Our Management

Word From The President

13 June 2024

I am Mikihito Saito from Fujitsu, new President of JBCE.

It is a great honour to take over the presidency from Mr Alistair Dormer of Hitachi, who has shown leadership over the past two years to help bring this very important association to an even higher level.

I feel the sense of responsibility that comes with representing so many member companies that play a vital role in European and Japanese society.

As President, together with member companies, I would like to further develop JBCE as the leading business association which acts as the bridge between the EU and Japan, building upon all the impressive work carried out by my predecessors

We are in an era of transformation of policies. Green Deal, Digital Transformation and Economic Security, all of these concepts and concrete policies they create are deeply affecting our businesses. In addition to understanding and implementing the changes brought by the past 5 years, we are now all keen on predicting what kind of policy change the new mandates will bring in the EU.

JBCE has an essential role to play to share what is happening in the EU to member companies and to deliver the voices of Japanese companies to the European policymakers.

JBCE's motto for the past 25 years has been to 'contribute' to European policy.

With this right motto, JBCE has grown from 26 companies 25 years ago to 106 companies today, representing a wider range of industries as the years go by.

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Let me state three things that I think are important for the future direction of JBCE.

The first is to position the Japanese industry as a strategic partner of the EU. Economic security is one of the major trends amidst growing geopolitical tensions, and I believe that the EU is no exception. However, the EU's economic security policy should not be promoted at the expense of the interests of its most reliable partners, such as Japan. It is important that our voice as contributors to the EU's economy and society is properly conveyed to EU policy makers.

Secondly, we must be prepared for the implementation of a numerous pieces of legislation that have been adopted in the last five years. A number of laws, particularly in the green and digital areas, are due to enter into force in the coming years. I believe that companies are overwhelmed by so many compliance matters. As JBCE, we have gained access to European policymakers, and we are able to help our member companies in this regard.

Thirdly, input from member companies is key. The Secretariat has enthusiasm and professionalism. In addition to the dedication of the secretariat, input from member companies is essential if we are to make a concrete contribution to European policy. JBCE members have already benefited greatly from the contributions of the chairs, vice-chairs and leaders of working groups and issue groups, and without their contributions and leadership, the development of JBCE would not have happened. Also, technical inputs from our members have made our policy recommendations concrete and powerful. We therefore welcome continuous support from member companies either through their leadership or in response to individual policies. The continuous development of JBCE's activities can only be done by listening to your voice.

I very much look forward to working with all of you.

Mikihito Saito
President of JBCE

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