Tsongas to Travel to Japan Next Week With Focus on Massachusetts Economic Opportunities

Press Release

Congresswoman Niki Tsongas will travel to Japan next week (February 13 through 20), with a bipartisan delegation of Members of Congress. The delegation is scheduled to meet with officials in Tokyo and Okinawa as part of the Congressional Study Group on Japan.

Congresswoman Tsongas will meet with numerous Japanese officials, including the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, members of their legislature, U.S. and Japanese military officials, and economic and business leaders. The visit will provide Congresswoman Tsongas with an opportunity to discuss, among other things, potential future economic opportunities for the Third District, partnerships with Japan and Japanese companies, the U.S.-Japanese security alliance, and the prospective for American companies to grow overseas.

Massachusetts exported almost $2 billion worth of commodities to Japan in 2014, making Japan the 5th largest importer of Massachusetts-made goods and services. There are more than a dozen Japanese-owned companies located around the Third District, and many other companies that do business with Japan. The Congresswoman has visited a number of these companies, such as Raytheon with locations in Andover and Marlborough, Sunovion in Marlborough and Asahi/America, based in Lawrence, which she visited last week.

The delegation's visit also has a military / national security component, as they will meet with U.S. and Japanese military leaders to discuss the US-Japan security alliance, regional and international security discussions. About 50,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Japan, approximately half of them in Okinawa where the delegation will visit. Congresswoman Tsongas is a senior member of the Armed Services Committee and will be the only member of that committee participating in this trip to Japan.

Congresswoman Tsongas's personal ties to Japan reach back to her youth. As a teenager, she lived on an American Air Force Base in Japan while her father, an Air Force Colonel, was stationed there. She attended high school in Tokyo.

"Japan is one of our greatest friends and allies and a critically important international partner in so many ways - militarily, economically and otherwise. We must encourage and grow this relationship across all levels of our governments, which is why this is such a valuable experience for my colleagues and I, and our Japanese counterparts," Congresswoman Tsongas said. "I anticipate a week of many productive meetings and conversations with some of their most influential leaders, with a focus on ways our two countries can strengthen existing partnerships. Massachusetts in particular has enjoyed a long and productive relationship with Japan. Given how much our state has to offer, I look forward to discussing new opportunities that will allow us to grow together."

Source