- “We note that there is a common working framework around the goal of promoting foreign direct investment, which for us, for Galicia, is key,” she states
- She points out that Japan, the fourth largest economy in the world, moved from being the 31st destination for Galician exports in 2019 to being the 29th in 2024, with €122 million
Tokyo (Japan), 19 September 2025
The Minister for Economy and Industry, María Jesús Lorenzana, today presented, for the first time outside Spain, the Economic Office of Galicia in a meeting with members of the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro), a government body that works to promote mutual trade and investment between Japan and other countries.
Lorenzana explained that the Xunta decided to hold the international presentation of this office in Asia because this market “has a key strategic value” for Galician companies. She specified that total Galician exports to the Asian continent in 2024 reached €1,075 million and registered a 5.3% increase in the first half of this year compared to the same period the previous year. Specifically for Japan, she pointed out that exports from Galicia to that country were worth €122 million in 2024 and grew by 30% in the first six months of 2025 compared to the previous year.
In this context, she indicated that the meeting with Jetro served to present the opportunities that currently exist for investing in Galicia and all the advantages offered by the Economic Office as a “single gateway” for all investors wishing to establish themselves in the community. She highlighted administrative agility, financing, access to industrial land, energy cost reduction policies and the industry-energy relationship, “so that Japanese investors find a reliable market and a stable government that supports businesses in Galicia,” she emphasised.
“We note that there is a common working framework around the goal of promoting foreign direct investment, which for us, for Galicia, is key,” she stated. Therefore, the objective is “to continue establishing contacts and strengthening institutional and business relations with this country and the entire Asian continent, which, we are convinced, can offer many opportunities for growth and expansion for the Galician economy,” she said.
Lorenzana pointed out that Japan, the world’s fourth-largest economy, rose from 31st to 29th place as the destination for Galician exports between 2019 and 2024 with €122 million and a total of 155 exporting companies, of which almost half, 44.5%, already operate regularly in the country. According to her, Japan is a very promising market for the Galician economy and companies, especially in sectors such as automotive—its technology and components—the food industry and the chemical industry, which have the highest export rates to the Japanese market.
Likewise, she emphasised that several Japanese companies are already established in Galicia across various sectors, including Resonac (A Coruña), which will produce graphite for electric car batteries; Denso Thermal Systems (Vigo), automotive components; NTT Data (A Coruña), specialising in digital technologies; Fujitsu, linked to the Galicia Supercomputing Centre in Santiago (Cesga); the fishing companies Europacífico Alimentos del Mar (Vigo), part of Nissui Corporation, and Wadayku Europe (O Porriño); Univergy Solar, which has approval to create a public green hydrogen station in the port of Vigo; Sojitz Corporation, participating in the green hydrogen project H2Pole in collaboration with Reganosa in A Coruña; and Toyota, through the Proace models of the Japanese brand manufactured by Stellantis Vigo.
