Revitalizing the Strategic Economic Partnership

The September 2004 meeting of President Lula and then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi brought new vitality to the Japan-Brazil relationship. The two leaders agreed to designate 2008 as the "Japan-Brazil Exchange Year," discussed the future potential of bilateral ties, and decided to establish an eminent persons' group -- the Japan-Brazil Council for the 21st Century -- and entrust it with the task of proposing strategies that would bring the bilateral relationship to a higher level.

The Council is composed of legislative assembly members, business leaders and eminent persons from both Japan and Brazil. Prominent Brazilians of Japanese extraction are also included among the membership. The first Council meeting was held in Rio de Janeiro in November 2005, the second in Tokyo in July 2006. During the second meeting, Council members drew up 56 recommendations in seven sectors for submission to then-Prime Minister Koizumi.

Then, in 2007, at the urging of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Wise-men Group on the Japan-Brazil Strategic Economic Partnership was formed to spur bilateral business collaboration in economic and commercial matters. Group members included, from the Japanese side, Akio Mimura (President of Nippon Steel Corporation), Katsuaki Watanabe (President of Toyota Motor Corporation), Shoei Utsuda (President of Mitsui & Co., Ltd.), and Yoshihiko Morita (Deputy Governor and Managing Director of JBIC); and from the Brazilian side, eminent persons from Brazil's business community with many years' experience developing bilateral economic ties, leaders from the steel manufacturing industry, and the previous Minister of Agriculture.

Priority for Seven Sectors over the Short Term

Seven Priority Sectors: Challenges Over the Short Term

See "3. JBIC Support for Brazil: Recent Examples"

After meeting in São Paulo (May 2007) and Tokyo (July), the Wise-men Group on the Japan-Brazil Strategic Economic Partnership proposed that seven sectors be given priority over the short term (see chart below), in addition to areas in which the two countries were already collaborating. The Group recommended that efforts in these seven sectors focus on advanced technical cooperation (especially in high-tech fields and energy conservation), projects promoted jointly in third countries, cutting-edge service industries (particularly IT-related services), the environment, and human resource training. It called for a proactive approach that would ensure project implementation in these sectors, with Japan providing financial support primarily through JBIC.