everybody. thanks again for joining us for this wonderful conference on u.s./japan economic relations. obviously we have determined terrific comments by the governor of indiana early this morning on the importance as well as the invigorating conversation can just lead on u.s./japanese opportunities for economic security cooperation. as you dig into your lunchbox is owing to welcome everyone into

this panel on japanese foreign investment in the u.s. market. it impacts going forward. for me it's a personal panel for me i did my phd in ohio state on exports in the u.s. market. this is a homecoming for me getting a chance to speak with people from jethro in ohio. so i guess we will jump straight into opening remarks. for introduction to my left president of japan external trade organization in the new york office before taking this position last july he had a long career in japanese and government in the cabin and the ministry of economic trade and industry serving in rolls pertaining to trade, energy and economies of japan previously served as the counselor japanese embassy back in 2007 in 2010. welcome him back to washington

d.c. received an mba from yale and llb to institute some very fond of. with that please give us your thoughts. >> hello everyone. thank you very much for coming here today and having meet today. i am going to share with you my view and information about how japanese companies are doing in the context. first of all let me start with the overall picture of japan's investments. it's over $2 trillion.

among that the u.s. stands out as the largest 4:30 3.5% where as the eu accounts for only 16%. about half of that of the u.s. china by the way accounts for 7%. for the u.s. japan is the largest country for investments. since 2019. as the scale of investment of japanese countries to the u.s. economy is significant. for example japanese manufacturers in the u.s. create more than 538,000 jobs. first among all countries investing in the u.s. also japanese companies in the u.s. more than 4% of all u.s.

exports ranking first by country. now them over the comments from governor holcomb earlier. this should give you an idea of how much japanese companies contribute to the u.s. economy. looking at the breakdown by industry japanese investment in the u.s. by industry as you know the manufacturing sector dominates accounting for about 45%. among these accounting for about 15%. transportation equipment just under 10% is the second largest in the manufacturing sector. outside of manufacturing trade and finance follow. within the sector investments in the pharmaceuticals and that medicines is expected to be significant. with acquisition in 2019.

boosted the balance of japanese investments in the u.s. the investments announced at an open seat new facility called innovation research partnering in january of 2023. by establishing a base within the ecosystem formed by world-class university.

have established operations as a result of the expansion. for instance, the reforming held a groundbreaking ceremony for a facility in arizona. in the future the plan is expected to become the center of an area of fitness in the u.s. and will also be used as a new business development base. related investment especially are flourishing in the southeast like european and korean firms.

suppliers investments increasing by otm. in addition there have been moves to the recycling business for increases. a company has invested in solutions with a recycling company. of those investments are expected to be influenced by the recent policies of the biden administration. i understand the biden administration's policy is rooted for the supply chain issued in 2021. the areas that are important for national security and semi conductors are included in this list. like the chips act, that biotechnology and bio

manufacturing initiative encourage investments for the sectors. this initiative helps the development of infrastructure for the domestic biotechnology industry. for ev, subsidies based on the inflation reduction act and the infrastructure investment and jobs act encouraging investment in the u.s. japanese companies are likely to see the situation as a commercial opportunity and are expanding their investments. however, one of the most frequently asked questions these days is whether the subsidies will continue to be given in the future as planned. some firms say they are making midterm plans assuming there will be subsidies from ira. in particular, most of the funds are earmarked for climate change

measured and there are several points expressing concern about the ira. according to a survey of companies in the u.s., among the biden administration policies, a climate change major such as ira have the most impact. japanese companies are moving into wind and solar power generation. investments in the renewable energy is likely to be large so this would be affected by the policy of subsidies. even for investments there are concerns that it will be in the near future so government subsidies are likely to become even more important assuring the predictability would be important if the u.s. is consistent in the future. other challenges for the companies is the recent rules

from state to state as noted at the beginning of my remarks the largest investor to the u.s. in terms of the amount of the investment but also in terms of the number of companies in the top three in all 50 states among all foreign investment countries. it is ranked in 39 states, but because of the widespread operations across the u.s., the rules vary from state to state such as immigration policies and reproductive freedom can become a cost of business for the companies. the eurasia company and eurasia groups up 2024 is a risk for japan. i understand the state rule throughout the u.s. however as i

understand japanese companies contribute to the economy and have a culture trading employees like family and therefore i believe that creating investments in the family friendly environment for our companies would be a win-win situation for both the u.s. and japan. to strengthen the economic relations group investments they've recently been supporting japanese startups to expand the business overseas. we bring selected japanese startups and create opportunities for the facilities and have a network with venture capitalists and u.s. startups. furthermore, they operate a business platform which for the creation of international organizations between japanese companies and overseas startups. we believe that in addition to

traditional manufacturing investment, investment in new areas will build more multilayered economic corporations. so, i do expect that a layer of the corporation would expand and we hope [inaudible] and in that context i would like to finally mention the investment in japan. so, we looked at the big investment from japan to the u.s., but compared to that, from the u.s. to japan is relatively more so i would like to

encourage u.s. business companies to invest more in japan and actually investment in japan is for market opportunities into technology corporations, so like the investment in the developing countries, it is not stealing jobs from the u.s. i think in light of those as well i would like to welcome the industry companies to make investments in japan. that is what i have to say so thank you very much for your attention. [applause] >> thank you for your wonderful comments. i apologize. i think in my excitement to kick off the panel i forgot to

introduce myself. i'm the fellow year at the hudson institute, and i'm pleased to introduce next the next speaker who is the general director of the japan automobile manufacturers association, usa. before taking up her position back in may, 2022, anita worked in the u.s. for nearly 20 years in the area of government and regulatory affairs and was most recently the manager of government affairs with government industry relations department before taking up her position. she has an ma from george mason and bachelor's from georgetown so she's always been in dc and was born and raised in new jersey, which is a problem for me. i'm a new york guy. [laughter] but i won't hold that against you. >> they just had an earthquake today. >> i heard. i hope things are okay.

>> i think so. thank you to the hudson institute for hosting the conference and this important panel. so, i am a bit of a case study on the panel here. japanese brand automakers are a prime example of how the direct investment couples with deep commitment to the u.s. market, it's workforce and its communities and can result in decades of success. in our case this is a story that is over 40 years in the making and one that is still being written today. this is a story of good quality that goes beyond simply delivering on a business plan and focuses on people centered growth and a long-term vision. our members success in the u.s. has not only benefited those that they directly employ, but

in fact supports over 2.2 million u.s. jobs including dealer, supplier and service jobs. this is also a story of commitment. a lot has happened in this country over the past four plus decades whether it's policy changes, economic downturns, heightened political tension, and of course the pandemic. yet japanese brand automakers investments have not diminished with these challenges. as a matter of fact according to data that we just released this past wednesday, the japanese brand automakers and manufacturing investments have reached an all-time high of $61.6 billion in 2023 and total direct employment rose to over 109,000. this is an incredible story, but not one that everyone knows. and ironically, this may

actually be a reflection of the members success here. the japanese brand automakers have grown and strengthened and have become seamless parts of the american landscape. while the positive topline numbers such as the billions of dollars invested, the scores of people in communities across the u.s. have benefited from high-quality jobs and careers, make those headlines as they should, the specifics on what the japanese auto run manufacturers continue to contribute, beyond these numbers, should also receive a spotlight. and as we look to amplify that spotlight, so if you indulge me, a few of those specifics just this week as part of the foundations driving possibility initiative, $2 million in the grants right now to help prepare students in north carolina's randolph and guilford county for future science technology

engineering and math careers. these particular counties are in and around where they will open the first battery manufacturing plant in 2025. another manufacturing facility is moving towards completion with a goal of starting production in 2025 and that is the honda energy solution joint venture battery manufacturing facility with projected investment of 4.4 billion in ohio. this facility is part of a larger hub creating from its existing manufacturing facilities as it transitions to electric vehicle production. an example of another partnership, and this one is long-standing and has touched many lives. nissan has an 18 year partnership with habitat for humanity. during this time, nissan employees volunteered over 112,000 hours and helped build homes for over 300 families in

