From left to right: ACCJ Governor Bruce Ellsworth, ACCJ President Thomas Whitson, ACCJ Governor John Kakinuki, The Honorable Senator Daniel Inouye, ACCJ Vice President Michael Alfant, ACCJ Executive Director Samuel Kidder, ACCJ Financial Services Forum Chair Christopher LaFleur, ACCJ APEC Task Force Co-Chair Thomas Clark, ACCJ Vice President William Bishop & ACCJ Associate Director for External Affairs Ryan Armstrong.
On April 28 and 29, a delegation of 13 ACCJ representatives visited Washington, D.C. as part of the Chamber’s annual D.C. Doorknock. The primary purpose of the Doorknock was to remind Administration officials and Capitol Hill representatives that Japan is still the world’s second largest economy and that a strong U.S.–Japan economic relationship is critical for the success of American and Japanese companies that operate on a global scale and employ hundreds of thousands of Americans and Japanese alike.
In the lead up to the Doorknock, Japan was in the news for a variety of reasons—product recalls, base relocation, political transition and structural changes but the adage “there’s no such thing as bad press” held true. And in the ACCJ’s Doorknock meetings with Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Senators Inouye and Webb, representatives in the House, the Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. and key administration officials, there was a deeper interest in Japan than in years past.
From left to right: Thomas Whitson, ACCJ President with Masayuki Naoshima, Minister of Economy, Trade &Industry (Japan); Monica Hardy Whaley, National Center for APEC President with Koichi Takemasa, Senior Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs (Japan); Hng Kiang Lim, Minister of Trade and Industry (Singapore) with Ambassador Karan Bhatia, National Center for APEC Chairman; Ambassador Demetrios Marantis, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative with Gempachiro Aihara, 2010 APEC Business Advisory Council Chairman.
The ACCJ emphasized that Japan is a key to achieving President Obama’s export initiative goals and that deeper U.S. engagement and collaboration with Japan will lead to economic growth and job creation in both countries. The ACCJ’s 42 actionable recommendations for how to make the most of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum garnered positive attention as an area for U.S. and Japan cooperation and leadership.
Doorknocks in both Tokyo and Washington, D.C. have become signature initiatives for the ACCJ, but this year we have seen an unprecedented degree of cooperation and collaboration with other organizations and governments, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region as the nature of business becomes increasingly global.
Take the ACCJ APEC Task Force as a case in point.
The Task Force began its activities in March by gathering recommendations from ACCJ committees for submission to the Asia-Pacific Council of American Chambers of Commerce (APCAC), an organization consisting of 27 member American chambers in 21 economies. The ACCJ’s recommendations were considered by APCAC leadership and incorporated into APCAC’s own annual white paper that was released this spring (www.apcac.org). As a result of the ACCJ’s active involvement with APCAC, their white paper is closely aligned with our own recommendations as described in the ACCJ paper “APEC 2010-2011 Recommendations for Japan and U.S. Cooperation to Create New Jobs through Increased Trade and Economic Growth.”
ACCJ Vice President William Bishop, ACCJ Vice President Michael Alfant, ACCJ Special Advisor Laurence Bates and ACCJ Governor Bruce Ellsworth in front of the Capitol Building in Washington D.C.
The ACCJ further broadened its advocacy activities by taking the lead on a Business Luncheon with APEC Trade Ministers in Sapporo, Japan, on June 6. This landmark event was moderated by the Chairman of the National Center for APEC, Karan Bhatia, and featured a panel discussion with METI Minister Masayuki Naoshima, MOFA Vice Minister Koichi Takemasa, Singapore Trade Minister Hng Kiang Lim and the Deputy United States Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis.
With an audience including 21 Ministers, Vice-Ministers and Senior Officials (SOMs) from economies from around the Asia-Pacific and close to one hundred local and international business representatives, the ACCJ demonstrated its ability to bring business and government together on a global scale.
With the goal of improving the international business environment in Japan for our members, the ACCJ is taking its advocacy activities to new levels—beyond borders.
