Cover photo from left to right: Nobuhiro Endo (Japan-side BRT Chair and Executive Advisor, NEC Corporation), Fumio Kishida (Prime Minister of Japan) and Christopher Thomas (Representative Director & President, Merck Ltd., Japan) - © Official Website of the Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet

On 16 February 2024, Nobuhiro Endo (Japan-side BRT Chair and Executive Advisor, NEC Corporation) and Christopher Thomas (Representative Director, President of Merck Ltd., Japan, representing Belén Garijo, EU-side BRT Chair) submitted the BRT’s 2023 Recommendations to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. During the meeting, Dr. Endo explained that the BRT’s 2023 Annual Meeting focused on the theme of cooperation in economic security, held an exchange of views on “sustainable growth,” recognised that the green and digital transformation remains an important theme, and reported that standardisation and deregulation were important pillars of the discussion. Mr Thomas noted that in this era of swift change, there is a growing emphasis on fostering economic partnerships and investments with nations that share common values and political systems. Haitze Siemers (Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Japan), Directors-General from MOFA, METI and MIC, the EU-Japan Centre’s Managing Directors, and a representative of NEC Corporation were also present.

In January, Dr Endo paid courtesy calls on Ken Saito, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Yoko Kamikawa, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Koichi Watanabe, State Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, to hand over the BRT’s 2023 recommendations. BRT Japan-side Working Party Leaders, Kuninori Kuroishi (Senior Advisor, Marubeni Corporation), Osamu Nagayama (Honorary Chairman, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.), and Shigehiro Tanaka (Corporate Senior Executive Vice President Chief of External Relations, NEC Corporation) were also present at the meetings. During those meetings METI Minister Saito expressed the importance of trust between the EU and Japan in the current global situation and was encouraged by the BRT’s efforts Foreign Minister Kamikawa commented that the BRT’s 25-year effort is a model for solving issues through multi-stakeholder diplomacy, especially by the private sector.
The BRT’s 2023 Recommendations were submitted to European Commission Vice President Jourová during the 2023 Annual Meeting.

What is the BRT? 
The EU-Japan Business Round Table (BRT) was established in its current form in 1999 to foster communication between Japanese and European industries. It meets annually, alternately in Japan and in Europe. For a 2-minute overview of who the BRT members are, the BRT’s goals, working methods, links with the EU and Japanese Authorities and for archive footage, see this introductory video.

Picture: Nobuhiro Endo and METI Minister Saito

Picture: Nobuhiro Endo and Foreign Minister Kamikawa