BRT

The 27th meeting of the EU-Japan Business Round Table (or “BRT”) will take place in Brussels on Thursday, 16 April 2026.

On 1 September in Tokyo, 50 companies and organisations that are members of the BRT shared their views on the themes, sectors and other changes that the BRT should focus on in the run up to its 2026 annual meeting.

On 23 July, Tokyo, the EU-Japan BRT submitted its 2025 recommendations to PM Ishiba and was asked by the EU and Japanese Authorities to take a leading role in consolidating and conveying practical perspectives from industry.

On 3 March, the EU-Japan Business Round Table’s 2025 recommendations were formally hand-delivered to Stéphane Séjourné, Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, European Commission.

The 26th Annual Meeting of the EU-Japan Business Round Table will address economic security, industrial competitiveness and other issues. Dr. Endo (Executive Advisor, NEC Corporation) and Dr. Garijo (Chair of the Executive Board and CEO, Merck) will co-chair the meeting.

The EU-Japan Business Round Table (BRT) took part in two stakeholder workshops organised by the EU and Japanese Authorities on the fringes of formal EU-Japan annual government-to-government dialogues on industrial policy and the digital partnership.

On 16 February 2024, Nobuhiro Endo (Japan-side BRT Chair and Executive Advisor, NEC Corporation) and Christopher Thomas (Representative Director, President of Merck Ltd., Japan, representing Belén Garijo, EU-side BRT Chair) submitted the BRT’s 2023 Recommendations to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Established in 1999 to foster communication and cooperation between EU and Japanese industries, November’s EU-Japan Business Round Table meeting will address 4 key areas for future EU-Japan cooperation – economic security, the green transition, standardisation and digital.