For 33 years, North Carolina, along with our Southeastern neighbors, has been a part of the SEUS-Japan alliance. The organization began as a forum where our government and business officials could build relationships and explore mutually beneficial opportunities.
One hundred and twenty companies and 18,000 jobs later, those initial investments have paid off for North Carolina. Last year, in 2008 alone, our state and Japan did $1.9 billion worth of business.
This year is an important one for North Carolina in its relationship to the SEUS Japan Association. We are the official host state for the conference. Last year we had the opportunity to showcase North Carolina for the Japanese when the conference was held in Raleigh. This year, the Japanese are returning the favor and hosting us.
It has been a privilege for Bob and I to get to know Chairman Yonekura and his wife since arriving in Japan on Friday. Chairman Yonekura heads Sumitomo Chemical company and leads the powerful Japanese business association known as the Nippon Keidenran. We joined him for dinner at the Sumitomo Kaikan on Saturday night, and have had the pleasure of participating with him and U.S. chairman John Atkins in the various events of the conference.
The relationship between the southeastern U.S. states and Japan is at an important stage. We are now home to many Japanese businesses and families. We aren’t newlyweds anymore. We’re looking more and more like a married couple. Our challenge continues to be improving our business climate, improving our communications and forging critical partnerships at the university level. But Japan and the United States are both exploring the changing world economic order – a process that has valuable lessons to teach us and one in which we can clearly learn from one another’s experiences.
Participating in the SEUS conference and talking with the Japanese leaders here has made clear to me the tremendous reservoir of good will that has been built up over the past thirty years between North Carolina and Japan. Maintaining our business climate, keeping our internationally known universities strong, and maintaining a philosophy of customer service when it comes to assisting both foreign and domestic industries is critical to our continued success.