RALEIGH — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida cemented economic links and cultural amity with North Carolina on Friday, following up time in Washington, D.C., during his official U.S. visit by coming to a state that has become a key business partner for the East Asian nation.
Kishida lunched at the governor’s mansion in Raleigh, a historic first for the head of a foreign country in the Tarheel State. Japan is North Carolina’s largest source of foreign direct investment, where more than 200 Japanese companies have now set up shop, employing over 30,000 people, according to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s office and more than 200 Japanese companies have set up shop in North Carolina, employing over 30,000 people.
“I am honored to be here in North Carolina to showcase the multilayered and strong ties between Japan and the United States,” Kishida said through a translator inside the mansion ballroom, where about 60 people dined from a menu created by award-winning N.C. chef Ashley Christensen.
Before the visit to North Carolina, Kishida’s trip to the U.S. had been focused on global safety. He met President Joe Biden to discuss security concerns about China’s military, participated in the First trilateral summit Between the U.S. and Japan, and made…
