Governors from Midwestern states and Japan meet in Ohio for annual partnership conference

Ohio is playing host to the governors of both fellow Midwestern states and several Japanese prefectures starting Sunday, the first time the Buckeye state has held the Midwest U.S.-Japan Association annual conference in more than two decades.

From the fifth floor of the Hilton in downtown Columbus, the conference kicked off with remarks from politicians in both English and Japanese. Gov. Ichita Yamamoto, of the Gunma prefecture, wooed the crowd of more than 300 political and business leaders and ambassadors with a cover of Purple Rain by Prince, who was born and raised in Minneapolis.

Other officials in attendance included:

• Gov. Taizo Mikazuki of Shiga, Michigan’s sister state
• Gov. Tony Evers of Wisconsin
• Gov. Motohiro Ono of Saitama, Ohio’s sister state
• Gov. Eric Holcomb of Indiana

Seventeen percent of jobs—about 65,000—in Ohio with foreign companies are jobs with Japanese companies. Japanese companies are the second biggest foreign employer in the Buckeye state, just behind German companies, according to Ohio Department of Development data.

Gov. Mike DeWine said he wants that trend to continue. “We have a long relationship with some of these companies. Frankly, we want relationships with other ones as well,” DeWine said Monday after he delivered remarks.

DeWine credited JobsOhio with leading the charge on contracts with Japanese and other foreign companies recently.

“Having JobsOhio, I believe, gives us a competitive advantage, I know, gives us a competitive advantage,” DeWine said. “It enables us to move fast, and I think something that we don’t talk a lot about but is true, is the follow through.”

Through Tuesday afternoon, the conference was set to feature keynote presentations from the state, Honda, Canon Healthcare, and Intel as well as a visit to the Honda Marysville Auto Plant, according to a schedule. The MWJA partnership between the Midwest region and the East Asian country has been around for more than 50 years.