Full Overview of the Trade Mission to Tokyo, February 2024

In each business mission, our main objective is to create conditions for direct access to key ministries, organisations, associations, companies and their management, as well as to city mayors, in order to establish relations for the implementation of projects in Ukraine, both reconstruction and municipal and private projects on the main topics of the mission.

On the eve of the Government Conference in Tokyo on 19 February 2024, there was a lot of news about Japan’s financial support for Ukraine, but what kind of funds are these, who allocates them and under what conditions, who can count on them and in what order – these are the questions we wanted to get answers to firsthand.

The first business meeting of the mission took place at the central JETRO organisation under METI, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

JETRO, the Japan External Trade Organisation, is a government agency that works to promote mutual trade and investment between Japan and the rest of the world. Established in 1958 to promote Japanese exports abroad, JETRO’s focus in the 21st century has shifted to promoting direct investment and helping small and medium-sized Japanese companies maximise their global potential. President Susumu KATAOKA, Executive Vice President Nobutaka MAEKAWA and Executive Director Hiroshi MASHIMO personally assured the Ukrainian mayors present of their unequivocal support for Ukraine and Japan’s readiness to help in these difficult times. Our mayors spoke about themselves and the situation in their communities. The goal is to build relationships with regular meetings on the way to implementing joint projects.

The meeting at JICA, specially organised for our delegation, also deserves special attention. It is through this state agency that the issues of financing Ukraine’s reconstruction projects are being resolved.

JICA, or Japan International Cooperation Agency, is a key agency under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that aims to promote international cooperation and the healthy development of the Japanese and global economy by supporting the socio-economic development, reconstruction or economic stability of developing regions.

We had a chance to meet the President of JICA Tanaka Akihiko during the Forum (see below), but we also had a separate meeting with Ando Naoki, Senior Vice President (Africa, Middle East, Europe), Kobayakawa Toru, Senior Deputy Director General, and Sugiyama Shigeru, Senior Advisor to the Financial Cooperation Implementation Agency. Their presentation about their work in Ukraine and the projects they have funded, as well as their priorities and plans for the future in terms of assistance to Ukraine, was interesting and informative. The key question for the communities was how they could receive funding for their projects directly from the agency, but currently there are no such mechanisms and the priority of projects is determined at the ministry level.

The Business Forum on Ukraine’s Economic Recovery held on 8 February was a highlight of our business mission to Tokyo.

The event was opened with a video message from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Yoko Kamikawa, and closed with a personal speech by the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, Mr Iwata Kazuchika.

Sergiy Korsunsky, Ambassador of Ukraine to Japan, noted that Japan has recovered from many disasters and wars and said: “The experience can be applied in Ukraine.”

Akihiko Tanaka, President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), said: “We would like to work closely with organisations other than JICA and promote the participation of Japanese companies.”

Read more about the Forum here

You can watch the video from the Forum on the YouTube channel of the Mayors Club

As one of our most important missions is to attract international businesses to invest in Ukraine, it was important for us to meet with the JCCI – Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry – The Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) is a network of comprehensive local economic organisations comprising representatives of approximately 1.23 million member companies across the country, covering everything from large and medium-sized corporations to small firms and individual entrepreneurs. Building relationships and regular communication with this organisation and its members is our main goal, after which we can talk about specific projects with specific businesses.

When we talk about reconstruction in general and the development of the construction industry and materials in Ukraine, the central association in Japan is the OCAJI – Overseas Construction Association of Japan, Inc.

It consists of leading construction companies in Japan and supports Japanese construction companies in developing overseas operations and promotes international cooperation as a representative registered association.

As we have learned, the association aims to support Japanese construction companies in implementing overseas projects, make international contributions through construction industry activities, and promote international exchange and cooperation with other countries.

Similarly, cooperation with such an association is aimed at informing its members about opportunities in Ukraine and encouraging them to do business here in the future. Yes, during the war it looks too risky for the Japanese, especially with the ban on visiting us, but it is important to establish cooperation with the Japanese in advance.

The final part of our business mission to Tokyo for a delegation of mayors and representatives of Ukrainian business was a meeting with the mayor of Tokyo, or rather the governor (as it is called here, because Tokyo has more than 13 million people)
In terms of influence in Japan, this is essentially the second person. Read more here

You can watch the TV report on our channel with Ukrainian subtitles.

B2B meetings

Although the priority activities of the trade mission were the forum and events in strategically important agencies and associations, we still managed to visit several companies, among which the first was the management and team of IHI Corporation, one of the largest construction corporations in Japan, which has been helping Ukraine and has already had and is planning projects in Ukraine.

As the execs of JFE Engineering Corporation told us, to understand the scale of this corporation, you should know that 40% of the metal in every Japanese car in the world is their work. Their interest in Ukraine is currently in bridges as innovative structures. Another big advantage is that they work independently with their government and JICA to finance the projects they are involved in.

The Kakuichi company was very interesting, working to create a low-cost recycling society by developing new agricultural materials and other products.

The company is supported and developed by farmers. Kakuichi develops its business in areas related to water, agriculture, environment and community.

They state that “through the dissemination of environmental technologies, we will promote the development of agriculture and contribute to the creation of a recycling-oriented society in which community shines. We will continue to promote the construction of a recycling-oriented society and create a society where people can experience spiritual wealth.” We want to cultivate such values in Ukraine as well.

Sojitz Corporation is a very interesting group of companies that impressed me with the variety of infrastructure areas in which they operate. Also, having experience in implementing projects for the reconstruction of Ukraine and various aid, the company hopes to expand contacts in Ukraine directly with our members.

Instalimb presented its revolutionary technologies for the production of prostheses of any complexity, which are so relevant for Ukraine today.

Of course, some time was left to explore Tokyo as a tourist. During the bus tour, we were able to see and visit the most famous places in Tokyo, as well as attend a real sumo match, greeting a sumo player from Vinnytsia, and see the beginning of the cherry blossom!