Japan

The Honourable Victor Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade is bringing Ontario’s open for business message to Japan October 16-18, 2019.

Ontario and Japan share a long-standing trade and investment relationship, and this mission looks to both solidify and expand upon that connection. Ontario first opened its Trade and Investment Office in Tokyo in 2006 and is already home to world leading Japanese companies such as Toyota, Honda, Hino, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Toshiba, and many more.

This mission will showcase Ontario’s strengths in a diverse array of sectors including IT, automotive and aerospace.

Notable investments and partnerships

Fujitsu and the University of Toronto, one of the world’s top academic research institutions, entered into a strategic partnership and opened the Fujitsu Co-Creation Research Laboratory at the University of Toronto in 2018. This long-term collaboration has a focus on “solving complex optimization problems using quantum-inspired computing.”

Toyota’s Cambridge, Ontario North assembly plant recently won the J.D. Power platinum award for the third time, making it the best ranked plant in the world. In fact, Ontario made history as the first jurisdiction outside of Japan entrusted to manufacture a Lexus. And starting in 2022, Toyota’s facilities in Ontario will begin building the latest Lexus NX crossover models.

Did you Know?

  • Approximately 42,000 Ontarians are of Japanese origin.
  • Japanese companies invested US$10.55B in Ontario from 2003 to 2018.
  • Ontario companies invested US$2.76B in Japan from 2003 to 2017.
  • 14 Ontario cities have sister relationships with Japan.
  • Canada’s best-selling car for 21 years, the Honda Civic, is built in Alliston, Ontario.
  • In 2018, two-way trade between Ontario and Japan was valued at over C$13.5 billion dollars, making it Ontario’s 8th largest export partner in the world.
  • 200 Japanese companies currently operate in Ontario.
  • In March 2013, a Memorandum of Understanding between the Canadian Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) was signed.

Ontario’s Sector Strengths

Ontario is home to the 2nd largest IT cluster in North America, where industry giants like Amazon, IBM, Google, Cisco and Shopify invest in major R&D operations. Ontario is comprised of over 300 AI firms and institutions and has quickly become a global destination for artificial intelligence research and innovation.

In the automotive sector, Ontario is the only subnational jurisdiction in the world with five OEMs and produces over 2 million vehicles per year. The automotive industry employees over 100,000 highly skilled workers and plants based in Ontario have won a combined 33 awards from J.D Power and Associates.

Ontario also has a solid aerospace ecosystem and invests in substantial research & development in turboprop aircraft, business jets, turbine engines, landing gear systems, and avionics. Ontario manufacturers are part of the global supply chain for virtually every passenger aircraft in the world.

Ontario is Open for Business

Like Japan, Ontario has a tradition of quality and hard work, underpinning a long legacy in advanced manufacturing, where new innovations and technologies meet the muscle of the industrial economy. Ontario is where smart, global companies look for the brightest people, highest quality products, and a pro-business climate with less red tape. The message for Japan and the rest of the world is that Ontario is open for business.

Ontario International Trade and Investment Office

The Trade and Investment Office in Tokyo is the official representation of the Government of Ontario, Canada in Japan. We work to attract investment to Ontario, to promote awareness about products from Ontario and to facilitate international innovation partnerships. Located in the Embassy of Canada, we provide customized information and services including market intelligence, site location assistance, connections to Ontario exporters and introductions to science and technology clusters.

Contact Information

Mr. David Perdue
Counsellor (Commercial – Ontario)
Tokyo
david.perdue@international.gc.ca