communities near the major manufacturing and operational locations. subaru of indiana, and established sustainability only leader among the industry in general notably became america's first zero landfill automaker ten years ago. and another example of a long longtime partnership through support through the mazda foundation, food scarcity in southern california continues to be addressed for its 19th consecutive year of support of the second harvest food bank and keeping the spotlight local, mitsubishi north america runs a utility vehicle program where the company offers vehicle loans to nonprofit organizations. to us, these details are what help define good quality. throughout this year, we intend to focus and a spotlight many more examples as we continue to examine the members impact on

the communities and automotive workforce in the areas of electrification, innovation, safety and sustainability. we are confident that in telling our story, those who may be critical will be reminded of the possibilities and opportunities that are generated for americans when fdi is people centric, long-term and focused on any meaningful partnerships with the communities. thank you. [applause] >> thank you so much for your comments, anita. speaking as someone [inaudible] that was generously sponsored by honda, i have direct experience of the generosity of how they extend to communities, so thank you again. finally, i got it, professor of

politics and international relations at youngstown and an adjunct fellow at hudson. his work focuses on trade policy and us-japan relations and he's been the offer of three books on politics on law and is frequently a contributor to the national media. most notably, he is one of the analysts during the coverage of the u.s. elections in 2018, 2020 and 2022. can you tell us anything about it is 2024 going to happen? >> i believe so. >> watch out for polls and analysis. he's twice been a scholar in japan and got his phd. the podium is yours. >> thank you and i would also

point out i am originally from new jersey. we've lived the past couple of decades in ohio so there's two jersey connections but i've got to talk to you today about ohio. a little bit of a push back on governor holcomb. we think that we are at the center and we think we can make that argument but i want to talk a little bit about ohio, the direct investment, politics and economics into sort of the link between these things. it's always dangerous when you give a college professor a microphone in podium and limited time to speak, but i will try. >> you can play the music in the background. ohio has a long-standing relationship with japan. arguably the longest of any state and it's not just honda. in the 1980s it goes all the

way back to the turn of the last century. ohio produced a load of presidents, william howard taft, the cherry trees you see here in washington, d.c. are the result of president taft's relationship with japan that was multifaceted and went back to his time secretary defense under teddy roosevelt when he negotiated with the japanese prime minister on the memorandum that goes into the treaty. and he was celebrated in japan. that's eventually but leads to the cherry tree so we have a long relationship. the longest-serving ambassador to japan, john bingham was from ohio, and ohio representative, and also wrote by the way the 14th amendment, the most important amendment to the constitution and then he goes on to serve again for 12 years as the ambassador to japan.

so, we have a long-standing relationship with japan. of course honda coming to the united states to ohio back in the 1980s when there was a time of economic and political tension between japan and the united states it's very significant. but it's not just honda. the japanese direct investment in ohio is almost unbelievable. almost 900 and japanese owned facilities in ohio. the 220 individual companies, more than 70,000 ohioans are employed by japanese companies. so it really is an incredible relationship it's not just honda it's also bridgestone that has a direct relationship with japan and japanese politics. i lived in tokyo for a year and

when i lived in tokyo in august of 2009, there was a new pre- minister when the dpj came into power temporarily in japan. now you know that bridgestone family, the tire companies headquartered in tokyo of course is directly tied to the family and family money. of course coming into power in japan also that year, 2009, 2010 when i lived there for another time, the tension between the united states and japan particularly over the bases in okinawa and you also had 140 some members traveling to beijing to meet with the president there, so again it was a time of contention and i think

we forget that sometimes after the prime minister with relations becoming so strong between the united states and japan, but the reason i bring that up is that these relationships need to be nurtured over time. fdi contributes to the development and the nurturing of these relationships. so in that way, economics is part of politics and plays into politics. now, given the long history that japan and ohio have together, it is somewhat stunning that with the steel deal that we talked about earlier today in the question of the governor of indiana, but it's something that i think is behind a lot of our discussions today because we realize the sort of new tension with the opposition to the acquisition of u.s. steel and one of the leaders of the

