Mircea Abrudean, President of the Senate, held working meetings today with senior representatives of institutions and the business community in Tokyo, as part of his high-level visit to Japan from June 25 to 28.

During the meeting with Mircea Abrudean, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Japanese Diet, His Excellency Fukushiro Nukaga, sent a message of encouragement, emphasizing: „Romania must rely on Japan in a useful way. Tell us how we can help. It is your time to shine.

The Romanian side appreciated the openness and in-depth knowledge that the Speaker of the House of Representatives has about Romania, noting that he visited the country in 1989 and has constantly followed developments since that time.

At the same time, the active contribution that His Excellency Fukushiro Nukaga made to the establishment of the bilateral Strategic Partnership was highlighted. In this context, the Romanian side extended an invitation to pay a working visit to Bucharest, with the aim of identifying concrete ways to bring Romanian-Japanese parliamentary cooperation to the level of the Strategic Partnership, including through the organization of specialized forums dedicated to the fields of energy, innovation, education, and the economy.

During the meeting with Ms. Akiko Ikuina, Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Romanian side expressed its gratitude for the support given to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova in the context of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine.

The Deputy Minister highlighted Japan’s desire to intensify economic cooperation with Romania, including through the opportunities offered by the Osaka Expo. The Japanese side also expressed its appreciation for the Romanian delegation’s visit to Japan, considering that it contributes substantially to deepening the Strategic Partnership.

During the two meetings, the Romanian delegation called for:

▪️ continued Japanese support for Romania’s accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a national strategic objective;

▪️ Japan’s more active involvement in strengthening the security architecture in the Black Sea region;

▪️ capitalizing on Romania’s potential as a major logistics hub for Ukraine’s reconstruction;

▪️ intensifying the participation of the Japanese private sector in the Three Seas Initiative projects;

▪️ deepening the European Union-Japan partnership in areas of common interest, such as security, combating hybrid threats, investment, connectivity, science, technology, and innovation.

In conclusion, both senior Japanese officials emphasized that the Romanian delegation’s visit made a concrete and significant contribution to strengthening the Strategic Partnership between Romania and Japan.

In the context of strengthening bilateral economic and technological relations, the Romanian side invited the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) to visit Romania to participate in the Romania-Japan Innovation Forum, which will take place in October in Iași. The Romanian side also encouraged the active involvement of Keidanren members in strategic development projects, as Romania is currently the most important logistics hub for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

The Romanian representatives would like to thank Mr. Toshiaki Higashihara, Vice President of Keidanren and representative of Hitachi, as well as Mr. Ichiro Hara, representative of Mitsubishi, and Mr. Yoji Saito, Director of Keidanren, for the constructive dialogue held during the bilateral meetings.

Mitsubishi has expressed its intention to actively contribute to the modernization of public transport in Romania, while Hitachi has expressed its willingness to support projects to modernize the national railway system and to build factories to produce SMR (modular nuclear reactors) components.

For the information of the public, it should be noted that Keidanren is the largest and most influential business organization in Japan, bringing together major Japanese corporations in fields such as the automotive industry, electronics, banking, energy, and other strategic sectors. Keidanren members, including companies such as Toyota, Sumitomo, Mitsui & Co., Sony, and Panasonic, contribute approximately 300–420 trillion yen to Japan’s economy, equivalent to about 50–70% of Japan’s gross domestic product.

During the consultations, the Romanian side also had the pleasure of talking with Mr. Tadaoki Nishimura, executive vice president of NTT Data. NTT Data recently opened a Romania-Japan Software Development Center in Cluj-Napoca, a move that reflects Japanese investors’ confidence in the prospects of the Romanian economy. The President of the Senate recalled the proposal made to the Mayor of Osaka, Hideyuki Yokoyama, to twin the city with Cluj-Napoca, given the importance of Cluj on the map of Japanese investments.

The Romanian side emphasized the importance of expanding the center’s activities and increasing the company’s investments in Romania. In this regard, NTT Data’s management announced its intention to increase its presence in Romania by approximately 300%, provided that a stable political and economic climate is maintained.

It should be noted that the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Data (NTT) group currently has over 1,800 employees in Romania and an annual turnover exceeding €100 million, with the company also providing digital services to the citizens of Cluj-Napoca.

The President of the Senate thanked the former Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry and current member of the House of Representatives, Yasutoshi Nishimura, for his decisive contribution to the growth of economic relations and the preparation of the Romania-Japan Strategic Partnership.

The two agreed that October would be a peak month for activating economic relations, both in Tokyo and in Iași, within the framework of the Romania-Japan Innovation Forum. Companies from Cluj will be present in Osaka at the end of September and in Tokyo at the beginning of October, Cluj being an important hub for the development of Romanian-Japanese economic relations.

The former minister said that after the end of the war in Ukraine, Romania should become not only a logistics hub for reconstruction, but also a major tourist destination, as Japanese tourists particularly appreciate Transylvania. The minister also emphasized his admiration for the Romanian textile industry, which he was able to experience firsthand during his visit to Bucharest.