Christian Moen – President, Norwegian Chamber of Commerce in Japan
In its efforts to promote Norway-Japan relations, the Norwegian Chamber of Commerce in Japan (NCCJ) is, you might say, building on common ground. The two countries share a common maritime heritage, not to mention a love of fish, imports of which make up a good quarter of the 20 billion krone (€2.6 billion) worth of Norwegian goods that Japan imports every year.
Hoping to advance these common trade areas, and others close to the Norwegian heart, newly elected NCCJ president Christian Moen has a full slate of events planned.
“This year the NCCJ will hold the Norwegian Industrial Forum, which will focus on the five business areas most important to Norway – energy, maritime, tourism, fisheries and environmental technology,” Moen says. “This will be a series of events in which we invite experts to hold seminars and give presentations in these areas.”
The NCCJ is a key member of Team Norway, a group of Norwegian organisations that includes the Royal Norwegian Embassy; Innovation Norway, which functions much like Japan’s JETRO, as the embassy’s investment branch; the Norwegian Seafood Export Council; and the Scandinavian Tourist Board.
Last year’s earthquake, tsunami and resulting nuclear crisis sparked renewed interest in sustainable energy, and this is one of the areas where Norway can help, Moen noted. Norway is a leader in offshore wind power, and operates the only offshore floating wind farm in the world. Japanese companies have expressed interest in importing the technology and setting up a small floating test platform off the shores of Fukushima prefecture.
More common ground is found in the fact of Norway and Japan both being major players in shipping and shipbuilding. Norway has strong expertise in green technology related to LNG tankers and related facilities, which could help Japanese shipbuilders prevail against industry rivals in South Korea and China.
“This is an example of how Norway-Japan industry is complementary, rather than in direct competition. There are many such possibilities for us to facilitate cooperation and partnerships,” Moen says.
On some issues, however, the two business cultures are still far apart, and Moen sees a role for the NCCJ in bridging those gaps. Gender equality is one.
“This is something we really believe in, and promoting it could be good for Japan,” Moen notes. “Japan has this educated female workforce that is not really utilised. Many women go to university, work for four or five years, then stop working and never return. Bringing these women back into the work force could really benefit the Japanese economy.”
Last year the NCCJ held a business luncheon featuring Yukako Uchinaga, CEO in Japan of language and global leadership training company Berlitz, who also serves on the boards of Sony and IBM Japan, among others. She is an active advocate of gender equality in the work place.
The positive response from attendees encouraged Moen to try to further promote the issue, and the chamber is now planning a women’s executive summit in which Norwegian and Japanese female executives discuss the challenges they face and how to overcome them.
Moen, who originally came to Japan to play the ancient board game Go and later returned to found internet search-engine developer Atilika, notes that membership in the NCCJ has been growing steadily, a sign that Norwegian companies consider Japan a good place to do business. Norway-Japan trade relations are strong, healthy and stable, according to Moen, and the import-export balance is fairly even.
“One indicator of how healthy the relationship is, is that even during the financial crisis, trade remained stable at around 20 billion krone,” he says.
Such close ties could become even closer, with Norway and Japan exploring the possibility of arranging a bilateral free-trade agreement.