GUSHIKAWA, Okinawa Pref. -- The Acrorad Co. factory in Okinawa's Nakagusuku Free Trade Zone looks out on more than 100 hectares of empty lots.

"We keep the window closed because of all the dust that blows in," said Ryoichi Ono, the medical technology manufacturer's Okinawa factory chief. The Tokyo-based firm plans to begin full production of its hospital-use gamma-ray cameras next year.

The 122-hectare free-trade area, launched four years ago on reclaimed land in central Okinawa, offers corporate tax deductions of 35 percent for 10 years or as much as a 15 percent tax deduction on initial capital expenditures for companies with 20 or more full-time employees.