2018 Volume 13 Issue 1 Pages 24-49
Many regions have been trying to revitalize local industries that have lost competitiveness by introducing cutting-edge technology. To strengthen the local textile industry, in the Hokuriku region the prefectural government as a leading actor has aggressively promoted a central government-funded initiative to develop carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP). This study aimed to unveil the current situation and policy deployment regarding research and development (R&D) of CFRP in the Hokuriku region, and to analyze the establishment of new businesses utilizing cutting-edge technology in the textile industry cluster. The results indicate that the main actor in CFRP R&D in Ishikawa prefecture is a university and that local firms have collaborated with each other. In Fukui prefecture, the main actor in CFRP R&D is a public research laboratory that has developed core technology. The development of CFRP will not mean that the conventional textile cluster will evolve into a high-value modern textile industry, but local industries will become embedded subordinates in the supply chain for airplane and automobile components as a completely different industry.
