Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plans to visit various locations in North Carolina to spotlight his country's title as the state's largest foreign investor.
RALEIGH, N.C. — After days in Washington highlighting global security concerns, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida toured North Carolina on Friday and focused on another concern: as the state's largest foreign investor. We plan to highlight the country's titles.
Kishida, who will serve as Japan's prime minister starting in 2021, will visit two Japanese companies and North Carolina State University after arriving Thursday night, Gov. Roy Cooper's office said. In the meantime, Mr. Kishida is planning to have lunch at the Governor's Mansion, which will be the first time in the Tar Heel State's history.
“Well, this puts North Carolina on a global showcase. For the prime minister to come and recognize North Carolina at a time when we could have gone to any of the 50 states, that's a big deal. ” Cooper told reporters Thursday.
In a pre-visit press conference, Kishida said he chose to stop in North Carolina to demonstrate that the Japan-U.S. partnership extends beyond Washington, according to a preliminary translation posted on the prime minister's website.
To kick off the tour, Kishida and his delegation will visit Toyota Motor Corporation's emerging electric and hybrid battery factory in Liberty and Honda Aircraft Company's headquarters in Greensboro.
Chiaki Takagi, a lecturer in Japanese studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, said she was surprised by the prime minister's visit, but sees it as a “positive future partnership” between Japan and the U.S. and more Japanese workers coming to the state. He said that it may suggest that.
“This whole thing will provide an opportunity for this region to participate in a very active cultural exchange between Japan and the United States,” Takagi said. “And it’s nice to know that Greensboro is going to be that place.”
Japan is North Carolina's largest source of foreign direct investment, according to the governor's office. According to Cooper, about 30,000 state residents work for Japanese companies.
One of those companies, Fujifilm, announced a $1.2 billion investment in a biopharmaceutical manufacturing plant in the state hours before Kishida landed.
The luncheon marks the first time a foreign head of state has visited the governor's mansion since records began being kept in 1891, said Michelle Walker, spokeswoman for the state Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
Kishida met with President Joe Biden on Wednesday to discuss security concerns regarding China's military and publicly reaffirm the Japan-U.S. alliance. In a joint address to Congress on Thursday, Kishida advocated for the United States to remain involved in global security. He said China's actions were the “greatest strategic challenge” to the international community. The Chinese government has strongly criticized Kishida's actions during his visit.
Late Thursday, the first trilateral summit between the United States, Japan and the Philippines was held at the White House to counter Chinese “intimidation” in the Indo-Pacific.