59th Annual Joint Business Conference – a huge success!

THANK YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL ON A TREMENDOUS ANNUAL CONFERENCE

The 59th Annual Australia-Japan Joint Business Conference was held in Tokyo, from 9-11 October. With participants meeting in person for the first time in three years, our gracious hosts, the Japan-Australia Business Committee put on a fabulous event for the a bumper delegations from both the Australian and Japanese sides.

A highlight of the conference was the great quality of the content of the sessions. Following a fascinating and thought-provoking keynote speech on artificial intelligence from Professor Noriko Arai, both Australia’s Minister for Trade and Tourism, Senator the Hon Don Farrell, and Mr Yasutoshi Nishimura, Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, addressed the business audience on the key topic of economic security, underscoring the importance placed by both governments on the bilateral economic relationship. It was then over to our great line-up of speakers, who covered pressing issues ranging from economic security to the ongoing challenge of decarbonising our economies, the need to increase productivity through enhanced inclusion in our workforces, and exploring new business opportunities in the post-COVID era, thoughtfully and in depth. Well received too, was the presentation by the Future Leaders Sub-committee of their report on Australia-Japan collaborative investments in the Indo-Pacific.

Delegates enjoyed not only the formal sessions, but some great networking opportunities and social functions with a real sense of excitement at the joy of going back to doing business face-to-face. Of particular note was the moving violin performance by Japanese Paralympian Manami Ito at the gala dinner, poignantly symbolising the conference theme of “Going Beyond the Disruption: Designing a New Future”.

The conference also represented the end of an era, with distinguished President of the JABCC, Dr Akio Mimura, announcing that he would be standing down after 14 years of sterling service.  AJBCC President Peter Grey paid tribute to Dr Mimura’s vision, warmth and generosity of spirit in his closing remarks. We wish him well for the future and thank him for his enormous contribution and love of Australia.

Thank you to all involved for a very successful conference and we look forward to welcoming you all to Melbourne in 2023.