opposition is of course a senator from ohio. the other senator from ohio has spoken in opposition to the deal. i want to talk about that a little bit and try to explain that a little so you kind of understand where it's coming from and perhaps how we can counter it, but we can do about it, how we can react to it. economics and politics are related and sometimes point us in different directions. i think when we are talking about dupont stealing the u.s. steel, we are talking much more about politics than we are about economics. i think the economics makes sense, so what doesn't make sense to our official politics. very briefly without giving you a long lecture in ohio politics, and i will tell you that you look at a ohio vanity call ohio the heart of it all because it

looks a little bit like a heart, but it's better off to think of it as a big square. if you look at the upper right square, the quadrant, that's where all the change in ohio politics has come from. that area used to be extremely democratic and if you look at the election results in 2008 and 2012, you will see that area strongly supported barack obama for president and ohio supported barack obama for president starting in 2016 things changed and the area that really changed was that upper right corner of ohio. now what's up there in that upper right corner? what cities are there, one of the big cities is the one i teach in, not that large a city but historically a significant city, youngstown ohio. that's where the change took place. you look at the county map and

suddenly these longtime democratic voters i will tell you as a political analyst we were all stunned. the republican party did not exist in that part of ohio. the person who actually hired me started teaching at youngstown was the former chair of the local republican party and used to joke that they could be a phone booth because it doesn't really exist and it had existed if you go back to herbert hoover back in the 1920s, 1930s, that area was republican. it became democratic in the 1930s under roosevelt. it was labour that broke the democratic party in. organized labor because what did youngstown do, youngstown makes the deal, that is what they were known for. when steel came american labor unions and they brought the democratic party in. what's happened since the 1970s, 1980s is no more

steel made in the area. there is a large pipe manufacturing facility that took over the old mill property, a french owned company and a japanese company they were sort of part of that original purchase and factory. they were bought out from switzerland, but again an example of fdi. so, both senators are aware that ground zero in ohio politics is the northeast corner and to senator brown's running for the reelection and needs those voters. jd vance one in part because of those voters and steel had almost a mythic significance in that part of the country even though we don't produce much steel anymore. it's sort of the legacy of it.

politics is about perception, not necessarily reality. it's called u.s. steel. i wonder if it what it used to be called. so it becomes significant. this despite the fact that ohio is benefiting now so much from the foreign direct investment and japanese investment. a time when he is investment. the old general motors plant is owned by and down the road from it you have a joint venture between korea, south korea energy solutions and general motors. all this foreign direct investment and that is more than 120 companies of in that area, japanese companies that employ people. so you have all those jobs created by the directed investment for the politics

doesn't work. that leaves -- sorry, trying not to go on too long here -- what can we do about it and change things. what we need to do is speak to voters. governor holcomb clearly understood the value of japanese foreign direct investment. if you spoke to the governor of ohio, he would give a very similar talk. elites understand, but the people that don't are the voters and voters matter, so what we need to do is get the message out to voters. japanese companies tend to be very quiet as they do business. it doesn't get out there. people don't know that these companies are there. they don't know about the kind of jobs that are being provided. so, we need transparency about this. we also need to focus a little bit more on education.

the governor also talked about education. and we need to educate our citizens. we need to do more cultural programming, for example, to understand. asia in general. i will tell you i remember speaking to the staff and member of congress we were talking about this and one of the things she told me she said the difficulty is voters don't make distinctions between countries in east asia, in ohio. they don't know that china and japan and korea are three different places with very different histories and i know this is a little disturbing to hear, but we need that sort of basic level of education that it isn't a chinese steel company for some of the recent reports that have come out have refused that a little bit, but it's clearly not that so we need that kind of education. exchange programs we need more japanese students.

