Obstacles to Japanese Investment in Latin America
Overview
Amid U.S. backpedaling on trade agreements in Latin America, the region's governments have increasingly looked elsewhere for new partners and to deepen existing economic relationships. Though China gets the most attention, Japan, which shares the region’s strong democratic values, is also a priority partner for trade and investment. For its part, Japan has sought to expand its presence in Latin America. It has found willing partners, including fellow members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership such as Chile, Mexico, and Peru.
From 2005 to 2009, Japanese exports to Latin America increased faster than to any other region. In March, the country announced a new partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank to support public-private partnerships in the region. The White House has welcomed, and even encouraged, that trend, seeing Japanese engagement as a force multiplier in the Western Hemisphere and as a counter-weight to Chinese influence.
However, while opportunities abound in the Americas for Japanese firms, from natural resources and large consumer markets to infrastructure and energy, obstacles to Japanese investment and engagement remain. Please join us on Friday, September 7 at 11:30 a.m. to discuss these barriers, the geopolitical implications of deeper Japanese engagement in Latin America, and the solutions that the Japanese private sector is seeking from governments in and outside the region.
Cynthia J. Arnson
Director, Latin American Program
Wilson Center
Masahiko Uchino
Attaché, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
Second Secretary, Economic Section
Embassy of Japan
Ryoji Watanabe
Senior Analyst
Sumitomo Corporation of the Americas
Koji Okawa
Senior Executive Engineer
Toyota Motor North America
Barbara Kotschwar
Adjunct Professor
Georgetown University
Shihoko Goto
Senior Associate, Asia Program
Wilson Center
Benjamin N. Gedan
Director, Argentina Project
Senior Adviser, Latin American Program
Wilson Center
Hosted By
Latin America Program
The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more
Argentina Project
The Argentina Project is the premier institution for policy-relevant research on politics and economics in Argentina. Read more
Indo-Pacific Program
The Indo-Pacific Program promotes policy debate and intellectual discussions on US interests in the Asia-Pacific as well as political, economic, security, and social issues relating to the world’s most populous and economically dynamic region. Read more
Thank you for your interest in this event. Please send any feedback or questions to our Events staff.
