The Japanese government is accepting applications with a June 3 deadline from well-capitalized companies seeking incentives to invest in Japan.

According to an April 30 announcement from the Atlanta office of the Japan External Trade Organization, the subsidy program provides special incentives for small-to medium-sized firms including incentives of up to 500 million yen ($5,786,250) for companies investing in areas such as the Töhoku region that was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

Eligible companies must belong to a group operating business in two or more countries that either have or will have a corporate status in Japan.

The criteria also require that the applying companies seek to establish business operations there such as a regional headquarters or a research and development center.

The government will subsidize design, facility and equipment costs of up to one-half of the costs for small- to medium-sized companies, up to one-third of the costs for non-SMEs and up to two-thirds for companies establishing a site in disaster-inflicted zones.

The subsidy program is coordinated by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), which in the past two years has funded 14 projects from companies around the globe including U.S.-owned companies.

Among the companies receiving subsidies are GE Japan Limited, 3M Health Care Ltd. and Johnson & Johnson K.K.

JETRO is a government related organization that promotes trade and investment between Japan and the rest of the world.

For more information, call L.J. Barnett or Trevin Dye, assistant directors of business development, at 404-681-0600 or send emails to Larry_Banett@jetro.go.jp or Trevin_Dye@jetro.go.jp