Press Release

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier meets top Japanese and German business representatives in Tokyo

2022/11/02

Exchange on securing supply chains, digitization and climate protection as well as concrete success stories of German-Japanese cooperation

November 2, 2022 | Tokyo - During his visit to Japan, Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will meet top German and Japanese business representatives in Tokyo on Wednesday to exchange views on current macroeconomic challenges and concrete cooperation approaches. At a luncheon roundtable hosted by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan (AHK Japan), the German President and his delegation will meet with top managers of German and Japanese companies from various sectors. The agenda includes topics such as securing supply chains and climate protection, as well as digitalization and demographic change.

"President Steinmeier's visit at this time underscores the importance of Japan as a partner for German business and is a clear signal for German-Japanese cooperation", said Marcus Schürmann, Delegate of German Industry and Commerce in Japan and Chief Executive Officer of AHK Japan. As leading industrial nations that share common values such as free trade and know-how protection, cooperation between Germany and Japan is of particular importance, he added. "The discussion will focus on how the value partnership can be implemented practically and made tangible."

Representatives of German and Japanese companies* will brief President Steinmeier on their commitment and close German-Japanese cooperation. Steinmeier will thus learn first-hand which factors are crucial for bilateral cooperation. The list of successful cooperation examples is long. From the automotive industry, machinery and plant engineering to environmental and energy technology, German and Japanese companies are increasingly looking to work even closer together, whether through sales cooperation, joint developments, M&A or collaboration on markets outside of Germany or Japan.

Japan is considered a stable partner for German companies in Asia and a reliable high-tech partner for the German economy, affirms AHK Japan CEO Schürmann. In surveys such as the most recent business climate survey "German Business in Japan" released in May 2022, over 90% of German businesses in Japan regularly confirm the fundamental stability and long-term nature of business relations with Japanese partners.

With a trade volume of 41.7 billion euros, Japan is the second most important market in Asia for German companies, and Germany in turn is the most important market for Japanese products in Europe. With a capital stock of 15.6 billion euros, German companies are by far the most important investors from the EU in Japan.

*Participants on the corporate side: Bosch Corporation, Chiyoda Ute K.K., DMG Mori Group, Ernst and Young Transaction Advisory Services Co., Ltd., JFE Steel Corporation, Keidanren, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation, TÜV Rheinland Japan Ltd, Woven Planet Holdings