A Japanese shipbuilding delegation of government and industry officials recently toured Alabama’s coast as part of a mission to expand shipbuilding and defense capabilities in Japan and the U.S.

Alabama Department of Commerce officials, including Secretary Ellen McNair, and leaders from local communities participated in the U.S. International Trade Administration-led excursion, which also included Florida and Mississippi.

The tour was part of the ongoing collaboration under the U.S.-Japan Memorandum of Cooperation Regarding Shipbuilding. That memorandum, signed by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last October, calls for expanded shipbuilding capacity in both nations by aligning investment, procurement, workforce and technology initiatives.

“This visit provided an opportunity for our Japanese counterparts to see firsthand what makes Alabama a leader in maritime and defense industries,” McNair said. “The Alabama coastline is home to a globally competitive shipbuilding ecosystem – supporting both commercial and naval vessel construction.

“In the Mobile region alone, more than 16,000 workers are part of the maritime workforce within a short drive, supporting everything from advanced shipbuilding to repair and logistics.”

The Mobile Chamber and its Executive Vice President, David Rodgers, were key to creating the first-rate tour, McNair said.

“Alabama is playing an increasingly critical role in national defense,” Rodgers said. “Companies like Austal USA are delivering next-generation vessels for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard, and recent expansions are helping to strengthen America’s shipbuilding capacity in Mobile and beyond.”

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves and Florida Secretary of Commerce Alex Kelly also met with the delegation.

The U.S. Department of Commerce will now work with interagency partners and Japanese counterparts to identify potential foreign direct investment opportunities resulting from the mission. Robert Stackpole, director of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Alabama office, plays an active role in Export Alabama and was instrumental in organizing this visit. He will be part of those conversations and will coordinate directly with the Alabama Department of Commerce on next steps.

“Our local, state and federal partnerships are key to our foreign direct investment growth,” McNair said.

Alabama’s relationships with Japanese companies go back decades, said Bob Smith, assistant director of Commerce’s Business Development Office.

“Japan is one of Alabama’s leading sources of foreign investment, with more than $10 billion invested since 1999, creating a combined 25,000 jobs,” Smith said. “The shipbuilding memorandum gives Alabama and our Japanese partners another opportunity to prosper and grow together while making both our countries more secure.”

International Trade Administration officials said the delegation tour is part of broader efforts to promote foreign investment into the United States, enhance industrial resilience and support the competitiveness of critical sectors across the U.S. economy.

“The relationship between Alabama and Japan is one of our most enduring and successful international partnerships,” said Christina Stimpson, chief officer for Commerce’s Global Business Office. “Over the years, Commerce and the Japan-America Society of Alabama have built strong connections through investment, business collaboration and cultural exchange, creating lasting benefits for communities in both places.

“This visit reflects the strength of those relationships and the opportunities that exist to deepen our cooperation in strategic industries like shipbuilding, where Alabama and Japan can continue to grow and succeed together.”

Courtesy of Made in Alabama

How long has it been since Alabama baseball has been to the College World Series? Consider this: CWS fans weren’t even competing in a shot challenge yet. The Crimson Tide last reached the series in 1999, and it would be 2011 before the origins of what is now the famous “Rocco’s Jello Shot Challenge” began to form.

Originally, a bar known as Goodnight’s was the venue for a liquid shot battle between fans of two SEC schools (of course), Florida and South Carolina, in 2011. Since then, fans of all eight schools involved in the CWS compete to buy the most shots, which the bar tracked by school. In 2019, the competition was refined to a Jello shot competition under the renamed Rocco’s Pizza and Cantina. At $5 per shot, a portion of the proceeds now go to support food bank charities.

Thirsty LSU fans set the competition’s single-school record in 2023 at 68,888 shots, at a total cost of nearly $350,000.

Alabama fans can find Rocco’s at 1302 Mike Fahey Street. The Crimson Tide fan base’s competition will include fans of Oklahoma, West Virginia, Troy, North Carolina, Texas, Georgia and Ole Miss. This year’s shots will be colored red, white and blue to commemorate America’s 250th birthday, according to the contest’s official X account.

PREDICTIONS: Can Alabama baseball make College World Series run?

FAMILY AFFAIR: Alabama’s John Lemm gets family support all the way from Australia as Tide reaches CWS

Reach Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X @chasegoodbread.