Ondrej Holzman Apple announced that it is going to open a new research center in Yokohama, Japan, which was publicly supported by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. "We are excited to expand our presence in Japan with the new technical development center in Yokohama, while creating many jobs," the California-based company said in a press statement.
Even before Apple himself, Japanese Prime Minister Abe managed to announce this news during his speech in the suburbs of Tokyo, where he revealed that Apple has decided to "build the most advanced research and development center in Japan." Abe was speaking on the campaign trail ahead of Japan's upcoming election on Sunday. Apple immediately confirmed its intentions.
Abe described Apple's planned center as "one of the largest in Asia," but it won't be the Apple company's first Asian destination. It already has research and development centers in China and Taiwan, several large centers in Israel, and is also considering expansion to Europe, specifically to Cambridge, England.
However, neither the Japanese prime minister nor Apple revealed what will be developed in the Japanese port city and what the device will be used for. For Abe, however, the arrival of Apple fits into his political rhetoric in the campaign, where he uses this fact to support his economic agenda. As part of it, for example, the Japanese currency weakened, which made the country more accessible to foreign investors.
"Foreign companies have started investing in Japan," Abe boasted, and he believes that the arrival of the currently most valuable company on the American stock market will help him with voters. Japan is one of the most lucrative markets for Apple, according to Kantar Group, the iPhone had a 48% share of the smartphone market in October and clearly dominated.
