Saitama Prefecture FY2026 SME Overseas Expansion Support Subsidy (Foreign IP Filing Support Program)

(1) Overview: Operated by the Saitama Industrial Promotion Public Corporation as the official sub-grantee of METI's Overseas Expansion Support Subsidy (Foreign IP Filing Program), this program subsidizes part of the cost incurred by Saitama-based SMEs when filing patents, utility models, designs, or trademarks (including pre-emptive defensive trademarks) with foreign IP offices, supporting their international IP strategy. (2) Eligible applicants: SMEs headquartered or having a business site in Saitama Prefecture (deemed-large companies excluded) that plan to file an industrial property application with a foreign IP office. Corporations, sole proprietors, business cooperatives, chambers of commerce/industry, and NPOs are all eligible. Disqualifications include >=1/2 share owned by a single large company, average taxable income >1.5B JPY over the past three years, and any anti-organized-crime violations. (3) Eligible expenses & content: Filing fees paid to foreign IP offices, domestic and local agent fees, and translation costs. Only expenses incurred after the grant decision are eligible; Japan Patent Office fees and consumption-tax credit portions are excluded. Eligible filing routes include Paris Convention priority filings, PCT national-phase entry, Hague design filings, and Madrid Protocol trademark filings, plus defensive trademark filings. (4) Subsidy rate, ceiling, schedule, and tips: Subsidy rate is 1/2 of eligible expenses. Ceilings per company per fiscal year: 3 million JPY; per filing: 1.5M JPY (patent), 600k JPY (utility model / design / trademark), 300k JPY (defensive trademark). Application window: 11 May 2026 (Mon) – 19 June 2026 (Fri) 17:00 by email (chizai@saitama-j.or.jp). Document review late July, grant decision early August, foreign filing must complete by end of Dec 2026, results report by end of Jan 2027, payment by end of Mar 2027. Initial-registration form is required prior to submission. Bonus points for wage-raise commitments and work-life-balance initiatives.