{"id":56830,"date":"2025-06-11T00:38:32","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T00:38:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/?page_id=56830"},"modified":"2025-06-11T00:39:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T00:39:18","slug":"2018-japan-texas-economic-summit","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/2018-japan-texas-economic-summit\/","title":{"rendered":"2018 Japan-Texas Economic Summit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

May 7-9, 2018<\/strong>
Marriott Marquis Houston<\/strong>
1777 Walker Street<\/strong>
Houston, TX 77010<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overview<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

USJC hosted Japan-Texas Economic Summit in Houston, Texas from May 7 to 9, 2018. Following the highly successful Japan-Hawaii Economic Summit<\/a> in 2017, the Japan-Texas Economic Summit brought together business leaders, investors, state and local officials, and economic development organizations from across the Lone Star State and Japan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Texas is a leading destination for foreign direct investment from Japan, and we welcomed government and business representatives from the Government of Japan and prefectures throughout the country to explore further opportunities to strengthen the relationship between Japan and the state of Texas. The Summit featured keynote addresses from prominent leaders from both countries, showcased Texas cities and their economic development opportunities, and focused on topics of importance to the Japan-Texas relationship such as industry innovation, workforce development, energy, medicine, manufacturing, transportation, finance, national security and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Summit was a momentous step forward in the Japan-Texas economic partnership!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summary<\/h3>\n\n\n
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(L-R) Donna Cole, USJC Board Member and Summit Chair; Hideaki Ohmura, Governor of Aichi Prefecture; Irene Hirano Inouye, USJC President; and Henry Cisneros, Founder & Chairman, CityView, Former HUD Secretary and Former Mayor of San Antonio, TX<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

From May 7 to 9, more than 400 leaders from throughout the United States and Japan convened in Houston for the Japan-Texas Economic Summit (JTES). USJC hosted the Summit in collaboration with close to 50 cities and organizations. Issues discussed during the Summit included ongoing trade and investment; opportunities for further collaboration; sister city ties; and people-to-people exchanges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Summit featured keynote addresses from Bruce Culpepper (President, Shell Oil Company), Shigeru Hayakawa (Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, Toyota Motor Corporation and Vice Chair, Keidanren), Shigeki Maeda (Executive Vice President, Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)), Hideaki Ohmura (Governor, Aichi Prefecture, Japan) and Secretary Rolando Pablos (Texas Secretary of State). They shared how the approximately 400 Japanese companies in Texas are creating 50,000 jobs; how Texas is the top state whose market Japanese companies think will continue to expand; and how Japanese companies in Texas and vice versa leads to exchange programs between American and Japanese students and professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secretary Pablos said that he is “honored that Texas is home to one of the first U.S.-Japan Council regional summits, which underscores the importance of Japan’s partnership with the Lone Star State, as well as the enormous potential for growth we see today and in the years ahead.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other speakers included Mitsuru Claire Chino (President & CEO, ITOCHU International Inc.); Henry Cisneros (Founder & Chairman, CityView, Former HUD Secretary and Former Mayor of San Antonio, TX); U.S. Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty, who spoke in a video message; Ambassador Tom Schieffer (Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, and President and CEO of Envoy International); and Japanese Ambassador Shinsuke J. Sugiyama, who traveled from Washington, DC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Panel discussions explored the many aspects of Texas-Japan relations, including security and defense; energy; healthcare; workforce development; technological innovation; food and beverage; and people-to-people exchanges, including USJC\u2019s Japanese American Leadership Delegation Program<\/a> and TOMODACHI Initiative<\/a>. Business professionals from diverse industries also gave short presentations about the latest developments in Texas and how they strengthen the bonds between the United States and Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(L-R) Ambassador Tom Schieffer; David Sutton, President of Kubota Credit Corporation and Kubota Insurance; Ms. Chino of ITOCHU International; Takeshi Ebisu, President and CEO of Goodman Global Group, Inc.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The summit also included a unique session of 15 speakers, each representing various regions across Texas, as well as sister cities in Japan. Mayors and other officials shared the strengths of their cities, which included metropolises like Dallas and Houston, cities with close Japanese ties like Plano (which recently welcomed Toyota Motor North America\u2019s new headquarters), cities with distinct characteristics like El Paso (which borders Mexico and boasts a large bilingual, bicultural workforce), and Japanese locales Kumamoto City (sister city to San Antonio), Chiba City (sister city to Houston) and Oita City (sister city to Austin). Following the session, many of the regions further presented their charms with booths, regional delicacies and music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Print Program<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To see the print program of the Summit, which includes the bios of speakers, click here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further bios are also on the insert, available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photos<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Click here<\/a> to see more photos from the Summit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presentations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To see select presentations from the Summit, please click on the links below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keynote Speakers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n