Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida highlighted the growing economic ties between his country and North Carolina, which he visited during a recent official visit to the United States. The country has overtaken Germany as the state’s largest source of foreign direct investment, according to the North Carolina Commerce Department.
During his trip, Kishida visited sites that exemplified the strong connection between Japan and North Carolina, like HondaJet’s facility in Greensboro and Toyota’s future battery plant in Randolph County, which is expected to employ 5,000 people when it opens.
The prime minister’s visit coincided with Fujifilm Diosynth’s announcement of a $1.2 billion expansion in the state. Other Japanese companies in North Carolina include Morinaga, Astellas Gene Therapies, and Sumitomo Pharma, which collectively employ more than 35,000 people.
Gov. Roy Cooper, who has headed trade missions to Tokyo in 2017 and 2023, hosted a lunch for Kishida in the Executive Mansion in the state capital Raleigh.
“North Carolina is an ideal location because of the Research Triangle, its logistical networks, and, more than that, the people. Japanese and North Carolina people are very similar in their resiliency and high work ethic,” said Masashi Mizobuchi, assistant press secretary of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Acknowledging the importance of the academic and cultural partnership between North Carolina and Japan, Kishida went to NC State’s Centennial Campus, the first visit by a foreign head of government since 1954, and dropped by Nagoya University’s Global Campus, a symbol of a long-standing partnership in student exchanges and joint research for nearly 40 years.
He also met with students from other local universities, like the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University.
In October, North Carolina will host the next Southeast US-Japan (SEUS-Japan) conference, which has served as a forum for deeper dialogue and closer collaboration between Japan and states in the southeastern United States.
