Japan finds luring business from HK may be tough

TOKYO, Nov 15 (AFP): Tokyo is on a charm offensive, hoping to lure firms in Hong Kong spooked by protests and a controversial security law imposed by China. But the city is proving a tough sell.

"I want to make Tokyo Asia's number one financial city," Governor Yuriko Koike said in October, as the Japanese capital opened an information centre in Hong Kong for international businesses considering a move.

Tokyo's courtship comes with some concrete promises, including temporary office space in the city for foreign financial firms that want to try out life in Japan.

There are also a number of more theoretical incentives being floated, including tax breaks, streamlined bureaucracy and even a special economic zone like Shenzhen, China's Silicon Valley.

In some ways, Japan might seem an obvious alternative for businesses looking to leave Hong Kong: it is the world's third-largest economy, home to the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and already houses outposts of numerous financial institutions and international firms.