September 08, 2003
September 8, 2003
LANSING – Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today traveled to Chicago where she addressed the 35th annual meeting of the Midwest US Japan Conference. The conference, which aims to further business and diplomatic ties between the Midwestern United States and Japan, brings together prominent US and Japanese industry and civic leaders.
“Japan is Michigan’s third largest trading partner in the world, so naturally we have some incredibly close ties,” said Granholm. “As we continue to build up our high-tech industries and rescue our manufacturing sector, I look forward to working with our partners in Japan to ensure success on both sides of the Pacific.”
At the conference, Granholm urged Japanese business leaders to continue their investment in Michigan’s manufacturing industries and described the state as “fertile ground” for continued growth. She also pitched Michigan as a leader in high-tech industries, addressing this year’s conference theme of new technologies.
More than 350 Japanese-owned businesses employ approximately 34,000 Michiganians. Japanese firms also operate 98 Michigan-based manufacturing facilities. Granholm will convene a manufacturing summit of business and labor leaders this fall, as Michigan and the nation continue to lose manufacturing jobs at an alarming rate.
Granholm was joined by fellow governors from several Midwestern states, including Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, and Ohio. At a meeting of the National Governor’s Association in August, she urged her colleagues to address the issue of manufacturing in their home states as well and ultimately join her in raising the national dialogue on this important issue.
