Hokkaido SME seminar explores Saitama Model for price negotiations

The Hokkaido Association of Small Business Entrepreneurs held a seminar on July 22, 2026, focused on improving the business environment for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through better price pass-through mechanisms.

The seminar highlighted the ‘Saitama Model,’ a national precedent established in September 2022. This model involves a collaboration between 12 industry, government, finance, and labor organizations to help SMEs negotiate prices more effectively amidst rising costs of goods and labor.

Speakers included officials from the Saitama Prefecture Industrial Labor Department and representatives from the Saitama Resona Industrial Promotion Foundation and the Saitama Association of Small Business Entrepreneurs. The event aimed to explore how similar collaborative frameworks could be applied in Hokkaido to foster regional economic vitality.