Greetings from Japan, where I am joining DEED's Minnesota Trade Office in leading a Business Development Mission with Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan.

Japan is an integral trading partner for our state. Nearly 50 companies operating 120 business locations in Minnesota are headquartered in Japan, making it one of the top countries in the world for investment in Minnesota. Japan is our fourth largest export market, with sales worth more than $1.1 billion in 2022.

The strong business, educational, cultural and social ties between Minnesota and Japan make this relationship especially fruitful, and we are excited to find opportunities to deepen our cooperation and friendship during this mission.

I am pleased to update you on the key developments taking place during this trip, beginning with a series of important meetings over the weekend and on Monday.

On Sunday, I met with Mr. Jun Yanagi, the new Consul-General of Japan in Chicago, joined by Stillwater Mayor Ted Kozlowski and Bloomington Mayor Tim Busse. We discussed our shared priorities and interests, and I highlighted Minnesota's vibrant culture of innovation, favorable business environment, strong work on climate change and initiatives for children and families that support a stronger workforce. I encouraged Consul-General Yanagi to visit Minnesota to become familiar with our state and businesses on a deeper level.

In the evening, we joined a reception to kick off the Midwest U.S.-Japan Association Conference in Tokyo, where the theme is "Shaping a Sustainable Future Together."

Today, we kicked off the conference by sharing our vision to Build What Matters here in Minnesota.

We were then pleased to meet with leadership from Sanken Electrical Corporation, the parent company of Polar Semiconductor, which operates a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Bloomington. We thanked Sanken for their investments in our state and their contributions to making Minnesota a national leader in high-tech manufacturing, and discussed DEED initiatives to grow our manufacturing sector even further.

Later, I joined Governor Walz, Lieutenant Governor Flanagan, the Japanese Women's Leadership Initiative (JWLI) and the Fish Family Foundation for a roundtable to hear perspectives from women leaders in Japan. We are focused on making Minnesota the best place to raise a family and the most attractive place for workers to locate, and supporting women is central to our vision. I shared details about how we're supporting women in the workplace.

Finally, we had the opportunity to visit Digital Affairs Minister Taro Kono, who is leading efforts to digitize his country. We highlighted the ways Minnesota has supported Japanese digital transitions before – did you know Minnesotan engineers from Pequot Lakes were key to helping Tokyo transition to digital electric meters starting nearly 10 years ago?

It has been a busy and productive start to our Japan mission. I am honored to represent Minnesota's businesses and workers here, and to share a little bit of our culture with our Japanese friends. For instance, one of our greatest cultural exports, Charles Schultz's Snoopy, is a popular character in Japan. So we knew we had to bring some Snoopy swag with us for our mission!

I am looking forward to updating you further tomorrow.

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