Scotland's Economy

Exploring new opportunities in Osaka

April 18, 2012 by John Swinney MSP No Comments | Category Exports, Investment

Mr Swinney and Mr Toshiaki Yoshino President & COO of Rohto, parent company of Mentholatum.

The third and final day of the Japan leg of my trip started with a call to Rolto, an existing investor in Scotland who own Mentholatum in East Kilbride. We talked over the expansion of the company’s product range and will work with them to try to make the most of this opportunity in Scotland.

As we left, our hosts were keen to show us the beautiful gardens, full of the cherry blossom, that they maintain at the heart of this site. Their aim is to create a thriving environment for their staff and you would never know you were right in the heart of bustling Osaka.

We followed up my discussions on Tuesday with Mitsubishi Electric with a visit to their research site. It is a huge project and we had a fascinating insight into their work on smart grid developments. This will be crucial for the management and distribution of electricity generated from renewable sources.

The importance of co-operating with major organisations with technology and innovation capability will be crucial to realising our ambitions in the renewables field.

The renewables theme was taken forward at a seminar hosted by the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry exploring opportunities in the low carbon sector. Another Scotland-Japan connection is that Thomas Glover, one of the Scots who contributed enormously to developing modern Japan, was a close associate of the founder of the Chamber.

Very comprehensive presentations were given by Scottish Enterprise and SSE and the 100 or so participants were eager to explore the opportunities available.

Many thanks to Stephen Baker and the SDI team for organising three busy and productive days. I arrived a short time ago in Busan, South Korea. The intensity of economic activity looks amazing in the dark so I can’t wait to see what it looks like in the daylight.

Tags: Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Japan, Mitsubishi Electric, Osaka, Scottish Enterprise, SDI, SSE

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