In the last year, we have achieved strong progress on making California once again a great place to do business. We fixed our broken workers’ compensation system, passed a balanced budget without raising taxes, and are welcoming jobs and businesses back to the state. Now is the time to let the world know about it.
This week, I will lead a trade mission to Japan to sell California. I will promote our great products and our many tourist attractions. I will meet with the business and government leaders of Japan and tell them that the new California is open for business.
Japan is a very important market for our state. Its economy, the second largest in the world and California’s second largest trading partner, is recovering from a long recession and demand for our products is growing there. This is the perfect time to show the Japanese people that we are open for business in many areas:
Jobs and Investment
Japanese companies are a major job-provider here, employing a quarter of all Californians who work for foreign-owned companies. They are the largest foreign investors in California and now that their economy is on the mend, they are increasing their worldwide investment. I want California to benefit from this trend. I want to see more jobs created in California and more Japanese companies investing here.
Exports
Japan is one of our top trading partners and our second largest export market. With its improving economy, Japan has tremendous potential to absorb even more of California’s products and
services. California agricultural products are the perfect example. We are the largest agricultural producer and exporter in the United States. More than a million of California’s jobs are supported by agriculture. Now Japan is in a position to become an even more important market for California grown products than ever before.
Travel and Tourism
California is the portal to America for Asian travelers. In recent years, however, more and more merely passed through California on their way to other states. In 2003, California received 590,000 visitors from Japan and generated a total of $668 million in travel-related expenditures. While these numbers may sound great, they actually represent a 50 percent drop in Japanese travel since the 1990s. I will remind the people of Japan that California is the greatest travel destination in the world. There’s no place better for shopping, eating, sightseeing or simply relaxing.
I’ve said many times that California is the greatest state in the greatest nation of the world. With the progress we’ve made in the last year, it’s by far the easiest sell I’ve ever had.
- Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger