Prince George, B.C.  - With so much focus on the rapidly growing market of China, the trading relationship with Japan is often overlooked. Consul General Hideki Ito was the first speaker to address the Natural Resource forum in Prince George his morning, and he focused on the growing trade relationship between Japan and B.C.

In October of this year, there was a 27% increase in value of lumber exports to Japan from B.C. In that month alone, the value of lumber shipped to Japan was $276 dollars per cubic meter of lumber, compared to $139 dollars per cubic meter of lumber to the U.S. and $150 dollars per cubic meter to China.

Hideki  Ito listed several points which demonstrate the strengthening ties between B.C. and Japan, not the least of which is the Japanese investment in mining including the Huckleberry, Endako and Gibralter mines, and the investment in natural gas fields in the north east of the province.

This is not Hideki Ito’s first visit to Prince George. He first came here when Dr. George Iwama was installed as the President of UNBC. At that time, he also visited the Pacific Western Brewery   which he described as a perfect example of Japanese investment and B.C resources.   He admitted that after touring the facility, his host insisted he sample the beers, “I got quite drunk.”

Ito said that while Japanese automobile shipments to B.C. have declined, that is not a reflection of a declining relationship, rather, it is the result of Japanese companies building automobile manufacturing plants in Canada. The links between Canada and Japan are growing says Ito, as he pointed to the number of students who have taken part in exchange programs, the growing tourism with B.C.  and that Japan has a history of “building with wood”.