Foment del Treball is organizing a business mission to Japan between July 5 and 16 in search of business opportunities. It does so in collaboration with the Catalan Foreign Office in Tokyo. The mission, which due to the limitations imposed by the pandemic will not be in-person but virtual, comes at a time when the Asian country is also looking for European suppliers to cover technological solutions it lacks.
Japan's relationship with Barcelona goes back a long way. Beyond its fascination with Gaudí, modernism, and Barça, which brought millions of tourists every year before COVID, there has always been a mutual interest. In the late 80s, I myself participated in an expedition to promote the Diada de Sant Jordi which, in my case, traveled through the south of the country, Osaka, Nagoya, and Kyoto. First-hand I learned how much the Japanese admired our festival of the book and the rose, importing what they called St. Jordi's Day, which then extended for two weeks.
I understood some of the cultural singularities of the Japanese and years later, when the movie Lost in Translation premiered, I also understood what Bill Murray experienced. My presence then in Japan had to do with the gegants. After the performances, people had questions. After a long speech, the translator simply conveyed something like "how tall are the giants." My colleagues and I looked at each other, surprised that he was only interested in that when he had been talking for almost a minute. And so every day. I have never felt so identified with the protagonist of a movie.
It so happens that these days I am leafing through the latest book by Federico Lanzaco, one of the great world Japanologists, to the point that he was awarded one of the highest imperial distinctions for his contribution to the knowledge of Japanese culture. Born in Barcelona, very young and in the midst of the post-war period, he had the courage to get on a ship in Marseille and go to Japan. Just like that, on his own, to study that country. Today, at 92, he is still active and at the end of last year he published Cultura japonesa. Pensamiento y religión (Japanese Culture. Thought and Religion), a magnificent work that I recommend.
The Japanologist Federico Lanzaco had the courage to get on a ship in Marseille and go to Japan. Just like that, on his own, to study that country.For those participating in the future Foment mission, I would like to highlight the following paragraph from the book: "Another specific characteristic of Japanese culture throughout its history, and a unique distinction not found in other cultures, isits amazing ability to assimilate foreign civilizations while, at the same time, preserving its national identity. (…) A whole process of selective absorption that only incorporates what is of interest, leaving out other elements that it does not consider valuable." This is how I experienced it in my modest experience on that St. Jordi's Day and I believe that it is a principle that anyone who wishes to relate, also economically, with Japan should keep very much in mind.
This week, Foment organized a virtual meeting with entrepreneurs interested in the July mission. Yuko Kijimoto, from the Foreign Office of Commerce and Investments of Catalonia in Tokyo, participated in it. Kijimoto listed which sectors of the Japanese industry currently generate the greatest business opportunities and highlighted that it is a very loyal market once it has consolidated relationships with suppliers.
The first sector is food. In fact, it already accounts for 44% of Catalan exports to Japan. Organic products, gourmet products, wines and cavas are very well received by Japanese consumers. Another sector with great demand is new technologies applied to the circular economy and recycling, especially plastics. The Japanese automotive industry, the third largest in the world, is also looking for solutions and components related to the car of the future, one that replaces fossil fuels with electricity and hydrogen.
This week, Foment organized a virtual meeting with entrepreneurs interested in the July missionThe fourth sector generating opportunities is related to healthcare and biotechnology. At this moment, this industry generates 24 billion euros annually and the forecast is to multiply it by six before 2030. Finally, and at least to me it causes surprise, it is an imperative need fordigitalization. In fact, this is one of the great priorities of the Japanese Government. According to Kijimoto, only 34% of the companies in the archipelago are digitized, and the pandemic has highlighted this deficiency.
Within the framework of the economic reactivation of Catalonia and Barcelona, Foment's initiative proves very interesting for businessmen in our country who want to turn their gaze towards the Rising Sun. In this case, I would say it is not superfluous to listen to Professor Lanzaco's wise advice to understand that one must not forget that the opportunities Japan can offer must be framed in its "bipolarity" or two faces: that of the world's third economy with its high electronic technology and commercial aggressiveness, and that of the Japan of the chrysanthemum, cherry blossoms and the "sublime tea ceremony". Wise and timely advice.
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