Bellefontaine Mayor Ben Stahler and Logan County Economic Director Ben Vollrath recently represented the local community at the 52nd annual conference of the Midwest US/Japan Association.
The meeting location is hosted by alternating sites; Tokyo and varying Midwestern states. This year, Chicago hosted the gathering, and next year, Tokyo will host the conference. Columbus, Ohio, will be the host city in 2024.
The conference hosts representatives from 10 Midwest states and nearly 300 elected officials and leaders from Japan and covers topics such as collaboration, innovation and technology.
The largest investment of United States internationally is Japan. Likewise, Japan is the largest investor in the United States.
Ohio is ranked number two in the nation for Japanese investment, compared with other US states. There are more than 850 Japanese-owned companies employing over 73,000 associates in Ohio.
Logan County has 10 companies contributing to that number, with more than 7,000 associates.
Rahm Emanuel, former Chicago mayor, who is the U.S. ambassador to Japan, was a featured speaker at the conference, as well as a variety of U.S. and Japanese governors and CEOs of major corporations.
Local officials also met with Koji Tomita, Japan’s ambassador to the USA, and Japanese Consul General Yusuke Shindo at the conference.
Union County leadership attended the event as well, including Henk Berbee Marysville city council vice president; Terry Emery, Marysville’s city manager; and Eric Phillips, Union County’s economic director.