Third Invest Japan Symposium in New York with Prime Minister Abe

September 2016

Keynote speeches were given by three speakers: Takatoshi Ito, Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University; Stephen R. Volk, Vice Chairman of Citi and Chairman of Citi’s Institutional Clients Group; and Akira Kiyota, Director and Representative Executive Officer and Group CEO of Japan Exchange Group, Inc.
Professor Ito emphasized that the Japanese economy has been steadily making a turnaround and explained various structural reforms and financial policies which had been undertaken by the government. He concluded that Japan would create a stable investment environment through policies to encourage employment of foreign workers and promotion of women in the workplace.
In his own remarks, Mr. Volk stated that the Japanese government’s efforts at structural reform and cutting corporate tax in order to double FDI stock by 2020 should be applauded, and he expressed his expectations for Japan’s heightened position as an investment destination, especially in the medical and tourism sectors.
The third speaker, Mr. Kiyota, mentioned the new stewardship code introduced in Japan to ensure that the effects of Abenomics would not be short-lived and to make Japanese companies more competitive internationally. He said that proliferation of this stewardship code has already begun increasing the value of these firms.

To wrap up the first half of the event, Hirotoshi Tanaka, President of JETRO New York, gave an explanation on Japan’s sophisticated consumer market as well as its position as a competitive R&D base. He called for further investment into Japan, citing how the economy had improved under Abenomics.

The latter half of the event was commenced with a greeting from Ziad Haider, Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs of the US Department of State. Mr. Ziad emphasized the strength of recent Japan-US relations and said it was necessary to pay attention not only to value but also quality of investment. He also said that active involvement in the TPP by member countries would lead to stability throughout the Asia Pacific as a whole and expressed his expectation for early implementation of the trade accord.

During the company presentation session following Mr. Ziad’s speech, presentations were given by two speakers: Marco Annunziata, Chief Economist and Executive Director of Global Market Insight at GE, and Kathryn E. Wengel, Worldwide Vice President of Johnson & Johnson Supply Chain. Mr. Annunziata shared his views based on his company’s 130 years of experience in Japan, in which he praised the great power and future potential of Japanese industries. He said Japan was the best country for innovation because of its excellent human resources and research environment. Ms. Wengel spoke about a healthcare center that her company established with JETRO’s support. She said that high degree of health-consciousness of Japan and the Japanese people allowed the country to serve as a role model for the healthcare-related industry. She also expressed her expectations for a deepened relationship between her company and Japan for years to come.