Michigan Matters: Growing two-way connections to Japan
It's a look at growing two-way ties between Michigan and Japan on this Sunday's Michigan Matters as Hajime Kishimori, Consul General of Japan in Detroit, Quentin Messer, president and CEO of MEDC, and Battle Creek Mayor Mark Behnke discuss the longtime relationships that have developed between the two lands.
The consul general came to Detroit a year ago and oversees relations between his country and Michigan. He is currently in Japan with over a dozen Michigan leaders as they visit to network.
Behnke, who has been to Japan for trade missions before, is part of that delegation and talked about the nation's importance to his municipality. He planned to visit a Kellogg plant in Japan while there (Kellogg is headquartered in Battle Creek).
Messer has been to Japan before and talked about its importance, as over 400 Japanese companies are based here.
Then Jeff Makarewicz, Group Vice President of Advanced Research and Technical Resources at the Toyota Motor North America Research and Development headquarters in Saline, and Jason Hallman, Senior Manager of Toyota's Collaborative Safety Research Center in Ann Arbor, appear to talk about the manufacturer's footprint in Michigan.
Toyota has been in Michigan for over 50 years.
The company has facilities in Saline and Ann Arbor and is adding a battery research lab coming to life in 2025. They are also supporting the American Center for Mobility in Ypsilanti, where mobility research is done, and the company is one of Washtenaw County's largest employers.
(Watch Michigan Matters at its new time: 5:30 a.m. Sundays on CBS Detroit and 9:30 a.m. Sundays on CW Detroit 50 WKBD).
(Carol Cain is the 13-time Emmy-winning senior producer and host of Michigan Matters).
