Ricketts Concludes Japan Trade Mission

(KFOR NEWS September 10,2019) TOKYO, JAPAN – Governor Pete Ricketts and the trade delegation joined the closing ceremonies of the 51^st Annual Midwest-U.S. Japan Association Conference in Tokyo. Throughout the meeting, the delegation met with key trade partners and joined sessions highlighting opportunities to expand trade and investment between the two countries.

On the final day of his trade mission, Governor Ricketts met with Vice Governor Akihito Yoshibayashi of Shizuoka Prefecture. During their meeting, the Governors discussed continued collaboration between the two states. The University of Nebraska—Omaha has an ongoing partnership with Shizuoka University. The capital of the prefecture, the City of Shizuoka, was Omaha’s first sister city, and the two have been sister cities since 1965.

During the conference, Governor Ricketts also took the opportunity to thank Consul General Naoki Ito of Japan for his service. Consul General Ito has represented Japan to Midwestern states for the past few years, and has worked tirelessly to strengthen the Nebraska-Japan relationship. Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be deploying Consul General Ito on a new mission in near future.