Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsubishi Urban Development, Inc. (hereinafter "Mitsubishi Corporation Urban Development"), and iPark Institute Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "iPi") will develop iPark Kobe (tentative name) as a leased laboratory research and development facility in KOBE Biomedical Innovation Cluster, an area of progressive urban planning originating in a research and development base.
For the development of iPark Kobe (tentative name), on March 31, 2025 Mitsubishi Corporation Urban Development signed an agreement with the municipal government of Kobe regarding the sale and purchase of land on Kobe Port Island, which is owned by the city.

Recent years have seen rapid growth in semiconductors, medical care, and other advanced industries, with numerous parties and industries further involved in research and development in these fields. This has spurred a trend toward the formation of unique industrial zones as well as urban planning that takes research and development bases as its starting point.
Begun in 1998, the KOBE Biomedical Innovation Cluster is an initiative by the city of Kobe to bring together research institutions, hospitals, corporations, and other players in the medical industry. With over 350 related companies coalescing and growing in one of Japan's largest medical industry clusters, KOBE Biomedical Innovation Cluster is a leading example of Mitsubishi Corporation's vision of urban planning with cutting-edge industries at the core.
The land transaction agreement was concluded with a view of KOBE Biomedical Innovation Cluster as the perfect fit for the first expansion of an iPark drug discovery and bio-research facility outside its existing base in Shonan.

Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation Urban Development, and iPi have track records of developing and operating facilities related to advanced industries. These include iPi's knowledge of science park management and Mitsubishi Corporation Urban Development's expertise in the development and operation of high-performance logistics warehouses, share-type manufacturing and R&D facilities, and other advanced industry-related facilities.
By concentrating their respective knowledge, expertise, and networks in the development and operation of iPark Kobe (tentative name), the three companies will contribute to urban planning in the KOBE Biomedical Innovation Cluster run by the Kobe municipal government, while engaging in the creation of further innovation and studying large-scale urban development and management that originates in research and development facilities.

Located within KOBE Biomedical Innovation Cluster, the second Phase of Kobe Port Island, the planned site will be connected directly by a deck to Keisan Kagaku Center Station on the Kobe New Transit Port Island Line. The site is accessible from Sannomiya Station, the largest commercial area and transportation junction in Kobe, in about 16 minutes and from Kobe Airport Station in about 6 minutes.

Mitsubishi Corporation engages in diverse businesses in wide-ranging industry domains, under an eight-Business Group structure encompassing Environmental Energy, Materials Solutions, Mineral Resources, Urban Development & Infrastructure, Mobility, Food Industry, S.L.C. (Smart-Life Creation), and Power Solutions.

With "To nurture the future of urban spaces through our power to imagine and realize change" as its Purpose, Mitsubishi Corporation Urban Development, Inc. engages in real estate and urban development unbound by convention, primarily in the industrial, retail, and entertainment domains.
In the industrial domain, the company works in the area of dry logistics warehouses as well as the development of automated and other refrigerated and frozen warehouses. It also develops shared manufacturing/R&D facilities under the innoba brand. In the retail and entertainment domains, the company engages in the development of urban retail facilities and neighborhood shopping centers (NSCs), as well as arena development and event projects at Yokohama Red Brick Warehouses. The company also undertakes large-scale urban development centered on arenas and other features.
Fully leveraging the comprehensive strengths of the Mitsubishi Corporation Group, which interfaces with a vast range of industries and customers in Japan and overseas, Mitsubishi Corporation Urban Development will nurture a prosperous future for cities  together with customers and partners.

iPark Institute Co., Ltd. began operation in April 2023 with Industrial & Infrastructure Fund Investment Corporation (IIF), Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, and Mitsubishi Corporation as its major shareholders. In 2023, it succeeded the operational business of Shonan Health Innovation Park (Shonan iPark), which had been operated by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited since 2018. In addition to operation and management of the facilities, iPark Institute Co., Ltd. engages in projects to construct and revitalize a life science ecosystem, encompassing the promotion of innovation creation, technology exchanges, and research collaboration.

Shonan Health Innovation Park (Shonan iPark) is Japan's first pharmaceutical company-initiated science park, established in April 2018 when Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited opened its in-house research center to outside organizations. Now operated independently of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited by iPark Institute Co., Ltd., Shonan iPark seeks to serve as a place where government, academia, and industries varying widely in category and business scale can come together to accelerate health innovation. As of March 2025, Shonan iPark houses 190 companies and over 2,500 people in an ecosystem that brings together pharmaceutical firms as well as companies and organizations in fields including next-generation medicine, cellular agriculture, AI, and government administration.