EU-Japan Business Round Table
On this webpage : Submission of the BRT's 2022 Recommendations to PM Kishida | The BRT's 2022 annual meeting | Brief overview of the BRT and a 2-minute video guide to the BRT
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Submission of the BRT's 2022 Recommendations to PM Kishida
Tokyo - 17 January 2023 - Masaki Sakuyama (former BRT Chair, Japan-side and former Senior Advisor to Mitsubishi Electric Corporation) and Nikolaus Boltze (BRT Member, representing Philippe Wahl, BRT Chair, EU-side) submitted the BRT's 2022 Recommendations to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
An important part of the BRT’s work is its interaction with the Japanese and EU Authorities. This interaction takes various forms including discussions during the annual meeting, the Joint Recommendations and Working Party Recommendations to the EU and Japanese Authorities and exchanges outside the annual meeting. Mr Sakuyama and Mr Boltze formally delivered the BRT’s 2022 Recommendations to the Government of Japan during a Courtesy Call on PM Kishida.
(Left to right: Nikolaus Boltze & Masaki Sakuyama for the BRT and Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan)
During the brief meeting, Mr Sakuyama explained that the 2022 annual meeting addressed digital and green issues. He welcomed the creation of the Japan-EU Digital Partnership and hoped that the Japanese and EU Authorities would continue to work with the business community to promote policies based on the EPA. Mr Boltze explained that the BRT discussed ways to strengthen cooperation on digitalisation, on climate change and green transformation and on resilient supply chains.
Responding, PM Kishida expressed his appreciation for the BRT’s support and recommendations and hoped to continue to work closely with the EU and Japanese business communities to further develop EU-Japan cooperation.
Also present: Jean-Eric Paquet (Ambassador of the EU to Japan), Hiroyuki Namazu (Director-General, Economic Affairs Bureau, MOFA), Kyoko Kashiwabara (Director-General, Multilateral Trade System Department, Trade Policy Bureau, METI), the EU-Japan Centre’s Managing Directors and representatives of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation.
(Left to right: EU-Japan Centre Managing Directors Manuel Hubert & Yasuo Yanabe and EU Ambassador Jean-Eric Paquet)
The BRT’s 2022 Recommendations will also be submitted to the EU Authorities.
The Courtesy Call was reported on the official website (Japanese version here) and Twitter feed of the Prime Minister's Office of Japan, and on the websites of MOFA and the EU Delegation to Japan. For other links, see the 2022 annual meeting cuttings webpage.
The 24th BRT Annual Meeting : The EU & Japan - Going Digital, Going Green
Tokyo - 15 November 2022 - The 24th annual meeting of the EU-Japan Business Round Table brings together businessleaders and representatives of the Authorities of the EU and Japan to discuss issues of common interest. It was co-chaired by Philippe Wahl (La Poste Groupe) and Masaki Sakuyama (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation).
- Green Alliance - paths to carbon neutrality; energy transition; biodiversity; bioeconomy; circular economy; EU-Japan EPA and Green Issues
- Digital Partnership - digital transformation; Japan-EU Digital Partnership; enabling SME growth through digital transformation; EU-Japan EPA and Digital Issues
- Frontiers - resilient economies, societies, cities & social infrastructure; regulatory cooperation & cooperation third country markets; eductaion & equality; economic & geopolitical risk management; WTO, EU-Japan EPA and Other Trade Issues
The meeting also adopted the BRT's 2022 Joint Recommendations and set of Recommendations by its four Working Parties. Additional details about the meeting can be found on the dedicated 2022 annual meeting webpage.
What is the BRT? A 2-minute introductory video
This 2-minute video will introduce you to the BRT - its role, members, goals, working methods and links with the EU and Japanese Authorities.
This video includes archive footage from the BRT's first 24 years. More photos and videos can be found in the BRT annual meeting archive.
Background
The EU-Japan Business Round Table (BRT) was established in its current form in 1999 to foster communication between Japanese and European industries. Its co-Chairmen are Philippe Wahl (Chairman and CEO, La Poste Groupe) and Nobuhiro Endo (Executive Advisor, NEC Corporation). Its 85 members are senior executives from leading European and Japanese companies and organisations that represent a significant part of the EU and Japanese industry and cover a broad range of sectors of activity and 19 SMEs.
The BRT's main objectives are to submit recommendations to the Japanese and European Authorities so as to help develop trade and investment between the EU and Japan, and to encourage industrial cooperation in fields of common interest such as innovation, climate change, or industrial standards.
Use these links for a detailed introduction to the BRT, its work and members; to access the annual meeting archive; for archived news reports and articles about the BRT or to contact the BRT Secretariat at the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation.
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