Currently visiting Tokyo, the executive secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services, Fernando Furlan, said that Japan is one of Brazil's main strategic partners, especially in areas related to industry and innovation.

This Tuesday (4 ), the secretary participated in the 19th Joint Meeting of the Brazil-Japan Economic Cooperation Committees, organised by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) and its counterpart in Japan, the Keidanren.

Furlan also met with the executive vice president of Mitsubishi Motors, Kozo Shiraji, and with Nissan Motors executives. During the meetings, he highlighted the prospects for resumption of economic growth in Brazil and the government's willingness to create the conditions to attract new investments.

On Wednesday (5), the secretary will meet with executives from Toyota and Honda and end his participation in the joint meeting. On Thursday (6), Furlan will attend the meeting of the Joint Committee for the Promotion of Trade, Industrial Investment and Cooperation, which will include representatives from the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

One of the themes of the meeting are the negotiations to create a working group for a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot project between Brazil and Japan. PPHs are agreements celebrated to expedite patent reviews.

For the president of CNI, Robson Braga de Andrade, also in Tokyo for the events, what Brazil needs at this moment is to open new markets for its exports, access technology via imports and attract capital to boost the internal market, particularly with infrastructure investment. "Japan offers opportunities in all three areas," he said.

Trade exchanges

From January to August this year, Brazilian exports to Japan increased 2.6% over the same period of last year, from US$ 2.9 billion to US$ 3 billion. The country's share of Brazilian exports rose from 2.3% to 2.5%, positioning Japan as the 6th most prolific buyer of Brazilian exports in the year.

Brazilian imports from Japan reached US$ 2.3 billion from January to August 2016, which represents a 31.9% decrease comparing with the same period last year (US$ 3.4 billion). Japan's share of Brazilian imports fell from 2.9% to 2.6%. The country ranked 8th in volume of exports to Brazil in the year.

Brazil's portfolio of exports to Japan is split into 63.1% of basic goods, 20.8% of semi-manufactured goods and 16% of manufactured goods. In the year, performance in the three main categories saw a 5.7% increase in basic goods, a 21.4% decrease in semi-manufactured goods and a 21% increase in manufactured goods.