- 2 days ago
What drives investment—and why does it matter to communities and economies?
Join us on Beyond the Headlines as we welcome Ms. Yukiko Fukuyama, Investment Promotion Expert at the UNIDO Investment and Technology Promotion Office (ITPO) Tokyo, for a discussion on investment promotion, emerging opportunities, and the role of sustainable industrial development in today's global economy.
Whether you're a business owner, entrepreneur, student, or simply interested in economic issues, this conversation offers valuable insights into how investment can help shape growth and innovation.
📺 Tune in to Beyond the Headlines and be part of the discussion. Share your questions and perspectives as we look deeper, think better, and go beyond the headlines.
Join us on Beyond the Headlines as we welcome Ms. Yukiko Fukuyama, Investment Promotion Expert at the UNIDO Investment and Technology Promotion Office (ITPO) Tokyo, for a discussion on investment promotion, emerging opportunities, and the role of sustainable industrial development in today's global economy.
Whether you're a business owner, entrepreneur, student, or simply interested in economic issues, this conversation offers valuable insights into how investment can help shape growth and innovation.
📺 Tune in to Beyond the Headlines and be part of the discussion. Share your questions and perspectives as we look deeper, think better, and go beyond the headlines.
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NewsTranscript
01:00Then comes the milk, steamed smooth, creamy, and balanced.
01:06The perfect latte is not brushed.
01:09It is crafted one cup at a time.
01:12Your perfect latte is ready.
01:15Coffee first, then everything else.
01:19Good afternoon and welcome to Beyond the Headlines.
01:22I'm DJ Moises.
01:23And today's conversation is brought to us by Coffee First.
01:27Japan has long been a global leader in anime, gaming, and entertainment.
01:32Now through the Southeast Asia Creators Meetup 2026, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, or UNIDO, Investment and Technology Promotions
01:44Office in Tokyo, is helping build bridges between Southeast Asian creators and Japan's creative industry through business matching, knowledge sharing,
01:55and opportunities for co-production and market expansion.
01:58What opportunities does this create for Filipino creators?
02:03How can Cebu's growing creative community become part of the global value chain?
02:08And what does it take to transform creativity into a sustainable business?
02:14Joining us this afternoon is Ms. Yukiko Fukuyama, Investment Promotions Expert of the UNIDO Investment and Technology Promotions Office in
02:23Tokyo.
02:24Hello. Fukuyama-san, konnichiwa. Welcome to Beyond the Headlines.
02:28Thank you very much for inviting me. My name is Yukiko Fukuyama, working for UNIDO Office in Tokyo.
02:34Very nice seeing you, Darren-san.
02:36Yes, it's always a pleasure. It's also a pleasure to have you here in the show.
02:40So, Fukuyama-san, for viewers who are not very familiar just yet about what UNIDO is doing, can you walk
02:48us through about the objectives of the organization?
02:52Sure. So, the UNIDO, it stands for United Nations Industrial Development Organizations, and it's a part of the UN family.
03:01Our headquarter is based in Vienna, in Austria, and our mandate is to promote inclusive and sustainable industrial development.
03:11In practical terms, this means that we support countries in developing and emerging countries in building up productive capacities, for
03:23instance, like creating jobs or promoting innovations or developing skills.
03:30We work for various sectors. Traditional sectors include something like manufacturing, of course, agribusiness or energy-driven environment, but we
03:42also work for the non-traditional sectors these days.
03:45And these include something like digital transformations or creative economy.
03:49In Tokyo, obviously, our mandate is to promote investment and technology transfer from Japan to developing and emerging countries.
03:59So, we work a lot with Japanese companies, and we assist connecting Japanese companies to invest and transfer their technologies
04:12from Japan to those countries.
04:15So, of all the investment and technology opportunities that you are seeing, what do you think is an area or
04:25a space that developing economies like the Philippines should focus more on?
04:31So, definitely, the creative economy is one.
04:35Philippines has developed the economy through manufacturing or the service industries traditionally.
04:41But nowadays, especially for younger generations, they work closely with digital platforms.
04:48And this is an easy sector to get in, especially for younger generations.
04:53They already are skilled with digital platforms and familiar with the form.
05:02So, definitely, the next generation, the next focus, industrial focus could be the creative sector.
05:12And given our young workforce, and they're also often perceived as a highly educated workforce, what do you also think
05:24are the strengths of locations like the Philippines in which Japanese companies would be looking for?
05:32Well, I would say the geographical advantage is existent, especially for Japan and Philippines.
05:39We only have one-hour time difference between Japan and Philippines.
05:44That gives a lot of advantage compared with other continents.
05:49And so, for Japanese companies, it would be easy to work with Filipino companies.
05:56And especially in terms of language as well, Filipinos are native English speakers.
06:01That adds a value to doing business in Philippines.
06:06For the younger generations, it would be an advantage that they have the mindset, like openness to learning from others
06:17and building international relationship.
06:20This kind of mindset is particularly important for working with Japan in terms of business.
