Last week the Dujat Trip to Japan took place, with many successful company visits and networking events together with our delegation of Dujat members together with Mr. Hein van der Loo, Mayor of Almere.
Visit Yakult Miki Factory
The programme started with a morning visit to the Yakult Hyogo Miki Plant. With an interesting presentation and really impressive tour, we learned about their product line, quality control system and more.
Reception in Osaka
With one year to go until the World Expo in Osaka, it was a pleasure to host a reception at Hilton Osaka for Dujat members and relations in the Kansai area. At this reception, Mr. Marc Kuipers, Consul General and Commissioner General for NL at Expo 2025 gave a speech, followed by a speech and ‘kampai’ by Mr. Hein van der Loo, Mayor of Almere.
Visit Yanmar & Kurashiki
On Tuesday we visited the Yanmar Bio Innovation Center Kurashiki Laboratory where they are working to establish sustainable farming for a sustainable society by fusing together technologies in agriculture, environmental control and energy management. We could even taste the delicious strawberries, papaya and tomatoes they made. After the really inspiring tour at Yanmar, we paid a visit to the beautiful Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter.
Visit Fujitsu Technology Hall
On Wednesday we visited the Technology Hall of Fujitsu Limited. It was really interesting to learn about the many innovations at Fujitsu, from Quantum Computing to the AI Sensor, Judging Support System and more!
Dujat Showcase Tokyo
The first edition of the Dujat Showcase Tokyo Event supported by NFIA Japan took place at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. NFIA and various members of our delegation gave a presentation there.
We were also pleased to welcome Mr. Kenji Saito, Executive Officer & Head Aerospace Division at Nikkiso Co. Ltd. who gave a great testimonial about doing business in the Netherlands, and our final speaker: Mr. Hein van der Loo, Mayor of the City of Almere, who gave his closing remarks. More about this event can be found here.
AVB Meeting & Reception
We had the honor to organize the annual Dujat Advisory Board Meeting & Reception again, this time hosted by the brand new ambassador H.E. Mr. Gilles Beschoor Plug at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Tokyo.
Despite only just arriving to Japan, thank you so much to the ambassador and Mrs. Beschoor Plug for welcoming us to your residence. It was a pleasure to meet with you, as well as many old and new Dutch & Japanese friends. We look forward to seeing you again next year!
Visit Mitsubishi Seikado Bunko Art Museum
To add a more cultural element to our programme, it was great to have an exclusive tour at the Seikado Bunko Art Museum in Tokyo, showcasing the famous and precious Japanese national treasure: the Yohen Tenmoku Tea cup, among other things.
EY/MUFG Roundtable
During this informative and interactive session that was organized for our delegation at the office of EY Japan in Tokyo, several interesting topics were discussed together with EY, MUFG and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Japan.
- Opening remarks by Mr. Hideaki Takase, Member of the Board of Directors, Managing Executive Officer, MUFG and member of the Advisory Board of Dujat
- Opportunities for Trade and Investment in Energy Transition in Japan by Mr. Pieter Terpstra, Minister-Counsellor, Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
- Green Transition strategy Japan and MUFG by Mr. Tomohiro Ishikawa, Chief Regulatory Engagement Officer MUFG
- Circular Economy: developments in Japan by Mr. Yoichiro Ide, Senior Manager, Climate Change & Sustainability Services (CCaSS), Ernst & Young Japan
- Closing remarks by Mr. Luc Houben, Chairman of DUJAT
Dinner at The Place of Tokyo
At the very nice Place of Tokyo next to the Tokyo Tower, we concluded the trip with a dinner buffet. We look forward to going again next year!
Some additional meetings were also scheduled before and during the trip. Dujat Chairman Luc Houben and Managing Director Christa de Kemp left to Japan one week earlier and met with various relations.
Visit Chairman of the Dujat Advisory Board in Japan: Mr. Teiichi Goto
Dujat Chairman Luc Houben and Managing Director Christa de Kemp visited Mr. Teiichi Goto, President & CEO of FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, who is also Chairman of the Dujat Advisory Board in Japan, and his colleague Mr. Homare Kai, Deputy General Manager, Life Sciences Business Div. at FUJIFILM.
Mr. Goto is also the President of the Japan-Netherlands Society (JNS), which is a Japanese organization that, like Dujat, works to strengthen the relation between the two countries: http://www.j-nls.org/english/index.html
Reunion Dinners with friends in Tokyo
It was so nice to reunite with old friends who already left the Netherlands. They have contributed greatly to the Dutch-Japanese business community during their stay.
Visit Sumitomo Heavy Industries
Last year, Sumitomo Heavy Industries opened their new office for Sumitomo Heavy Industries Europe in Amstelveen, and also became member of Dujat. Luc and Christa were glad to meet them again at their office in Tokyo.
