The 18th annual U.S.-Japan Partnership Team consisting of six members of the United Soybean Board (USB) and the American Soybean Association (ASA) visited Japan from August 25-29 to participate in a roundtable meeting with the Japan Oilseed Processors Association (JOPA) and the Japan Oil & Fat Importers and Exporters Association (JOFIEA).
The U.S. team was led by ASA First Vice President Wade Cowan and USB Secretary Lewis Bainbridge. U.S. delegates also included USB directors Dan Corcoran and Jacob Parker and ASA treasurer Richard Wilkins and vice president Kevin Hoyer, in addition to USSEC staff including CEO Jim Sutter and Regional Director – North Asia Paul Burke.  The trip and meeting were  Japan Country Director Mitsuyuki Nishimura and Human Utilization Marketing Director Masako Tateishi.
More than 40 Japanese industry representatives participated in the roundtable where current issues, concerns and future interests were discussed. Mr. Sutter highlighted the future of U.S. sustainability certification in order to differentiate the marketing opportunities that U.S. soy offers the Japanese industry. The team also visited the J-Oil Mills crushing plant in Shimizu, a tuna canning plant in Hagoromo and a high-end supermarket, AOKI, in Shizuoka Prefecture to understand how soybean oil is processed, marketed, and sold in a food supply chain in Japan.