i was just looking at the numbers on the japanese student exchanges and virtually every, all japanese students that come to the united states to study, they go to california or they go to massachusetts or new york. they never get beyond the coast and we need that because that's educational in itself and we need these exchange programs going back and forth. that's how we can address these challenges. this is all very important, both japan and to the united states and to the relationship. it's important to trade supply chain resilience, economic security, all these things we are talking about. so i think we need to get a little bit more active in these areas. thank you. [applause] thank you for your comments there. i'm just going to ask a few questions. they might be directed more

towards the consumer person but feel free to jump in any time. anytime. let's start off the first question. in terms of we heard from the governor today. usa has an important part to play in the us-japan economic relationship, and i think increasingly is recognized japanese firms take a more regional and state approach towards, by japanese terms, and so i guess what is the role in this area, and to build off of also what paul said earlier in terms of the need for greater outreach, in terms of both regional and state approaches but also the public outreach approach, what is jetro doing? >> thank you for the question. yes, i agree with you that for example the incentive for investment are the subsidies

like, those are largely the purview of the state government, so it's very important to strengthen the relationships with them. so therefore since around 2017, they've intensified the activities aimed at strengthening relations with the governors and economic development organizations of each state. those individual meetings and roundtable discussions have been conveyed to the local companies. so such as the number of job creation to the stated governments. this is to create an investment friendly business environment for the japanese companies. besides such discussions, not just be investment mission or japanese governments to support investment into the u.s. that

focus on specific states and industries working together with a state government to support the investment in the u.s. for example, the mission specializing in the semi conductors was conducted with the state of new york in the fiscal year 2023. in terms of public relations, we are aware of that importance as well and trying to build a webpage or general webinars and everything available for many people as possible. given the nature of the mission which is to promote the trade investment, i think in many cases they are business people. we are very interested in the

page and are trying to make it as user-friendly as possible, and also there's a nice brochure so it's easy to read and look at. everyone is welcome and we're we arealways happy to share information with them so -- >> if i may ask a quick follow-up, what's always struck me was the presence across the u.s. with offices in atlanta, chicago, houston, la, san francisco, you know, what role do these more regional offices play in these larger missions that you are trying to accomplish? >> there are six offices, six offices throughout the u.s. and

each office works together with state government. the principle of the division of labor is the geographical, so for example my office in new york covers around 15 states at the northeastern corner, and we have one in atlanta, one in chicago, one in houston and the two offices along california. so, each office covers its own geographical areas which means it's office is responsible for communicating with the state government for the municipal government which is located in both regions. >> thanks for that. if you don't mind, i will ask you the next question. this is about worker training and this is my own personal topic, but from ship building to semi conductors many firms in

the united states have a lack of sufficiently trained and skilled workers is a major bottleneck in the manufacturing and we talked to the previous panel on economic security. do the numbers face similar challenges and what steps are they taking to address the labor and skills shortages and how might that benefit the united states as a whole in the process? >> so, first of all, our members are our major job creators across the u.s. as i mentioned, i directly support thousands of careers and befitting a 21st century workforce. as noted in my remarks earlier, these investments also support millions of other jobs. again the dealers applied jobs. i can't talk enough about this

record high investment in 2023. that is something i will mention again because this was as the japanese brand continues to expand and modernize these facilities. so it's constantly evolving and the companies. but with that said, the operation faces many of the same challenges you mentioned so we continue to work with state and local government and industry partners to address these challenges and as far as what they do in the u.s. on their own, generally speaking they take a long-term approach when it comes to developing the u.s. workforce. so, for example in an effort to create the workforce pipeline, the automakers engage, for example children and young

adults, by supporting education and learning programs. so come in this way the japanese ran auto manufacturers are the future of the workforce programs whether those that are participating if they go on to actually work on the japanese run automakers but it's to inspire them to join the field and advanced manufacturing and be prepared for the jobs of tomorrow. i can add all sorts of examples of workforce development, and that is where the true partnerships in the communities are. for example the private public partnership between nissan and the state of tennessee. the tennessee technology and at the centers in 2017.

