companies the metropolitan government is compiling is completed, he added.
"I hope the office will serve not only small and medium-size companies in Tokyo, but the nation overall," Ishihara said.