Bellefontaine Mayor Ben Stahler hosted an Economic State-of-the-Region session Tuesday with representatives from local Japanese-owned companies to celebrate the continued economic prosperity in the region.
Regional industrial leaders Yusuke Shindo (Consul General of Japan, Detroit) and Ralph Inforzato (Japan External Trade Organization chief executive director, Chicago) were in attendance at the session in the Bellefontaine City Council Chambers.
This special gathering marks an historic first for such a meeting.
Leaders from Honda of America, Honda Transmission, Honda East Liberty, AGC Automotive, Belletech Corp, ISS America and Daido Metal attended the economic session as well.
Other local officials in attendance included Bellefontaine City Schools Superintendent Brad Hall, Logan County Economic Development Director Ben Vollrath and the Logan County Commissioners.
Japan, as a nation, has the third largest global economy and by 2019, Japan became the number one foreign investor in the United States.
“It is remarkable what the USA and Japan have been able to achieve, through mutual understanding, over the years since Japan first began making significant investments in our area,” Mayor Stahler said.
“Relations have never been better and there’s certainly a bright future for tomorrow.
Japan is clearly an ally of the United States and Logan County is blessed to have such a strong industrial partner nation as Japan.
“The Japanese people refer to this relationship as ‘Kizuna’; a strong bond or connection between people. Today’s meeting was yet another effort to make this relationship stronger.”
The Consulate General of Japan in Detroit was established in 1993 when economic relations between Japan and the Great Lakes region were strengthening. This led to a huge increase in Japanese businesses — such as automotive industries — and Japanese residents in the region.
Its jurisdiction includes the states of Ohio and Michigan. There are more than 25,000 Japanese nationals residing in Ohio and Michigan combined. The region is home to approximately 1,000 Japanese business sites, providing employment for more than 112,000 people.
In addition to the sister-state relationships between Ohio and Saitama Prefecture and Michigan and Shiga Prefecture, there are various sister-city exchanges in both states. Bellefontaine and Suzuka, Japan, have one of Ohio’s oldest sister-city relationships which was started in 1991.
The goal of the Consulate is to continue to foster and maintain bilateral relationships between Japan and the governments, businesses, universities, cultural organizations, and general public in Ohio and Michigan.
JETRO, (or Japan External Trade Organization) is the Government of Japan’s official trade and investment promotion agency. Its mission is to facilitate the two-way flow of trade and investment between Japan and the world.
The organization’s primary mission in the United States is to assist Japanese companies to either initiate or to expand an existing investment presence in America by providing customized business assistance.
Importantly, JETRO provides American companies with business and legal assistance as well as a comprehensive menu of market entry consulting, which enables U.S. companies of all sizes to obtain a legal presence in Japan. Since 2003, JETRO has supported more than 15,000 business investment projects and helped over 1,500 companies successfully invest in Japan. JETRO’s motto is: “Talk to Jetro First”.