AUSTIN — In an effort to increase foreign-domestic investment, the Texas Economic Development and Tourism Office and the Tokyo Bureau of Industrial and Labor Affairs signed an agreement Wednesday that would set up a framework to bring greater business opportunities to both entities.
The agreement outlines a program that assists Tokyo’s small and medium-sized enterprises that seek to expand their business to Texas, a news release said.
“The Economic Development & Tourism office is proud to be working in close collaboration with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to encourage the continued expansion of Tokyo-based small and medium enterprises into the Lone Star State,” EDT Executive Director Adriana Cruz said in the release. “We look forward to bringing new FDI and trade opportunities to our diverse communities across Texas.”
Texas enlisted 18 local partners including the cities of Austin, Dallas and Richardson, as well as several economic development corporations throughout the state to achieve the program’s goals. Those goals include accessing and sharing, referrals to services, and the facilitation of introductions to local contacts, companies, start-ups, investors and universities to foster integration in the local ecosystems, the release said.
According to the EDT, between 2003 and 2021, foreign domestic investment from Japan into Texas resulted in 165 projects with a capital investment of $1.3 billion and 25,292 jobs. This includes significant announcements by Toyota Motor Corporation, Aisin, Fujifilm, Hitachi, Mitsubishi and others, it said.
In that same time, a total of 55 FDI Texas-to-Japan projects were recorded with projects representing a total capital investment of $1.36 billion and the creation of 4,525 jobs.
More than 400 Japanese companies have operations in Texas with Japan becoming Texas’ sixth largest export destination in 2020 with more than $9.8 billion in exported goods. Oppositely, Texas imported $20.3 billion in goods from Japan in 2020.
“Tokyo and Texas may be half a world apart, but we are closing that gap by facilitating more investment and economic development between our two regions,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in the release. “I look forward to our continued work together as we create a more robust partnership and a more prosperous economic future.”