06:26So, UNIDO has a program, and it's called the Southeast Asia Creators Meetup 2026.
06:33So, beyond networking, what long-term vision does UNIDO have for Southeast Asian creators who will be participating in this
06:44initiative?
06:45Okay.
06:46So, just to give you an idea of what this mission is about, this is a two-day mission to
06:52be held in Tokyo.
06:53And the participants are coming mainly from Philippines, but from other Asian countries as well.
07:00And they will spend two days together with UNIDO.
07:03And on the first day, they will be, in the morning, they will be having a lecture from four experts
07:09to learn about the latest trends and business opportunities from the, in the lecture style.
07:16In the afternoon, there will be a seminar targeting the Japanese creative industry companies to demonstrate the opportunities in Southeast
07:31Asia creative industry.
07:33During these sessions, the participants from Southeast Asia will have an opportunity to do a short pitching and to introduce
07:42their skills and the business business to the Japanese audiences.
07:47And on the second day, on the other hand, they will be seeing a site visit, and they will be
07:54visiting three different Japanese companies in Tokyo.
07:58So, from, through this program, we are not only targeting to do the business matching, but also hoping that this
08:05would be a starting point for a long-term relationship between Japan and the Southeast Asia in the creative sectors.
08:12I think the beauty of this mission is that the participants are physically coming to Tokyo.
08:20That means that they will have opportunities not to learn about the Japanese industry, but not something you cannot, that
08:29they have an opportunity to expose themselves to something that you cannot learn from the internet.
08:34So, that includes something like a business mindset of Japanese, and how they should communicate in a good way to
08:43Japanese to promote and to do the business in the future.
08:48I've gathered, looking at the details of the mission, Fukuyama-san, that the participants will be visiting content incubation center
08:57and an animation studio.
08:59So, what do you also hope that the Southeast Asian creators will learn from these visits that they can apply
09:07back home?
09:09So, the participants for this time includes various sectors.
09:14Of course, we include the creators, but we also have the government persons involved in the creative sector,
09:21which is a person to develop the sectors itself for the future of the Philippines.
09:31And we also have the educational, those who have educational backgrounds and skill development.
09:37So, through the site visits, we are hoping them to not only to learn about the Japanese,
09:45like how animation has developed over the years, but also how the skills are developed in Japan.
09:53So, one of the site visits will be institutions, largest institutions or vocational training institutions in Japan,
10:03which includes 90,000 students.
10:06And there, they will be able to see how skill development is produced in Japan
10:14and how it's connected to the industries or the companies to make the business.
10:20Also, we are hoping to learn that how the government is promoting the sectors for developing skills development,
10:29as well as Japan's exporting and developing network with the overseas.
10:39We are hoping to, so the idea is that we do the overall, not only just business to business,
10:46but it goes beyond that to show that how the skills are developed in the long term.
10:53We are hoping this would be opportunity for Southeast Asian companies and industries
10:58and government sectors to learn from Japan on, like, overall sector development of Japan.
11:04So, in the Philippines, Fukuyama-san, there are still people who associate creative industry with art and entertainment.
11:13But in your perspective, what do you think we should also tell them
11:18that the creative industry is, in fact, an economic driver for development?
11:25So, yes, indeed, that many people still associate that creative industry with arts and culture.
11:32Of course, this is an important factor, as a matter of fact.
11:38But at the same time, from the UNIDO's perspective,
11:44this has a strong potential to contribute to industrial and economic dimensions.
11:51The creative industry involves skills development, which includes, for instance,
11:58like digital technologies or the production capacities or entrepreneurship.
12:03And it leads to the employment opportunities, and it also has the potential to support the SMEs
12:11companies and entrepreneurship and connect the local talents to, not only locally, but to the global market.
12:19In terms of the, and it also has a big impact to the young people in many countries.
12:27And in terms of the youth development or the entrepreneurship, this will be important as an aspect of the skills
12:39development.
12:40So, because part of the delegation who are joining the mission, Fukuyama-san, are also entrepreneurs.
12:48So, if there are tips or ideas that you can suggest for us entrepreneurs who are also looking forward to
13:00have business partners in Japan,
13:02what do you think are the qualities that the Japanese are looking for in entrepreneurs like us?
13:09So, for many creators, the skills itself is important.
13:16Those ideas and skills they have is important.
13:19But in terms of when you think about doing business with Japan,
13:22it is also equally important to have a mindset that the Japanese companies are looking for.
13:31For instance, that they're particularly open, looking for someone, for Japan.
13:42This is not just for the creative industry, for overall Japanese business.
13:46They tend to rather do business with someone you can trust.
13:50And that's Japanese put a lot of, a lot for it.
13:57They consider that as a very important factor.
14:00So, they would not only sell themselves what they can do or what kind of skills they have,
14:08but rather they need to have a little mindset, thinking what are the Japanese companies looking for?
14:20Or what kind of like offer that my company can do towards the Japanese companies?
