New York, NY – On Thursday night, Assemblymember Ron Kim met with the Ambassador and Consulate General of Japan in NewYork, Reiichiro Takahashi, for dinner at the latter’s residence. The two reflected on their offices’ prior efforts to strengthen relations between New York and Japan, particularly in the commercial sector. Their ongoing collaboration began in 2015 when Assemblyman Kim became the first NY lawmaker to visit Japan, where he met with high-ranking officials from over five major cities. Following this trip, the Japanese government worked to set up an annual state delegation trip for NY lawmakers and took his nominations for which members to invite to Japan.
For the last two years, Assemblyman Kim has worked with the Japanese government in recommending and sending six New York legislators to visit Japan. Past legislators who have participated in the program include Walter Mosley, Luis Sepulveda, Nily Rozic, James Skoufis, Sean Ryan, and Mike Blake. Since 2017, Assemblyman Kim has expanded his focus to bringing the Japanese business community closer to Albany lawmakers. He invited the Ambassador and other government and business officials to Albany during Session and hosted a two-day conference with CEOs from Mitsubishi Corp, Itochu Energy, Rockefeller group, Panasonic, Hitachi America, Canon, and Kawasaki Rail Car.
During the Assemblymember’s dinner with the Ambassador, the two spoke about the success of the New York State Delegation Trip, and the need to continue their efforts to deepen ties between Japan and NewYork. They emphasized New York’s unique role as both the world’s financial capital and one of its largest and most iconic metropolitan areas and expressed confidence that it would continue to be a prime location for increased investment from Japanese companies.
Assemblyman Ron Kim said: “In New York, about 300Japanese affiliated companies have created over 37,000 jobs and added over $11 Billion in investments. At a time when companies are disincentivized from doing business in New York, I am grateful that Japanese companies continue to thrive in New York and see us as a close partner. We need key partners to ally with us in continuing to build a better transportation infrastructure for the 21st-century and to bring high-tech jobs and talent to New York. I hope to work with my colleagues to further these collaborative discussions with the Japanese business community in the near future.”
Assemblyman Walter Mosley said: “I want to thank the Japanese government for hosting us, and Assemblyman Ron Kim for his recommendation to attend the New York delegation trip to Japan.This was a deeply educational experience and I look forward to seeing how we can continue developing this partnership in the future.
Assemblyman James Skoufis stated: “I learned so much about the importance of the USA-Japan alliance from this experience, and have some tangible ideas to bring New York’s economy and Japanese businesses closer together. Programs like this are what keep New York in the driver’s seat of commercial innovation and development. I want to express my thanks to Assemblyman Ron Kim for organizing this trip and keeping New York focused on the future.”
Assemblyman Sean Ryan said: “I know firsthand the impact of Japanese businesses in New York. Programs like this give legislatures the opportunity to learn about, develop, and deepen NewYork’s relationships with other countries. Assemblyman Kim’s efforts in spearheading this program are a great service to our state.”
Assemblyman Luis R. Sepulveda stated: “I’m grateful for the opportunity to represent New York on this annual trip to Japan. With Japanese companies investing billions of dollars and thousands of jobs into New York, strengthening our relationship withJapan is more important than ever.”
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