A ground-breaking centre for small businesses, could help shape the future of start-up businesses in Japan.

A delegation of economic advisers from the Japanese government travelled to the Thames Valley Business Advice Centre, on the Grove Technology Park, near Wantage, to gather tips on how to encourage small businesses.

The centre, which is housed in a converted laboratory on the site of a former airfield, is home to 70 new businesses. The delegation met staff and visited some of the companies that have benefited from the centre's services.

Centre manager John Waterfield said: "Things are changing in Japan. They don't have a culture of small business."

The delegation also visited the Oxford Innovation Centre in Mill Street, Oxford.