another example is the industry and the training program between the community colleges, vocational schools and toyota and lexus dealership. the list goes on. there's subaru as mentioned before with the partnership and the offeror joint education program nears manufacturing facility in partnership with local universities, so it allows the students to work at the facility while also earning a degree and often sponsored actually. one a final note and this is where it comes back to the next generation and on a personal note my office we had a chance

to travel to not only the first automotive plant in the u.s. in marysville but also a chance to see how they work with the community, so we visited the industries and this particular exhibit is the innovator's exhibit and it's sponsored by honda where children can explore careers and when we walked through there, you could see there were little biographies and it really brought to life stories of engineers that worked throughout the facilities and what they do in a simple terms and it was very interactive. as we were there, the children were engaged but importantly, parents were engaged. so, those are both part of the

equation. >> during my time in columbus, it isn't may be worth the trip itself but maybe a tour of the factory it turns out to be a fun weekend i'm sure. okay, paul. i guess i'm going to throw you the next question. speaking of workers, what is the view of industrial workers especially in ohio words foreign investments? speaking from my own research on the auto industry in the 80s, the uaw was agnostic whether the auto plant was gm or toyota as long as the members had a jobs. any difference between the u.s. and japanese owned companies and i guess if it's not true, what chance do we have in the polarized american society?

>> i'm not sure if that is true anymore as it once was but there is the presumption now among at least the leadership perhaps not so much the rank and file and one of the things that is interesting to look at is the differences between what their e rank and file think and what the leadership thinks because sometimes it isn't exactly the same thing. but at least there's a perception, there's the southern strategy now, the auto workers union is taking to try to unionize the plants in the south and they see some hostility and i think the fact that a lot of these foreign automakers have located in the right to work states, states with more difficult means to organize have given some resistance to the foreign automakers and i think that is what is feeding into some of the animosity between

the steelworkers and it's just sort of a suspicion about the companies and how they look upon unions, so this is definitely in play. but to go to your last point about the partisan politics and whether we can do anything to kind of overcome this, i think we can. we are already seeing it in the part of ohio that i live now with a lot more foreign direct investment coming in and people starting to recognize it and you're seeing other things develop around that, some partnerships between the universities and these companies, so workers want jobs. they don't always care where those jobs come from with the exception that they don't want them to come from china. there is that the political angle to it now but as long as it's not china i think the workers are happy with it but again to go back to my original

point, we just need to make them kind of more aware of it because even up in northeast ohio where we are seeing this now, people i think are not completely perceiving the change and what's going on. >> i think the politics are going to change as we see the supply chains that go along with these places and with the supply chains we are bringing in different and more people into the area, people in different parts of the country and the world. that there is a real effort. they call it repopulation. they are trying to bring them back in again making it friendly for people both internationally and domestically to come to these areas and work for these companies often times that are foreign companies for the most part not u.s. companies. almost all the jobs and growth is a result of the foreign direct investment and not domestic companies coming in. so i think you're starting to

see that. you have a message you just have to deliver it. >> on that message i think it is also important who delivers the message. just on another trip we took out to indiana and hearing from the person that runs the training, he mentioned that he did not have a college degree, but he said through the opportunity that he has been provided he is pretty close to retirement and is going to be comfortable, and it was a when you receive that you could tell there was a lot of pride and a lot of peace on the road ahead, so i think who delivers that message can determine how it designates. >> we will talk to you more about that. about my final question before i

throw it to the audience -- this is the elephant in the room we have to talk about -- but anita, for u.s. steel into the political response that we have seen in the united states, how are you communicating these developments with your members? how might it impact their views on the u.s. investment destination, and certainly the president of the auto alliance innovation came out very strongly against blocking the deal. how does that also shape the members as well? >> thank you for asking. first of all, not in the position to comment on the investment of that individual company. in general, programs i would

like to call the points made during, but many speakers [inaudible] the people further understand the contribution made by japanese companies investments to the u.s. economy and suggest job creation and so on so that's what i hope and perhaps with the comments you made. >> like everyone else, taking note of how this is going to play out, and you mentioned another organization but from our perspective as an organization representing the japan-based automakers, there is

