EU-Japan Business Round Table
On this webpage : The BRT is referenced in the 30th EU-Japan Summit's Joint Statement | Submission of the BRT's 2025 Recommendations to PM Ishiba | Submission of the BRT's 2025 Recommendations to METI, MOFA & MIC | Submission of the BRT's 2025 Recommendations to EVP Séjourné | The BRT's 2025 annual meeting | BRT & EU-Japan Business-to-Government discussions | Partnerships between BRT companies | The BRT is mentioned by the 2nd EU-Japan Digital Partnership Council | Brief overview of the BRT and a 2-minute video guide to the BRT
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The BRT is referenced in the 30th EU-Japan Summit's Joint Statement
Tokyo - 23 July 2025, PM - Shigeru Ishiba (Prime Minister of Japan), António Costa (President of the European Council) and Ursula von der Leyen (President of the European Commission) met in Tokyo for the 30th EU-Japan Summit.
The annexes to the Joint Statement issued after the Summit contained two references to the BRT:
In the first attachment (entitled, "DELIVERABLES AND PRIORITIES") to the Joint Statement:
"Together, the EU and Japan:
II. Economy
d) Investment, Business and Industrial Cooperation
- will promote business cooperation including through the EU-Japan Business Round Table (BRT)."
In the second attachment (entitled, "EU-JAPAN COMPETITIVENESS ALLIANCE") to the Joint Statement:
"... The EU and Japan will deepen their cooperation in the following areas:
Cooperation with the Business Sector
8. Acknowledging the contribution of businesses in supporting the implementation of the initiatives under this Alliance, both sides expect the EU-Japan Business Roundtable (BRT), in close cooperation with its members, such as the European Business Council (EBC) and the Japan Business Council in Europe (JBCE) to take leading roles in consolidating and conveying practical perspectives from industry."
Submission of the BRT’s 2025 Recommendations to PM Ishiba
Tokyo - 23 July 2025, AM - Nobuhiro Endo (Japan-side BRT Chair and Executive Advisor, NEC Corporation) and Jeremy Grossas (Representative Director & President, Merck Biopharma Japan and Country Speaker - Japan, Merck Group) who was representing Belén Garijo (EU-side BRT Chair and Chair of the Executive Board and CEO, Merck) submitted the BRT's 2025 Recommendations to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
During a Courtesy Call on PM Ishiba, Dr. Endo and Mr Grossas formally delivered the BRT’s 2025 Recommendations adopted at the BRT's 2025 Annual Meeting.
During the meeting, Dr. Endo explained that during February's Annual Meeting, the EU and Japan reaffirmed their commitment to further deepening cooperation to enhance industrial competitiveness, and their shared recognition of the importance of economic security and determination to work together toward its realisation. The BRT was determined to achieve sustainable economic growth and continued creation of social value, thereby further enhancing the strengths of Japanese and EU industry in the global marketplace and jointly contributing to the world’s economic development. It was encouraged by the start of negotiations on a framework for Japan’s participation in Horizon Europe, believing such membership would hold great promise.
Mr Grossas noted that geopolitical, global trade and technological developments across our world are, for EU and Japan, not only a challenge but an opportunity to seize to reinforce our inalterable links to build a sustainable growth - the main goal of the BRT. He was pleased to submit these recommendations to PM Ishiba and his government, as the BRT did in March to the European Commission in Brussels. With the ongoing support of the Government of Japan and other stakeholders, the BRT looks forward to helping increase the economic resilience of the EU and Japan, and the quality of life of our citizens.
Responding, PM Ishiba emphasised the importance of deepening cooperation between Japan and the EU, which share common values and principles. He expressed his respect for the BRT's activities aimed at strengthening economic relations between Japan and the EU. He said that he would take the recommendations into consideration and encouraged the BRT to further contribute to deepening cooperation on common challenges facing Japan and the EU, such as economic security and strengthening industrial competitiveness.
Keiichiro Tachibana (Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary), Satoshi Katahira (Director-General, Economic Affairs Bureau, MOFA), Masayoshi Arai (Director-General, Trade Policy Bureau, METI), Mr Fuseta (Director-General, Global Strategy Bureau, MIC), Takeshi Koyama (Director, Economic Affairs Division, European Union Economic Affairs Bureau, MOFA), Toshiyuki Shirai (Director, Europe Division, METI), Mr Fukushima (Negotiator, International Economic Affairs Division, MIC), the EU-Japan Centre’s Managing Directors and a representative of NEC Corporation were also present.
Information about the BRT's courtesy call to PM Ishiba has been posted on the official website of the Prime Minister's Office of Japan and the website of MOFA and MOFA's post on X.
The BRT’s 2025 Recommendations were submitted to European Commission Executive Vice President Séjourné in March.
For more information about the 2025 recommendations and the annual meeting, please visit the 26th EU-Japan Business Round Table Annual Meeting webpage.
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Middle - Left to right: Jeremy Grossas (representing the BRT Chair, EU-side), Nobuhiro Endo (BRT Chair, Japan-side) and Shigeru Ishiba (Prime Minister of Japan) |
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Submission of the BRT’s 2025 Recommendations to METI, MOFA & MIC
Tokyo - 14 & 15 July 2025 - Nobuhiro Endo (Japan-side BRT Chair and Executive Advisor, NEC Corporation) delivered the BRT's 2025 Recommendations to Masaki Ogushi (State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, METI), Hideto Kawasaki (Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications, MIC) and Takeshi Iwaya (Minister of Foreign Affairs, MOFA)
The handovers were reported on the websites of METI, MOFA and MIC.
