As the President tells everyone America is open for business, one country already is here in Texas in a big way. Japan.
Houston and Texas have long boasted a small Japanese-American population, but mighty in terms of impact and ability to draw increasing investment from the land of the Rising Sun.
There are currently 156 Japanese-affiliated companies in the Houston area involved in almost every sector of Houston’s economy. And Texas is second to only California in exports to Japan…the tally in 2015 was 8.6 billion dollars in goods.
The numbers and their continuing expansion fly under the radar and that’s why the Japan-America Society of Houston….now in its 50th year here…is giving the tally in a conference right now at the Petroleum Club. Just a big part of our Houston scene.