clearly a lot of domestic politics at play especially this year into thorough detail about that, notably this issue has garnered bipartisan criticism. with that said, the current administration has welcomed and has been committed to open investment. and broadly speaking, remains largely positive. it's a good thing. and typically, it's something that doesn't implicate the sharing with adversarial governments or involve national security issues. so, we should continue to amplify the significant investments from japan made here in the u.s. and the close ties that exist between the two countries. as for our members, their focus is on the billions of dollars invested in the u.s. with of the people centered and long-term

vision for growth. >> let's take some questions from the audience. we might have time for two and obviously please identify yourself when you ask a question otherwise i'm going to be asking more questions. i guess i'm going to ask more questions than. >> senior fellow here. thank you all. it's been a wonderful conversation. obviously i think there's a lot of discussion around how politics intersects with the true economics and i think much of the discussion is highlighting the benefits of both the direct investments and how it affects the economy in a

way that affects politics as well and certainly helps bridge some of the geopolitics. my question is obviously the prime minister is visiting next week and one of the messages he will be delivering is the strong connection between the united states and japan both politically, militarily, security and economics. and so, maybe if you indulge me, what are some of the things you perhaps like him to actually talk about as he delivers his message of this continuing partnership? >> thank you for the question. i certainly welcome and this is a great opportunity and i look forward to what will happen in that meeting. to your point, i don't have any

specifics that i would like to see, but i can say that by the economic relationships between the two countries, it's very good right now so we see a good amount of investment from japan to this country and there's a good appetite of the japanese business community to come here, so if you ask the survey, we asked the japanese companies which country is going to be the next destination, so the u.s. is the number one right now. so, there's a very good atmosphere in the business circle between japan and the u.s. we would like to see that

continue, and i understand behind that good atmosphere there is a political or diplomatic good relationship between the two countries, so economic partnership is on the foundation of political stability and i look forward to seeing the states visit and the opportunities to further continue this type of atmosphere. >> anyone else? >> well, i think we've also been talking a lot about growing investment and i think to underscore that and also to underscore the numbers are important, but as i mentioned this is good quality and what

that means, and a part of it is also bolstering the u.s. economic competitiveness as well. >> to add to that, climate would be something that would emphasize. a lot of japanese companies are very concerned with climate change and are very environmentally friendly, and it is that type of technology they are able to bring to the united states, so this may be a way of bridging political difficulties to emphasize that role of sort of climbing innovation from japanese companies and being part of the more direct investments. >> certainly that is an argument that has been made in their own pitch to buy u.s. steel. let's take one final question from the gentleman right here. >> thank you.

thank you for mentioning my investment. this question might be difficult but i would like to ask if you are having dupont steel, what has been your alibi to them before they announce a deal? >> to clarify, is it to go back in time before -- >> before the announcement of the deal, what would be your advice to get it done more smoothly? >> in addition to playing the

lottery first. 3 billion i think right now. if anyone would like to take this? >> perhaps more of an outreach to the steelworkers ahead of time because that's become one of the major hitches in this and the steelworkers have been quite explicit about this that they want to be consulted before the process went forward, so being more transparent about their intentions i think with the steelworkers informing that foundation first might have been a way of smoothing things out a little bit. i can't underscore more how much community outreach is important. it's important, it is a key thing to do when you enter into the market.

you have to know who will potentially work for you and you have to know who will be your neighbor, so outreach. >> if you want to take this. >> i don't have any specific alibi. i just hope that making sure having the necessary communication is very important and to make sure who is concerned about what and put outreach to those people as much as possible. >> thank you.

we have seen from the us-japan relationship it remains strong. economics is a major portion of it and i hope that we can continue to find better ways to build our future together in terms of us-japan relations with large. i'd like to thank the panelists for sharing their thoughts and thank you all for sharing your time with us. thank you. [applause]so this is history.

3520 african-american history since 1865. we're at north county, central university, anda