• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis met with Japanese business leaders and Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi to strengthen economic ties and announced a partnership with NTT Data offering internships for Florida university students.
• Japan is the 6th largest foreign investor in Florida, with over 200 firms investing billions in the state and annual bilateral trade exceeding $6.6 billion.
• DeSantis’s four-nation tour began with a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, exploring collaboration opportunities and direct flight routes between Florida and Japan.
• A video of the governor’s remarks is included below.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis continued the Japanese leg of his four-nation trade mission on Monday, meeting with Japanese business leaders from Japan Business Federation KEIDANREN and Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi to strengthen economic ties between Florida and Japan. According to a press release from the governor’s office, DeSantis and NTT Data, a Tokyo-based information technology and consulting company, announced a partnership that will offer Florida university students a one-week internship at NTT Data’s headquarters in Tokyo. The internship will allow students to interact with business executives and learn about global business operations.

During the meeting, DeSantis emphasized the importance of fostering strong business relationships with Japanese companies interested in doing business in Florida. The governor’s office also highlighted the economic relationship between Florida and Japan, with Japan being the 6th largest foreign investor in Florida with bilateral trade exceeding $6.6 billion annually.

More than 200 Japanese firms invest billions in the Florida economy, with leaders from major corporations attending the roundtable discussion. Florida’s strategic location serves as a convenient base for Japanese companies looking to expand into the Southeastern US and the Latin America and Caribbean region.

Earlier in the day, DeSantis met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to commend Japan’s efforts in boosting defense spending and to explore opportunities for collaboration and direct flight routes between Florida and Japan. The meeting with Kishida marked the beginning of DeSantis’s four-nation tour, which includes stops in South Korea, Israel, and the United Kingdom.

What the full video of DeSantis’s business meeting below: