TOKYO, Japan (September 11, 2007) - Governor Mitch Daniels continued his weeklong trade mission to Japan today, meeting with the chairmen of Sony, Toyota and Honda.
"We met with the leaders of three of the world's greatest companies," said Daniels. "Indiana's operations are important to them and our discussions were very productive."
The governor met first with Mr. Nobuyuki Idei, chairman of the Sony Corporation Advisory Board, and expressed the state's appreciation for the company's investment in Indiana. Daniels said he looked forward to the 25th anniversary of Sony in Terre Haute next year.
A luncheon meeting with Mr. Fujio Cho, chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation followed. Cho was in Tokyo to give the closing address at the 39th Annual Joint Meeting of the Midwest U.S.-Japan Association Conference.
"It was a very rare privilege and we had a long talk about our innovative partnership. I was very encouraged by our conversation," said Daniels.
The governor then headed to Honda's world headquarters for an afternoon meeting with Mr. Satoshi Aoki. The two discussed Honda's new facility that is under construction in Greensburg.
During the trip, Daniels is scheduled to meet with up to six companies that are considering possible American investment. He called on one of them today.
"We are visiting companies already in Indiana and thanking them for their business," Daniels said. "We also are prospecting with new companies. We may come out with two or three good leads."
Earlier in the day, the governor spoke to representatives from 20 Japanese companies involved in the agriculture sector, including the Japan Feed Manufacturers Association, Tyson International, the Japan External Trade Organization and Dow AgroSciences.
The Indiana State Department of Agriculture hosted the group at an Indiana Agriculture Investment program to share information about agriculture opportunities in the state.
Daniels told the participants, "Agriculture is not merely our proudest historical heritage, but important to our future. We've put agriculture at the center of our economic strategy."
Participants also had an opportunity to hear presentations or participate in panel discussions with several members of the Indiana trade delegation, including Kip Tom, CEO of Kip Farms in Leesburg; Michael Beard, president of the Indiana Pork Producers; Melissa Reese, partner at Ice Miller, LLP in Indianapolis; Jeff Knight, executive vice president and chief legal counsel for Old National Bank in Evansville, and Kyle Hupfer, vice president of Proliance Energy in Indianapolis.
The day closed with a Friends of Indiana reception attended by more than 150 people, including representatives of a number of companies that have operations in Indiana.
On Wednesday, Daniels will travel to Nagoya and nearby cities where he will tour the Aisin Seiki Company Limited. He will later call on two prospect companies and meet with executives from TS Tech Co., Ltd., a Honda supplier that is making a $32 million investment in New Castle to build a facility that will manufacture seats for the new Greensburg plant.
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Photos from the governor's trade mission to Japan and audio clips from radio interviews the governor has conducted during his trip are available here: http://www.in.gov/gov/3031.htm
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