Message from President

Message from president

Greetings from Nobuhiro Endo, President of the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation. 

Currently, fundamental values ​​that have supported the development of the post-war world, such as democracy, the rule of law, and multilateral cooperation, are beginning to be challenged amidst unstable geopolitical conditions, including heightened military tensions surrounding Ukraine, the turbulent situation in the Middle East, and the US-China rivalry and competition. In this context, the relationship between Japan and EU, which share these values, has become more important than ever before. It comes from the fact that Japan-EU partnership is recognized as the basis for global prosperity and stability, not just the regional relationship of the two. 

Since 2023, I have served as Japan-side Chair of EU-Japan Business Round Table, a forum for policy dialogue between industry leaders from Japan and EU. We have been advocating to both governments to work towards maximizing the contribution of value to the global community by revitalizing the strengths of both Japan and the EU and strengthening Japan-EU relations from industrial standpoint. 

Since 1987, EU-Japan Centre has played a vital role in promoting Japan-EU economic and industrial relations. Moving forward, we will further enhance our activities in areas such as Japan-EU business matching, developing human resources, facilitation of joint research, and information sharing regarding policy and industry. We will contribute to strategic partnerships between Japan and the EU, such as the Japan-EU Green Alliance, the Japan-EU Digital Partnership, and the Japan-EU Competitiveness Alliance, which are agreements between Japan and the EU leaders. We will also strive to promote and encourage participation in Horizon Europe, the EU's research and development assistance framework in which Japan has recently agreed to participate as an associate country. 

Thank you for your continued understanding and cooperation. 

Nobuhiro Endo
President
EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation