The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ, , ''Zainichi Beikoku Shōkō Kaigisho'') is a non-profit business organization consisting mainly of executives from American companies. Currently, the ACCJ has over 3,000 members representing over 600 companies with chapters located in the
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
,
Kansai
The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropoli ...
and
Chubu regions.
History
The ACCJ was established in 1948 by representatives of 40 American companies. Originally, the ACCJ had six committees and nine board members.
The ACCJ claims to be Japan's most influential foreign business organization, and serves as the primary forum for the foreign business community in Japan to identify and pursue shared interests and goals. There are more than sixty Chamber committees, subcommittees, task forces, and advisory councils that cover such diverse areas as: financial services, corporate social responsibility, marketing, independent business, healthcare services, e-business, transportation and logistics, legal services, the travel industry, and human resource management.
Programs
The ACCJ committees combined hold over 500 programs annually, and these events are exclusively attended by ACCJ members and their accompanied guests. Speakers are drawn from the ranks of global business leaders, top U.S. and Japanese government officials, industry experts, scholars and pop culture icons. Former speakers Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe; JP Morgan Japan Director of Research, Jesper Koll;
Rakuten
is a Japanese technology conglomerate based in Tokyo, founded by Hiroshi Mikitani in 1997. Centered around the online retail marketplace Rakuten Ichiba, its businesses include financial services utilizing Fintech, digital content and communi ...
Inc CEO,
Hiroshi Mikitani
(born March 11, 1965) is a Japanese billionaire business magnate and writer. He is the founder and CEO of Rakuten, Inc. He is also the president of Crimson Group, chairman of the football club Vissel Kobe, chairman of Tokyo Philharmonic Orchest ...
;
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston.
Over the year ...
CEO,
Jeffrey R. Immelt
Jeffrey Robert Immelt (born February 19, 1956) is an American manufacturing executive working as a venture partner at New Enterprise Associates. He previously was the CEO of General Electric from 2001 to 2017, and the CEO of GE's Medical System ...
;
U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO,
Tom J. Donohue; former Governor of California,
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
; U.S. Department of Energy Secretary,
Steven Chu
Steven Chu[Transportation
Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...](_blank)
Secretary,
Ray LaHood
Raymond H. LaHood ( ; born December 6, 1945) is an American politician who served as the 16th United States Secretary of Transportation from 2009 to 2013 under President Barack Obama. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the ...
;
Homeland Security
Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...
Secretary,
Janet Napolitano
Janet Ann Napolitano (; born November 29, 1957) is an American politician, lawyer, and academic administrator. She served as president of the University of California from 2013 to 2020, on the faculty at the Goldman School of Public Policy at t ...
;
U.S. Ambassador to Japan
The is the ambassador from the United States of America to Japan.
History
Beginning in 1854 with the use of gunboat diplomacy by Commodore Matthew C. Perry, the U.S. has maintained diplomatic relations with Japan, except for the ten-year pe ...
,
Caroline Kennedy
Caroline Bouvier Kennedy (born November 27, 1957) is an American author, diplomat, and attorney who served as the List of ambassadors of the United States to Australia, United States ambassador to Australia from 2022 to 2024. She previously serv ...
, and many others have chosen the ACCJ as their forum for addressing Japan's international business community.
Advocacy
As a key stakeholder in the commercial relationship between the United States and Japan, the ACCJ works to influence the discussions that frame policy in both countries. The ACCJ issues its official positions on policy issues in Viewpoint position papers, white papers, public comments and other reports. The ultimate goal of these policy positions and the advocacy carried out to communicate them and promote their implementation is to further the mission of the ACCJ to improve the business environment in Japan for Chamber members.
ACCJ Board of Governors (as of 2021)
Leadership positions within the ACCJ are held by elected officials who represent top-level Japanese businesspeople and expats in Japan from the U.S. and around the globe.
References
External links
The American Chamber of Commerce Japan (ACCJ) websiteThe American Chamber of Commerce Japan (ACCJ) official Facebook pageThe American Chamber of Commerce Japan (ACCJ) official Twitter pageThe American Chamber of Commerce Japan (ACCJ) LinkedIn pageThe American Chamber of Commerce Japan (ACCJ) YouTube page
{{Authority control
Non-profit organizations based in Japan
Foreign trade of Japan
American Chambers of commerce