Mayor Dr. Stephan Keller, Mona Neubaur, NRW Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy, and the Japanese Consul General Setsuko Kawahara welcomed the guests at the reception (Photo: © State Capital Düsseldorf/David Young) Advertisement
Düsseldorf. The state capital Düsseldorf and NRW.Global Business, the company for foreign trade promotion of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, welcomed around 200 representatives of the Japanese economy on Tuesday, April 16th, to the traditional cherry blossom festival. Mayor Dr. Stephan Keller, Mona Neubaur, Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of North Rhine-Westphalia, and the Japanese Consul General Setsuko Kawahara welcomed the guests at the Düsseldorf racecourse.
The reception is a sign of the special importance of the Japanese economy in Düsseldorf and North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the friendly relations between the state capital and the Japanese community. The focus of the exchange was new company settlements, future topics such as the energy transition, shortage of skilled workers and innovation strategies.
The Japanese community has been shaping economic, social and cultural life in Düsseldorf for decades. Numerous activities in Düsseldorf and North Rhine-Westphalia demonstrate the close shared relationships. NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst’s first major trip abroad went to Japan last year: among other things, he visited economic and scientific projects in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukushima. The cooperation with the Tokyo metropolitan government to promote market development by medium-sized companies from Tokyo, North Rhine-Westphalia and Düsseldorf was also successfully continued.
Both the Japan Business Day on Monday, May 27th, on the topic “German and Japanese Open Innovation Strategies for a Better Future” and the Düsseldorf/NRW Japan Day on Saturday, June 1st are planned for this year.
Düsseldorf has a traditional Japanese infrastructure: The Japanese Club and the German-Japanese Society on the Lower Rhine are celebrating their 60th anniversary this year. The voluntary commitment of the members is an important pillar at many events in Düsseldorf.
The attraction of Düsseldorf and North Rhine-Westphalia for Japanese companies continues to be great. A number of new companies from Japan with innovative technologies and business models have also decided on the location in 2023, as well as numerous expansion investments by Japanese companies that are already established.
Last year, Mitsubishi Chemical brought several European corporate units together in the new office with showroom and laboratory in Trigon in Düsseldorf-Heerdt. The German branch of the Japanese technology group Epson moved its headquarters from Meerbusch back to Düsseldorf to the same property.
Toshiba opened a “Regenerative Innovation Center” on Hansaallee in Düsseldorf, the company’s first R&D center on the topic of climate neutrality and circular economy in continental Europe. The opening is also a direct result of a visit by Mayor Dr. Basement at Toshiba headquarters in Tokyo in September 2022.
In addition, Takasago, a manufacturer of flavors and fragrances, is expanding its European headquarters with research, development, production and sales in Zülpich and has grown steadily at the location with now 450 employees. The technology group and photo pioneer Fujifilm Europe, based in North Rhine-Westphalia since 1966, is also expanding its European headquarters in Ratingen with a “Print Experience Center”, an innovative showroom concept around the medium of print. Lebo Robotics has relocated to Meerbusch: The company is a specialist in the maintenance of wind turbines and rotor blades through the use of robots and AI systems.
There are currently 387 Japanese companies based in Düsseldorf and around 650 throughout North Rhine-Westphalia. Around 7,000 Japanese live in Düsseldorf and around 15,000 throughout North Rhine-Westphalia. North Rhine-Westphalia, with its state capital Düsseldorf, is the strongest Japanese location in Germany and Europe. The attraction of Düsseldorf and North Rhine-Westphalia for Japanese companies continues to be great.
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2024-04-17 19:26:12
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