Japanese prime minister joins Gov. Cooper for lunch at Executive Mansion
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife on Friday joined Gov. Roy Cooper for a luncheon and celebration at the Executive Mansion.
Kishida landed in North Carolina late Thursday, facing a jam-packed schedule of meetings with executives, state officials and, of course, some barbecue in what is believed to be the only such visit by a sitting head of government to North Carolina in decades.
On Friday morning, the prime minister and governor toured the Toyota electric battery plant in Randolph County, a $13.2 billion investment by Japan's largest automaker. They also toured the HondaJet facility in Greensboro.
The tour came a day after Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, a unit of Tokyo-based conglomerate Fujifilm, said it would add 680 high-paying jobs and spend an additional $1.2 billion at a biomanufacturing campus in Holly Springs.
Six months ago, Cooper met with Fujifilm executives in Tokyo. Cooper also visited Tokyo in 2017.
On Thursday, Cooper said Kishiba picked North Carolina over other states likely due to its economic ties with Japan.
Japan is one of the United States' largest trading partners and the largest source of foreign investment in North Carolina. At least 225 Japanese companies have large footprints in the state, employing nearly 30,000 people, according to the governor’s office. That number is expected to grow by thousands more jobs in the coming years, Cooper’s office has said.
“I am honored to be here in North Carolina to showcase the multilayered and strong ties between Japan and the United States,” Kishida said through a translator, inside the mansion ballroom, where about 60 people listened.
The guest list included Democratic state Attorney General Josh Stein, Republican state House Speaker Tim Moore and executives of several Japanese and American companies in the region.
Kishida called North Carolina “a state at the forefront of the times” and flexed his knowledge about its landmarks, mentioning Kill Devil Hills, where the Wright Brothers had their first successful flight, as an example of the state's ingenuity.
At noon on Friday, the prime minister and his wife, Kishida Yuko, joined Cooper and First Lady Kristin Cooper for a state luncheon prepared by renowned Raleigh chef Ashley Christensen. The governor’s office said the award-winning restaurateur will serve a meal “that highlights North Carolina’s culinary tradition with contributions from Japanese fare.”
There was also a garden party outside for about 50 members of the Japanese press traveling with the prime minister.
Sam Jones BBQ provided barbecue for other members of the Japanese delegation and members of the Japanese media. North Carolina is one of the nation’s leading pork producers, and Japan imported almost $15 billion worth of U.S. pork in 2022, according to the NC Pork Council.
Chiaki Takagi, a Japanese studies lecturer at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, said this week that the prime minister's visit surprised her but that it could signal a “positive future partnership” between Japan and the U.S. and more Japanese workers coming to the state.
“This whole thing will provide the area with opportunities to be engaged in very active cultural exchange between Japan and the U.S.,” Takagi said.
The luncheon marked the first time a foreign head of state has visited the governor's mansion since record-keeping began in 1891, the state Department of Natural and Cultural Resources said.
“What a better way to start than with one of our closest allies and friends from the country of Japan, with whom we share so many common interests,” Cooper said at the luncheon. “So today we make history, welcoming our wonderful friends.”
When it was announced Kishida was coming to the U.S., Rahm Emanuel, U.S. ambassador to Japan, said during the luncheon Cooper was the first to call to ask for the prime minister to visit his state.
The band Unspoken Tradition played live music with an acoustic bluegrass set in the garden at the state lunch.
Kishida is in town as part of a two-leg U.S. trip, which started in Washington earlier this week. A significant focus has been on economic partnerships between the two countries. During the Washington visit, President Joe Biden and Kishida discussed the importance of investment between Japan and the U.S., highlighting investments by Japanese companies in North Carolina.
Kishida also discussed global safety with Biden. Specifically, he met Biden to discuss concerns about China’s military, participated in the first trilateral summit between the U.S., Japan and the Philippines, and made the case in an address to a joint session of Congress for the U.S. to remain involved in global security.
But Kishida, who has been Japan’s prime minister since 2021, said before his trip that he chose to stop in North Carolina to show that the Japan-U.S. partnership extends beyond Washington, according to a translation posted on his website.
A visit from a head of government is a rare honor for North Carolina. The last head of government to visit was the Shah of Iran back in 1962.
Later on Friday, Kishida, Cooper and others went to North Carolina State University in Raleigh, where they met students ranging from those in middle school to adults studying Japanese. They visited the university's Japan Center, which was established by former Gov. Jim Hunt and others in 1980 following a state trade mission to Tokyo. North Carolina State also has long, formal ties with Japan's Nagoya University.
Earlier Friday, Kishida's wife, Yuko, and North Carolina first lady Kristin Cooper shared a traditional Japanese tea at Sarah P. Duke Gardens in Durham.
On Friday, Cooper and Kishida discussed continued cooperation in research and development and establishing start-up environments that promote innovation. In a joint statement, the leaders touting Toyota’s $13.9 billion investment in North Carolina.
The investment from Toyota and others has come following efforts by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s own trips to Tokyo to recruit Japanese businesses — particularly those in the aerospace, biotechnology and clean energy sectors — to the state.
After Cooper’s most recent trip to Tokyo, in October 2023, Toyota announced it would more than double the size of a massive electric vehicle battery factory in Randolph County. The company’s factory, between Greensboro and Pittsboro, is expected to eventually employ more than 5,000 people — an investment that is expected to spur residual growth of contractors and services in the area.
Fujihatsu & Toyotsu Battery Components, a partnership between Fujihatsu Tech America and Toyota Tsusho America, said in February it would create 133 new jobs in a new electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility in Liberty. FTBC is investing $60 million in the project, which will support Toyota’s battery manufacturing unit.
That same month, Japanese pharmaceutical research company Kyowa Kirin said it would add about 100 jobs in Lee County. Cooper met with Kyowa Kirin executives last year in Tokyo, when he was also meeting with Toyota executives.
Cooper’s administration also pushed for years to recruit a HondaJet facility to the Piedmont Triad International Airport. Greensboro is now the global headquarters for Honda Aircraft.
“Japanese investments in our state create thousands of jobs and these companies contribute so much to our communities,” the governor said in a statement. “This historic visit provides a unique opportunity to showcase the best of North Carolina and continue to build this mutually beneficial relationship.”
Timeline of visit
Thursday, 7 p.m.: Fumio Kishida and wife Yuko Kishida arrive at RDU, to be greeted by Gov. Cooper.
Friday morning: Fumio Kishida and Gov. Cooper tour Toyota Battery Manufacturing facility in Randolph County and Honda Aircraft Company in Guilford County. Yuko Kishida is expected to join First Lady Kristin Cooper for Japanese Tea at Duke Gardens. First Lady Cooper and Mrs. Kishida will also visit the North Carolina Museum of Science to see a traditional Japanese Friendship Doll.
Friday afternoon: A state lunch will be held with Gov. Cooper at the North Carolina Executive Mansion. Fumio Kishida is expected to meet with Japanese language students at Nagoya University Global Campus at NC State University.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
