The Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership was signed by 11 member states on March 8, and in Canada, there have been numerous ministerial-level exchanges at both the federal and provincial levels. In the meantime, preparations have begun for the 2018 G7 Summit, to be held at Manoir Richelieu in La Malbaie, Québec, on June 8 and 9.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Japan (CCCJ), meanwhile, is playing an important role in developing the Canada–Japan relationship, and we are here to put our best foot forward to represent the business community.

In January we welcomed Québec Finance Minister Carlos Leitão to discuss the state of Québec’s economy and its strategic advantages. The CCCJ is also excited to announce that former Ambassador of Canada to Japan MacKenzie Clugston is joining our Honorary Board of Advisors. Clugston has devoted much of his work to the Canada–Japan relationship, and will be a tremendous voice in the chamber’s future.

Educate

With the arrival of spring, come a number of new CCCJ projects that will further strengthen the bilateral relationship.

I would like say thank you to our editor-in-chief, Maxine Cheyney, of Custom Media, on her amazing work with The Canadian. She has done a tremendous job in high-lighting the bilateral relationship between Canada and Japan, and her work will continue to benefit CCCJ members. On behalf of the CCCJ, I would like to wish her the best of luck in her future endeavours.

In March the CCCJ celebrated diversity. As part of our popular Speaker Series we invited Isabelle Bajeux-Besnainou, Dean of the McGill MBA Program, to speak to CCCJ members and shared her experience of women’s growing participation and influence in business. We also organized our second Global Diversity Management (GDM) event, inviting NHK announcer Kaori Nagao to speak about her experience of diversity in Japan and Europe.

We hope the newly created GDM Committee will continue to take a lead in sharing Canada’s experience in diversity issues, its challenges, and improvements

Invest

This year will see the second edition of the Canada-Japan Investment Business Guide, co-published with the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) and the CCCJ. The successful launch of last year’s guide has helped generate great interest in potential bilateral investment. This year’s edition adds more regional investment incentives from prefectures in Japan and provinces in Canada, as well as up-to-date sector information that will benefit relevant companies in both countries. We thank JETRO for its support on this project.

One of the things I am personally excited about is the role the chamber can play leading up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Games represent a once-in-a-life-time oppor­­­tunity for the capital to increase its international presence.

In 2018 and 2019, the CCCJ plans to create a great lead-up experience to the Games by working with the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Canadian Paralympics Committee, the Embassy of Canada to Japan, local governments and companies in Japan, foreign chambers of commerce in Japan, the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and many more partners. “Road to 2020”, is our official theme for the next three years.

Welcome aboard!

We’re happy to welcome our new Office and Event Manager, Marie Ohashi, who will be working closely with committees and members to create great events for the CCCJ.

Here’s a message from her:

“I am thrilled to be a part of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Japan as a new Events and Office Manager. I spent my high school years in Saskatoon, and have always been interested in working in relations between Japan and Canada.

“I had a wonderful experience living in Canada, and I would like to give back something to Canada by developing relationships with interesting events that bring people together for both business and friendship.”