Pictured: Ian Morrison, Deputy International Trade Director
for UK Trade & Investment in the East Midlands
UK Trade & Investment are encouraging firms from across the
East Midlands to look to Japan for business, following a successful
mission to the country.
Ian Morrison, Deputy International Trade Director for UK Trade
& Investment in the East Midlands, has just returned from a
trip with six companies from across the East Midlands, where the
message was clear: Japan is open for business:
Ian said:
"Just six months ago the triple blow of the earthquake, tsunami
and consequent nuclear incident had a devastating effect on Japan.
But, with remarkable resilience, the country and its people are
recovering, and while there obviously remains much to do in
rebuilding and rehabilitation, they clearly believe that getting
business back on track will help to get the country back to
normal.
"A briefing at the British Embassy put the sheer size of the
economy into context - for example the region of Kanto, in
which Tokyo is located, has a larger GDP now than Russia did in
2008, and the region of Kyushu, in the far South West, a larger GDP
than Norway. And although Japan, as the world's third largest
economy, falls behind China, GDP per capita is 10 times that of
China. And it was clear that there is some real potential for
business.
"The Japanese economy is still technically in recession
following the March earthquake, tsunami and subsequent crippling of
the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant but the signs that things are
getting back to normal are everywhere: the Japanese automotive
sector, hard-hit by a lack of spare parts, is back on the road to
success, with both Nissan and Toyota reporting they are back to
normal production.
"In the light of the impact of the earthquake and tsunami on the
Fukushima plant, there has been a rethink of the energy mix in
Japan. I was told that their previous hope for 70 per cent of power
from nuclear by 2050 and 14 new-build nuclear reactors have been
all but shelved leading to a potentially large gap in future energy
production.
"There is a specific and real opportunity in the area of
building remediation: following the earthquake many buildings have
been found to contain varying degrees of asbestos. Any
companies with a track record in remediating buildings and dealing
with asbestos concentrations are invited to forward their
literature for display on the UKTI stand at the measures of
Asbestos and Environmental Risk Exhibition and Conference - ASREX -
taking place in Tokyo from 19-21 October. Interested companies
should urgently contact: reiko.mitogawa@fco.gov.uk or
matthew.matsumoto-prouten@fco.gov.uk
"We also heard that a new, low-cost Japanese airline, Skymark,
has broken with tradition and ordered six Airbus A380s, which will
be powered by Rolls-Royce engines, scheduled to enter into service
in 2014. It's the first Japanese airline to order the aircraft and
aims to offer an alternative to existing carriers for the routes to
London, Frankfurt and New York. Another very positive sign that the
Japanese economy is opening up."