14:31So, yeah.
14:33And also, building the trust is important for Japan.
14:37So, something like, it's an essential, it's a small thing, but essential basic things.
14:42But, you know, communications in a good professional manner, or the meeting the deadlines,
14:49or like, you know, managing the qualities, or the, you know, respecting and do a business in a transparent manner.
15:00These things all builds up to the trust to the Japanese companies.
15:06And Japanese companies tend not to jump to the business.
15:09So, it takes time to develop business.
15:12But once you start the business, the Japanese companies would prefer to do the business in long term.
15:20So, I think that's the big difference in terms of doing business in Japan.
15:26And therefore, I would really suggest the entrepreneurs and other peoples to think a little bit how you can build
15:35trust with Japanese companies.
15:38So, one of the good things I've heard about this mission is the follow-through.
15:44Because that's an essential piece aside from the actual mission that will happen soon in Japan.
15:53So, if we are to fast forward, Fukuyama-san, five years from now,
15:57what do you think would be the outcomes that you would hope or even expect for all of us to
16:05be able to see that the Southeast Asia Creators Meetup in 2026 was truly successful?
16:13So, as I mentioned before, Japanese companies really take time to build trust before doing business.
16:21So, I'm hoping this mission is to be a starting point to build that.
16:28So, get to know each other and start the communications.
16:32The good part about this mission is that UNIDO office is always in Tokyo.
16:37And I myself will be here.
16:39So, I will be able to follow up as necessary to the Southeast Asian participants.
16:46So, and be a bridge between you and the Japanese companies.
16:54So, I think the mission itself is just a starting point.
16:59So, more important is that you follow up with Japanese company.
17:03And if possible, visit, come back to Tokyo and meet them again.
17:08Then tell them that you're serious about doing business with the company.
17:13And this time, in the perspective or in the context also of the government,
17:19what do you think also is a role that the government would play in developing the creative economy?
17:28So, government takes a very important role.
17:32So, the creativity itself would be a starting point and very essential point about the creative industry's business.
17:44But it needs to be protected by law or regulations.
17:49For instance, IP.
17:52It needs to be that the government needs to establish a system to really protect the IP when doing the
18:00business.
18:01So, for the government, it's really important that they build a good environment that the creators can feel safe to
18:10do business.
18:11This is particularly important for this sector because there's no hard equipment involved in this industry.
18:21So, the ideas or the interaction property is the key for doing business and promoting this sector.
18:33So, the government will be really expected to build a system for the creative industries to enhance.
18:46So, this time, actually, because we're now ending our conversation today, Fukuyama-san,
18:53but if there is a young Filipino or Cebuano, so that's how we call the people in Cebu,
18:59a creator who is watching us today and they are dreaming of one day collaborating with Japan,
19:08what do you think is the one thing or a piece of advice that you can perhaps give that they
19:15should never forget?
19:19So, my advice would be to value your own originality,
19:26but also learn to understand the business culture and expectations of the partners that you want to work with.
19:35So, as I mentioned before, Japanese companies, they really value on the trust and the quality and the respect for
19:47the company.
19:48So, you would need to have a mindset to adjust yourself to that culture.
19:56But this does not mean that you need to change yourself, but you need to value your own originality.
20:10And it's equally important that you develop skills for it, but to become a reliable partner.
20:19But, yeah, you don't need to change anything about yourself, but the goal is for you to understand the Japanese
20:31cultures and mindset
20:33and be ready to work with Japanese companies in a professional way.
20:40So, thank you very much, Fukuyama-san, for joining us today.
20:45Thank you very much, Darwin-san.
20:46Yeah, and it truly is a pleasure to have you in the show.
20:50And thank you to Coffee First for supporting conversations that matter.
20:55Programs like the Southeast Asia Creators Meetup 2026 remind us that that next global success story
21:02doesn't have to come only from Tokyo, Seoul, or Hollywood.
21:07It can come from the Philippines.
21:09It can come from Cebu.
21:11I'm DJ Moises.
21:13Headlines tell us what happened.
21:15Understanding tells us why it matters.
21:17And this is Beyond the Headlines.
21:19So, stay engaged and have a good afternoon.
21:22Okay.
21:44It starts with a fresh shot of espresso.
21:48Bold.
21:49Rich.
21:50Bold.
21:51Just right.
21:53Then comes the milk.
21:55Steamed smooth.
21:57Creamy.
21:57And balanced.
21:59The perfect latte is not brushed.
22:01It is crafted.
22:03One cup at a time.
22:05Your perfect latte is ready.
22:08Coffee first.
22:09Then, everything else.
22:12Do it.
22:13I love the mapping.
22:16Ensign may be.
22:18I love the forgiveness.
22:26I love the grace.
22:27I love the grace.
22:27I love theicherung.
22:28It's almighty abbiamo blev.
22:28It is parfait.
22:29It's possible from the Heart of the Heart.
22:29It's not but it's fine.
22:29It's TokigIks.its.
22:30You