This week 18 delegates from 12 companies are visiting Japan on the UK East Midlands Mission, led by Peter Hogarth, International Trade Director of UKTI East Midlands. The Japanese 2012 Olympic team will be training at Loughborough University, and Japan and the East Midlands also enjoy a close relationship through companies such as Rolls Royce, Paul Smith and Next, which are all successful here.
Half of the participating companies commissioned an OMIS report from the UKTI Japan Team before the mission. Through this OMIS service, we were able to introduce these companies to potential partners/customers in advance so that they already had a programme of meetings arranged to make the most of their visit.
The delegates also attended a networking event organised by the UKTI Japan Team at the Embassy on 27 July and a "2 Years-to-Go" countdown event for the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympic Games, which was held at the Ambassador’s Residence. Read more on the Japan/UK Olympic connection on the blog of the UK's Ambassador to Japan, David Warren
There was strong interest in the networking event with more than 40 quality local buyers/contacts attending to meet our delegates, despite our recent heat wave (over 35 degrees). We hope these contacts will continue to develop and strengthen the relationship between the East Midlands and Japan.
Mariko Hasegawa
Mariko.hasegawa@fco.gov.uk
UKTI Japan