The Delegation of the European Union to Japan, 
Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI)
and the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation Joint Hybrid Seminar

～Resilient supply chains in times of geopolitical tensions～

Tuesday, July 4, 2023 17:30-19:00 Tokyo (10:30-12:00 Brussels)
Venue: Delegation of the European Union to Japan (See appendix) + ZOOM Webinar
(With English-Japanese Simultaneous Interpretation / Free Event)

The Delegation of the European Union to Japan, the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI) and the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation, are delighted to co-host this seminar with the participation of EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, in charge of Internal Market, Industry, SMEs, Digital, Defense and Space. Ensuring economic security and resilient supply chains, particularly concerning critical mineral resources, is essential for the green and digital transformation of our economies. The current geopolitical tensions facing today’s world call for closer collaboration amongst like-minded partners. The recent G7 Hiroshima Summit declaration goes in that direction. Businesses, which have relied on an open global trade, have to rethink their strategies to re-shore certain activities or relocate them to reduce and mitigate disruptions risks.  During this session, Commissioner Breton will elaborate on the EU's approach and actions taken to strengthen supply chains resilience, the relationship with Japan, while we listen also to the views of Japanese key governmental agencies as well as hear from global businesses how they address these challenges.

Agenda

17:30-17:35 (10:30-10:35) Opening Remarks 
-    Jean-Eric Paquet, Ambassador of the EU to Japan, the Delegation of the European Union to Japan 

17:35-17:50 (10:35-10:50) Keynote speech 
-    Thierry Breton, Commissioner, European Commission

17:50-18:00 (10:50-11:00) Views from Japan
-    Shujiro Urata, Chairman, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI)

18:00-18:55 (11:00-11:55) Panel Discussion
-    Thibaut Kleiner, Director at DG Connect, European Commission
-    Ichiro Takahara, Chairman & CEO, Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC)
-    Nikolaus Boltze, Country Representative, thyssenkrupp Japan
-    Shoichiro Watanabe, Executive vice president & CTO, Panasonic Energy Co., Ltd.

Moderator: Kaori Iida, Head of Digital News Division,  NHK 

18:55-19:00 (11:55-12:00) Closing Remarks
-    Yasuo Tanabe, Managing Director Japan side, the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation

MC: Manuel Hubert, Managing Director EU side, the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation

19:00-20:00 Networking Reception

Registration:

• For onsite participation (capacity 100 people): Click here
• For ZOOM webinar participation: Click here

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Business matching: The EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation is running “EU-Japan Green Transition”, an online business platform that is aiming for business partnerships and open innovation between European and Japanese companies and organizations in the Green Economy field. It's available for free, please visit our site.