Mission to the United States

Starting from June 28, a Keidanren's mission of more than 100 members will visit Washington, D.C., New York City and 10 states in the United States in three groups. It is the first time that Keidanren sends a business delegation of this size and scope to tour U.S. states. The Japan-U.S. relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in terms of both political and economic perspectives, and the business community will play its role in further strengthening the relations.

On the occasion of the meetings with the federal government, such as the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the mission will above all call for the early realization of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), taking into consideration that this is a pillar of our country's growth strategy. In addition, it will visit states where many Japanese companies are doing business and ask for continued support toward the Japanese companies in aspects such as improving the business environment.

Japan-Republic of Korea relations

At the foreign ministers' meeting held yesterday in Japan, the two sides agreed to hold Japan-Republic of Korea summit talks soon and to cooperate on the issue of the World Heritage Sites listing. We would like to welcome this move as a manifestation of the strong will by both governments to change the currently strained bilateral relations and to move them forward. Also, the top leaders of both countries are expected to attend events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the normalization of the Japan-Republic of Korea relations, to be held today in both countries, and this is a big step forward in improving bilateral ties.