Opening of JETRO's 44th domestic office in Shiga Prefecture

August 2017

On July 3, JETRO established its 44th domestic office in Hikone, Shiga, and held an opening ceremony on August 4.
Shiga Prefecture possesses numerous companies active in the fields of livestock, fisheries and food products as well as water and the environment, and local industries full of history and tradition. It also boasts a geographical advantage neighboring major consumer markets in Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe and attractive tourism resources. All of these elements are a boon to Shiga in terms of global business. JETRO Shiga, which was set up at the request of the local government and business circles, is going to promote the advantages and allure of the prefecture to the world, and contribute to energizing the local economy.

The opening ceremony of JETRO Shiga was joined by approximately 50 people from local business circles and government including distinguished guests such as Governor Taizo Mikazuki of Shiga Prefecture; Yoshimasa Okumura, Prefectural Assembly Chairman of Shiga; Kiyoshi Mori, Director-General of the Kinki Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry within the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI); Kazushige Nobutani, Director of the Policy Planning and Coordination Division of the Trade Policy Bureau in METI; Yoshio Daido, Chairman of Shiga Keidanren and JETRO Shiga; and Kiyoyuki Nakagawa, President of the Shiga Prefectural Union of Agricultural Cooperatives. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to celebrate the launch of the office.

Expressing his immense joy on the occasion, Governor Mikazuki called JETRO a “point of contact to the world” and said that the establishment of the office in Hikone is a significant milestone in terms of achieving balanced economic growth within Shiga Prefecture, and committed his government’s support.