Japan wants to sell more to the United States via Mexico

Koji Shibata, chairman of the Japan-Mexico Economic Committee of the Japan Business Federation, said that the country hopes to continue developing a win-win relationship.

“Japan is a link to the Asian market for Mexican companies and Mexico is a gateway to the North American market for Japanese companies,” he said.

During his participation in the binational meetings held by Coparmex, Shibata urged the Mexican authorities to cooperate in improving the business environment, particularly in terms of security so that employees of Japanese companies can work in peace, as well as transparency and stability in the regulations of the tax system.

Mexico is not only an important base for Japanese companies in Latin America, it is the eighth country in the world with the most companies from the Asian country, much more than in Taiwan or the Philippines and close to what Indonesia has.

José Medina Mora, national president of Coparmex, commented that there is progress in trade between both countries, as it has shown an “impressive” growth in the first four months of this year, exports from Mexico to Japan increased by 11.3%, remaining the second destination in Asia.

“Mexico is ready to diversify its markets and look towards the Pacific with confidence and determination,” he said.

He added that Japan’s foreign investment in Mexico not only represents capital; it also represents technology and innovation and a long-term commitment to the development of the country’s economy.

From 2006 to the first quarter of 2024, Japanese investment in the country amounts to 30,837.5 million dollars.

Katsumi Itagaki, Consul General of Japan in León, Guanajuato, said that the Bajío has always been and will continue to be key for investments in the Asian country; of the 1,500 companies there, 794 are in that region.

For Itagaki, the phenomenon of non-reshoring for Japanese companies in Mexico is not new; it began in 2005 with the AAE, but he recognizes that with the wave of this phenomenon there may be an expansion of the plants they have in the country for greater production.

There are also opportunities for Mexico and Japan to co-work with technological solutions, automation and services to existing industries.