- The Governor of Okinawa Prefecture
- Hirokazu Nakaima
Okinawa is Japan’s southernmost major island, and the prefecture includes a number of unique islands over a vast area equivalent to the size of the rest of the nation combined. It has the distinction of being Japan’s only Island prefecture. It was once known as the Kingdom of Ryukyu, a seafaring dominion that flourished and spread its culture through trade and other interactions to create new values with Japan, Korea, China, and the countries of Southeast Asia. Today, Okinawa is working energetically to become an international logistics hub in its bid to serve as a gateway to Asia and a bridge to the world to promote the further growth of Japan and other Asian nations in the 21st century.
We invited approximately representatives and buyers from 80 overseas companies to this Pre-Trade Fair in Okinawa, making this the largest trade fair in Japan, and are looking forward to seeing record numbers of participants at this global fair.
We hope this trade fair will provide a great opportunity for buyers and suppliers from both Japan and overseas to better appreciate the attractiveness of this wonderful area’s products and its convenience as base for tourism, MICE, business matching, and international logistics.
It is our hope that many successful business negotiations will take place here and that your experience at this Pre-Trade Fair will strengthen the bond between you and Okinawa even more.
- Okinawa Great Trade Fair Executive Committee Chairman
- Okinawa Konwakai Chairman Kunio Oroku
Okinawa Konwakai (committee) was established in in 1990 for the purpose of “promoting exchange between mainland Japan and the business people of Okinawa”. The Okinawa Great Trade Fair was born from discussions about the desire of business people from the mainland and from Okinawa to hold meaningful events to commemorate the milestone 25th anniversary of the Okinawa Konwakai’s inauguration.
The Okinawa Great Trade Fair offers appointment-style individual business meetings that connect foreign buyers with suppliers inside and outside the prefecture who are considering expansion and market cultivation overseas. This year, there are plans to hold a Pre-Trade Fair prior to the main Okinawa Great Trade Fair, with approximately 100 companies expected to participate both as buyers and as exhibiting suppliers. In particular, approximately 80 foreign buyers, mainly from Asia, are scheduled to participate in what is the largest set of individual business talks in Japan, literally facilitating global business negotiations. Starting with Okinawa Konwakai, we will make a strong effort to build a support system as the Okinawa Great Trade Fair Committee so that both buyers and suppliers will get an opportunity to close more business deals in business meetings.
The ancestors of us Okinawans (Uchinanchu) at one time were a nation that traded with Southeast Asia and countries around the world., and the will and spirit of our ancestors who competed fairly against other nations with hardly any seafaring technology, and whose land was known as Lequio as far away as Portugal, has been inherited by us in the present age.
In addition, the infrastructure of Naha Airport is being improved, including transforming it into a hub, to make Okinawa once again into an international logistics center. By holding the Okinawa Great Trade Fair in a form that literally matches the present age, we will send the form of a new logistics business out into the world, and we will continue aiming to promote the growth of companies throughout the country and the development of the region. That is, we will provide vitality to Japan.
The Okinawa Great Trade Fair will be a productive event for everyone, and I offer my heartfelt wishes that it will lead to developments for everyone.
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