On Wednesday, November 29th it will be the last Japan Open Café for 2017. The location is Koorenhuis in The Hague and the topic will be about the implications of the EU-Japan Free Trade Agreement.
Impact
The EU and Japan came to a broad agreement for the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement this past summer. It is intended to remove barriers on trade between both sides and will affect global trade in many ways. The agreement has been in development for years, but in light of events such as Brexit and the US’ withdrawal from the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) seems now all the more significant. What will the agreement do, and what will the impact be for Dutch-Japanese trade relations and individual businesses?
De speakers
The speakers for tonight are Marc Gerritsen and Tsutomu Togashi. Marc Gerritsen is the head of the Strategic Advice Unit of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 2014 up to the summer of 2017 Marc was based in Tokyo as head of Economic Affairs of the Dutch embassy in Japan. In this role he organized various trade missions to Japan, such as during the Dutch state visit in 2014 and during the visit of prime minister Mark Rutte in 2015. With his experience in Tokyo he is uniquely placed to share his insights about the newly agreed Economic Partnership Agreement between Japan and the European Union.
Tsutomu Togashi, of the Netherlands-based office of IKO Nippon Thompson. A company that has been trading between the Netherlands and Japan for a long time, Mr. Togashi will share his perspective from a Japanese business on the EU-Japan agreement.
For who is Japan Open Café?
Japan Open Café is open for everybody with an interest in Japan. The goal is to informally create a platform for people who are in business with Japan or interested in the country, in whatever form. The organization wants to provide connections, share knowledge and discuss ideas with people from different sectors and diverse backgrounds. Two groups are responsible for organizing this bi-monthly Japan Open Café: the Alumni Kai from Leiden “Van hier tot Tokyo” (From here to Tokyo) and the Netherlands-Japan Association (NJV).
The Koorenhuis can be found at Prinsegracht 27, in the city centre of The Hague. Japan Open Café starts at 18.30 and will stop around 20.30.
Bron: Japan Open Café