Submission of the BRT's 2025 Recommendations to EVP Séjourné
Brussels, 03 March 2025 - Maike Asmussen from Merck and Mitsuhiro Murooka from NEC, representing the BRT’s co-Chairs Belén Garijo and Nobuhiro Endo, hand-delivered the BRT's 2025 Recommendations to Stéphane Séjourné (Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy) who received them on behalf of the European Commission. H.E. Kazutoshi Aikawa, Ambassador of Japan to the EU, witnessed the handover.
(Left to right: Ambassador Aikawa, Mr Murooka, Ms Asmussen & EVP Séjourné)
During the meeting, Ms Asumussen (Chief Political Officer, Merck), Mr Murooka (Corporate Senior Vice President, Chief Global Strategy Officer & Managing Director – Global Strategy Planning Division, NEC), EVP Séjourné and Ambassador Aikawa discussed how, at a time of global turbulence, economic security, industrial competitiveness and EU-Japan cooperation in scientific research potentially via Horizon Europe will help strengthen the global economy. In due course, the BRT's 2025 recommendations will be formally submitted to the Government of Japan.
Social media posts about the handover to EVP Séjourné can be found on the BRT 2025 Annual Meeting Cuttings webpage.
2025 BRT Annual Meeting at the Tokyo Prince Hotel
Tokyo, 12 February 2025 - the 26th annual meeting of the EU-Japan Business Round Table took place in the Providence Hall at the Tokyo Prince Hotel. It was co-chaired by Nobuhiro Endo (Executive Advisor, NEC Corporation) and Belén Garijo (Chair of the Executive Board and CEO, Merck).
Meeting information can be found on the 2025 annual meeting webpage and articles and social media posts can be found on the 2025 annual meeting cuttings webpage.
BRT & EU-Japan Business-to-Government discussions
Engagement with the EU and Japanese Authorities outside the framework of the BRT annual meeting is an important part of the BRT's work.
Since 2024, the EU and Japanese Authorities have invited the BRT to take part in some stakeholder events linked to formal government-to-government level dialogues so the BRT could give its perspective on EU-Japan industrial policy and on the Japan-EU Digital Partnership. Click here for more details and here for a report from the June 2024 edition of "EU-Japan NEWS".
The BRT also takes part in policy events organised by think tanks.
Partnerships between BRT companies
Partnerships are a sign of the strategic importance that Japan plays for the BRT's EU-side member companies and that Europe plays for the BRT's Japan-side member companies. Examples include:
- The announcement of a USD $100m investment in AALTO, part of Airbus, by a Japanese consortium of businesses and financial institutions led by NTT DoCoMo. (June 2024)
- The announcement of a strategic initiative between Fujitsu Limited and METRON aimed at realising carbon neutrality in the manufacturing industry. (February 2024) This strategic initiative was reported in the June 2024 edition of "EU-Japan NEWS".
The BRT is mentioned by the 2nd EU-Japan Digital Partnership Council
Brussels - 30 April 2024 - The official Joint Statement issued following the 2nd EU-Japan Digital Partnership Council highlighted the role the BRT can play in helping the Digital Partnership Council ensure stakeholder engagement.
The Digital Partnership Council is a government-to-government dialogue led by Thierry Breton (the European Commissioner for the Internal Market), Taro Kono (the Japanese Minister for Digital Transformation), Takeaki Matsumoto (the Japanese Minister of Internal Affairs & Communications) and Taku Ishii (the Japanese Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade & Industry).
English and Japanese versions of the Joint Statement were issued. By clicking on one of the below extracts you can see the full statement.
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The meeting was reported on the websites of the European Commission, MIC and Digital Agency. In addition to issuing the Joint Statement, Messrs Breton and Kono also agreed an 'EU-Japan Memorandum of Cooperation on Digital Identities and Trust services to implement Data Free Flow with Trust'. The agreement of an MoC was reported on the EC and Digital Agency websites.
Statement by the BRT co-Chairs on the outcome of the 2023 EU-Japan Summit
4 August 2023 – Philippe Wahl (Chairman and CEO, Le Groupe La Poste) & Nobuhiro Endo (Executive Advisor, NEC Corporation) – co-Chairs of the EU-Japan Business Round Table - issue a statement on the outcome of the 29th EU-Japan Summit.
The statement was prepared by Le Groupe La Poste and NEC Corporation. It contains the BRT co-Chairs' reaction to the outcome of the 13 July 2023 EU-Japan Summit. English, Japanese and bilingual versions of the BRT co-Chairs' statement are available.
Please submit any questions / comments via the contact us form.
What is the BRT? A 2-minute introductory video
This 2-minute video will introduce you to the BRT - its role, members, goals, working methods and links with the EU and Japanese Authorities.
This video includes archive footage from the BRT's first 24 years. More photos and videos can be found in the BRT annual meeting archive.
Background
The EU-Japan Business Round Table (BRT) was established in its current form in 1999 to foster communication between Japanese and European industries. Its co-Chairs are Nobuhiro Endo (Executive Advisor, NEC Corporation) and Belén Garijo (Chair of the Executive Board and CEO of Merck). Its 92 members are senior executives from leading European and Japanese companies and organisations that represent a significant part of the EU and Japanese industry and cover a broad range of sectors of activity and 20 SMEs.
The BRT's main objectives are to submit recommendations to the Japanese and European Authorities so as to help develop trade and investment between the EU and Japan, and to encourage industrial cooperation in fields of common interest such as innovation, climate change, or industrial standards.
Use these links for a detailed introduction to the BRT, its work and members; to access the annual meeting archive; for archived news reports and articles about the BRT or to contact the BRT Secretariat at the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation.
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